The Great Railroad Strike of 1877

The Great Railroad Strike of 1877; Summary and Significance.

The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 emerged in response to the notion of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company that wages had to be reduced. The strike started on July 14, 1877, in Martinsburg, West Virginia, when railroad workers voted to strike against their wage reduction. The strike soon became an all-out battle, with scores of other violent clashes between strikers and local militias. The Destruction of railroad infrastructure and property made federal and state militias combine with federal troops in responding brutally against the strikers, leading to the death of many soldiers in both camps. The strike led to an incident that grew in discontentment and organized opposition against egalitarian working conditions and dire economic situations. It further fueled labor activism and legislative reforms toward improving labor rights and working conditions in the United States.

The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 was a significant event because it brought out the growing discontent among the industrial workers and highlighted the harsh working conditions and economic inequalities at the time. Beyond the immediate problems of economic grievance, it stimulated a nationwide labor movement. Also, the strike demonstrated that organized labor and collective bargaining were essential and influential ways workers could forward their demands or bargain for better conditions. Solidarity across cities signaled growing unity among laborers against exploitation. Specifically, the strike showed a good deal of attention paid to the cause of labor by the great public and paved the way for future reforms. It influenced legislation to improve conditions regarding safety, working hours, and economic inequalities, setting the stage for subsequent labor reforms in the progressive era.

Bibliography

Primary Source

The Library of Congress. “The Great Railroad Strike of July 1877,” 2015. https://www.loc.gov/item/2007675388/.

The 1877 wood engraving from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper on August 11, 1877, powerfully visualizes the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, outlining principal events that show a violent confrontation between strikers and police, burning railroad property and work militia forces. The engravings’ complexity suggests the strike’s violence and chaos, representing its hold on both urban and rural areas at that time. The depiction of strikers as victims and aggressors represents the polarized public opinion regarding the Labor Movement during that time. This primary source fully covers the immediate public reaction to the strike. It reveals tension and upheaval in labor relations during the late 19th century. The visual narrative it provides outlines the struggles and conflicts that shaped the social and economic layout of the time.

Secondary Source

Winik, Jay. The Great Upheaval. Harper Collins, 2009.

In Jay Winik’s “The Great Upheaval,” the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 is described as an event that culminated in dramatic social and economic changes in late nineteenth-century America. Winik holds that it was not a local labor strike but an expression of more comprehensive social tensions catalyzed by rapid industrialization and urban growth. The strike indiscriminately underlined deep-lying issues of economic inequality and labor exploitation within the Gilded Age. The fight between the workers and corporate power brought out arguments over what role the government should play in intervening in labor disputes.

Winik views it as a turning point in American labor history, after which other labor movements were modeled and for which legislative changes would now aid the worker. By contextualizing the strike within the larger narrative of industrial capitalism and social upheaval, he demonstrates how the strike catalyzed efforts for labor reform and forged a course for labor relations in the United States. His analysis deepens our understanding of the strike’s enduring significance in shaping labor laws and activism throughout the 20th century.