Great Railroad Strike
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Since the building of railroads they were the advance agents of industrialism, opening a national market for the first time and themselves providing a market for iron, steel, coal, and the products of related industries. But by 1877 construction of new track and rolling stock had virtually halted, related industries were sagging, and wages were slashed for railroad workers.
The strike
The very same year, on July 17 in Martinsburg, Virginia, railroad workers were given another salary cut for the year. Many workers were outraged by this and started a strike on their employers. The Governor of Virginia called for militia to stop the protestors but the militia refused to take action. Afterwards, federal troops were called in to stop the strikers (first time since 1830). The strikers soon went to the streets. Bloody battles began which included injury and death.
This strike spread throughout the branches of the railroad to other areas in the U.S:
In Maryland, the local militia opened fire on the protestors killing ten. Soon the Union troops moved in and began to put down this rebellion wherever they went. A few weeks later, the great railroad strikes were over.
The mayor of Chicago successfully called for 5000 vigilantes to help restore order. Some violence broke out on July 25 between police and the mob, but events reached a peak on the next day. Bloody encounters between police and enraged mobs occurred. At least 18 men and boys died and millions of dollars of property were lost.
As the strike went on, many employees united themselves against their employers showing that labor victories and reforms were needed to prevent future disasters. Some legislatures and Congress prepared the armories in several cities in order to prevent similar strikes in the future.
Many workers had shown themselves to be discontented with the ways of maltreatment from American society and that now was the time for greater changes in worker reforms.
