The+Great+Strike+of+1877

The Companies __**
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The Panic of 1873 caused unrest in the American economy. As a result many railroad companies cut the wages of their employees to maximize profits. As a result their was resentment from the workers because their pay had been decreased. In addition, many workers were forced to receive their pay in company scrip. This meant that the workers were payed with store credit to the company's store. The wages also decreased during times of economic decline. The wages were lowered because if an employee did not like his pay an unemployed man could be easily be found to take his place. Companies also blacklisted and fired workers who protested their conditions. Thus intimidating workers from rebelling or going on strike.




 * __ The Problems __**

The Panic of 1873 was a great factor to the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. After the Panic, large firms cut wages and dismissed many workers, leaving people nowhere to work and with little money.



Those who found work at the Pennsylvania and Baltimore and Ohio railroads were also having tough times. In the first half of the year 1877, the Pennsylvania Railroad made two 10 percent wage cuts. In order to cut costs, the railroad decided to double the length of the freight trains without increasing the size of the work crew. This meant more work for less people, and those workers were having their wages cut dramatically. On July 13, 1877, the Baltimore and Ohio cut their wages for the second time that year, and brought their work week down to mere two or three days. New York City.--Great eight-hour labor demonstration--The procession of workingmen as it appeared on passing the Cooper Institute," //Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper//, September 30, 1871.


 * __The Strike__ **

On July 17th 1877, Baltimore and Ohio railroad workers went on strike in Martinsburg, West Virginia after wages and the length of the work week was cut. Strikers blocked freight trains from moving, and threatened to keep blocking them until wages were back to normal. The local militia was called in to gain control. When they refused to use violence and force to gain control, the governor called in federal troops. In Baltimore, Maryland, a mob of protesters threw rocks at the militia, who responded by opening fire. "We met a mob, which blocked the streets,” wrote Charles A. Malloy. "They came armed with stones and as soon as we came within reach they began to throw at us." The militia killed 10 people in the attempt to end the strike. Instead of stopping the strike, approximately 14,000 protesters responded to the shootings by destroying property, and just like the governor of West Virginia, Maryland’s governor called in for federal troops.

A few days later, on July 21, militia was sent to the Pennsylvania Railroad in Pittsburg to protect the railroad. The National Guard was called in, and they killed about 20 strikers and wounded many more. Once again, the strikers reacted with more violence. They destroyed a few thousand railroad cars, railroad buildings, and about 100 trains. Strikers also took over the local telegraph office, and finally the armory. In total, about 40 people were killed, and the strikers had left the railroad with approximately four million dollars in damages. On that same day, strikers in St. Louis, Missouri crippled the city for almost a week with their rampages. The worst of the shootings happened in Chicago, Illinois on July 24. Over 20,000 workers went on a strike that was organized by a class-based political organization among American workers known as the //Workingmen’s Party.// The local militia killed more than 50 of the strikers.By the end of the month, the majority of the strikes were over, and about 100 people had been killed. Reaction __** In reaction to the strike, coal miners from nearby towns went on strike too. They were protesting their poor working conditions and low wages. When the coal miners went on strike the National Guard was brought in to replace the protestors with black workers. Also, in Chicago, the mayor hired vigilantes to quell the strikes. The strikes effected the American economy in gigantic ways. The strikes helped to make pay cuts reach their bottom. The wages had reached their lowest points. Another reaction to the strike were the deaths of 20 innocent civilians in Pittsburg, PA. In Pittsburg, the militia supported the workers on strike. As a result the governor called the National Guard troops from Philadelphia to end the strike. The troops fired into a crowd and killed innocent people. As a result to the strikes many new labor unions were formed. The largest union was called the Knights of Labor. It had over 700,000 members by 1886. Large labor unions forced companies to pay workers decent wages and provide good working conditions. The strike helped to set the standard of work in America for years to come.
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__Changes Made__ **

As a result of the strikes, the Interstate Commerce Commission was created in 1887 to monitor the railroad companies. It was established through the Interstate Commerce Act, which was the first federal regulatory agency. The primary function of the Commission was to make sure that prices were fair and to investigate any questionable railroad management. The act was later abolished in 1995.



__Pictography-__

[] [] [][| http://www.takver.com/history/secsoc02.htm]

__Bibliography-__

Boardman, Fon W. Jr. //America and the Robber Barons//. New York: David McKay and Company, Inc., 1979. (May 2010). [] , Knoll, Aaron. “Starvation in the Midst of Plenty.” //American Social History Project//. (May, 2010). [] “ Great Railroad Strike.” //Digital History//. (May 10, 2010). [] VandeCreek, Drew, //1877: The Great Strike// (May 10) http://dig.lib.niu.edu/gildedage/narr4.html "What was 'The Great Strike' of 1877" (May 10)http://web.gc.cuny.edu/ashp/1877/f1877-6.html