The Great Railroad Strikes of 1877
The railroad strikes of 1877, often grouped as "The Great Railroad Strike of 1877", had a profound impact on the railroad system at a time where railway transportation was driving the country's economy. During the railroad strikes of 1877, "Between 6,000 and 7,000 miles of road were at one time or another, in the hands of strikers" (4).
- Newspaper headline of railroad workers strike in Chicago, 1877.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress
- Aftermath of the railroad strike in Pittsburgh, Penn, 1877.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress
- Above: blockade of engines in Martinsburg, West Virginia, 1877. Below: burning of Lebanon Bridge.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress
The growing number of railroad workers willing to strike grew to a national event. In striking cities such as Chicago and Pittsburgh, areas were destroyed by fire and total destruction. In Martinsburg, West Virginia, "The Maine Farmer" reported train workers blockading engines as strikers began to swell in numbers. The article continues to state the strike continuing west and "The infection has spread to many large manufacturing establishments which have been obligated to stop work" (2). Karl Marx stated the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 to be the first national uprising of the working class against associated capital (7). Strikes meant no work, and railways consequently shut down. Men were willing to lay their livelihoods on the line to demand fair treatment in the workplace. Robert Bruce states in his book 1877: Year of Violence, "The Great Strike of 1877 marked a decisive turning point in the nation's history, for it turned the nation's attention from Reconstruction politics to the issues facing it as an industrializing, increasingly urban nation" (7). The overall result of the Great Strike was not what the workers had hoped for. Due to the lack of organization and chaotic nature of the strikes, many of those who protested were punished or replaced (6).