Module 05: Industrialization and Its Discontents: The Great Strike of 1877

Evidence

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Before the Strike During the Strike After the Strike

The documents in the first section below outline key events leading up to the Great Strike of 1877. The second section explores the strike itself, which began on July 16, 1877, and quickly spread along railroad lines. Over the next two weeks, thousands of workers across the nation would join in the protests, leading to fears that America was experiencing a general rebellion. The third section investigates the aftermath of the Great Strike. By early August, the strike was finally over. In the ensuing weeks and months, American commentators struggled to make sense of the shocking events that had rocked the nation and to derive lessons about how to prevent similar incidents from occurring again.

Before the Strike

1. Graph: Total U.S. Railroad Mileage
1850-1890

2. Cartoon: Frank Bellew, "The American Frankenstein"
1874

3. Graph: U.S. Railroad Construction
1860-1880

4. J. W. J., "The Poor"
15 April 1877

5. Allan Pinkerton, "Mendicant Tramps"
1878

6. "Ten Per Cent. Reduction"
12 July 1877

The Great Strike of 1877

7. B & O Worker's Manifesto
20 July 1877

8. Illustration: Strikers Clash With the Sixth Maryland Regiment
11 August 1877

9. Illustration: Burning of the Union Depot and Hotel in Pittsburgh
11 August 1877

10. J. M. Carson, "Military Blunder — Uncalled-For Bloodshed"
22 July 1877

11. "Striking and Striking Back"
22 July 1877

12. "The Great Railroad Strike"
21 July 1877

13. "The Great Railroad Riot"
26 July 1877

14. A Working Man, "Good Advice to the Working Men"
24 July 1877

15. Engraving: Women Battle With Police in Baltimore
1878

16. "Women's Warfare"
27 July 1877

17. Speech of Albert Parsons
23 July 1877

18. Speech of Peter H. Clark
22 July 1877

After the Strike

19. "The Issue and the Remedy"
2 August 1877

20. "The Lessons of the Week"
29 July 1877

21. Illustration: "The Frenzy, and What Came of It"
18 August 1877

22. Cartoon: Frank Bellew, "Labor and Capital"
25 August 1877

23. A "Striker," "Fair Wages"
September 1877

24. Joshua Ferguson, "Are Ye Still Content?"
28 July 1877

25. J. J. B., "The New Commandments"
8 September 1877