The Great Railroad Strike started on July 17, 1877 in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Employers started making wage cuts because of the debt our country was in from fighting in the Civil War. Many workers did not approve of this and one railroad company at a time all stopped working and started a strike. Workers stopped all trains and stations and blocked any tarins from coming to the stations. Federal troops were called in to stop the strike but it was unsuccessful. The strike had already spread to Baltimore, Maryland. This is where the strike turned from peaceful to violent. Weapons were brought in and guns were fired. Mobs threw stones at troops. Several people were killed and workers started detroying the railroad tracks. The violence and destruction became worse in Pennsylvnia. In Philadelphia, 39 buildings, 104 locomotives, 46 passenger cars, and more than 1,200 railcars were destroyed due to fires that were set off by attacked troops. In Pittsburgh, troops killed 20 strikers and wounded several hundred. In response, strikers also began destroying railroads. They destroyed a few thousand railcars, more than 100 locomotives, and many railroad buildings. Workers in St. Louis, Missouri also started a labor strike that terrorized the city. The strike spread to wherever there were railroad tracks and workers caused even more destruction. The railroad strike eventually turned into a general labor strike. Farmers and other laborers got involved with the strike. The railroad companies on the west coast were involved in the strike but, most of the attention was focused on the east coast because of all the destruction that was caused and it started with the Baltimore and Ohio Rairoad Company.
The Sixth Maryland Regiment fighting its way through Baltimore
This newspaper shows how violent the strike became. Mobs and troops both had weapons to fight each other. People were either killed or hurt. There was a lot of destruction done to the city.
The B&O Railroad Company was the first steam-operated railway in the United States to be chartered as a common carrier of freight and passengers. In 1830, it opened the first 13 miles (21 km) of line, from Baltimore to Ellicott's Mills, Md. (now Ellicott City). In 1852, the railroad was extended to Wheeling, Va. (now in West Virginia), a distance of 379 miles (610 km). In the 1860s and '70s, the railroad reached Chicago, Ill., and St. Louis, Mo.
Source: Library of Congress, Encyclopedia Britannica
The B&O Railroad Company was the first steam-operated railway in the United States to be chartered as a common carrier of freight and passengers. In 1830, it opened the first 13 miles (21 km) of line, from Baltimore to Ellicott's Mills, Md. (now Ellicott City). In 1852, the railroad was extended to Wheeling, Va. (now in West Virginia), a distance of 379 miles (610 km). In the 1860s and '70s, the railroad reached Chicago, Ill., and St. Louis, Mo.
Source: Library of Congress, Encyclopedia Britannica
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
This photo shows the destruction done to the railroads and the city of Pittsburgh.
Source: Library of Congress
Source: Library of Congress
Chicago, Illinois
This newspaper shows a battle in Chicago during the great railroad strike.
The New York Central Railroad Company was the passenger line that
connected the East Coast with the interior. It was a combination of 10 small railroads that paralleled the Erie Canal between Albany and Buffalo. The company started to decline after World Warr II. Between 1946 and 1958, it stopped four of its six daily passenger runs between New York and Chicago.
Source: Library of Congress, Encyclopedia Britannica
The New York Central Railroad Company was the passenger line that
connected the East Coast with the interior. It was a combination of 10 small railroads that paralleled the Erie Canal between Albany and Buffalo. The company started to decline after World Warr II. Between 1946 and 1958, it stopped four of its six daily passenger runs between New York and Chicago.
Source: Library of Congress, Encyclopedia Britannica