The Great Railroad Strike of 1877
September 21, 2014
Scharfenberg
The Strike of the Railroads
The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 was a huge protest of railroad workers that spread across the United States. These strikes were started due to wage cuts in the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad. This was a violent protest in the B&O station in West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Maryland and Ohio. Labor was able to unionize by the workers working together in demonstrations but they were separated when they got dismissed and/or sent to jail.
According to the Britannica School High, “Leaders were frightened” of these demonstrations. The strikes only grew more and more because the federal army was unable to break it apart. The strikes also died …show more content…
Their protest demonstrations spread across the B&O Railroad, which went through many states.
What was the Great Railroad Strike? The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 was a huge set of protests along the railroads. They fought because their bosses lowered their wages
I. What the Great Railroad Strike has to do with the Labor Movement.
What was the Labor Movement? : This is when workers protest or strike against their bosses in order to raise their wages
The great Railroad Strike was when the railroad workers protested against their bosses in order to raise their wages
II. Leaders, Issues, Workers involved and Outcomes
Many state governors didn’t have enough militia to control the demonstrations so they asked President Rutherford B. Hayes for military support.
According to Credo Reference, “ Hayes eventually deployed troops, but his action only restored law and order and did not deal with the underlying labor conflict.”
By July 29, troops had started to end these protests although railroad workers did not get their wages they had hoped for.
III. Fears of the Business