Knowra Great Railroad Strike of 1877 Great Railroad Strike of 1877 A nationwide wave of railway workers’ strikes and related unrest in the United States, sparked by wage cuts and suppressed by state militias and federal troops.
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad : A major American railroad whose wage cuts in 1877 helped trigger the nationwide strike wave. Its Martinsburg, West Virginia, work stoppage began the strike wave.
Panic of 1873 : A financial crisis that began in 1873 and ushered in a prolonged economic depression in the United States and Europe. The depression reduced employment and bargaining power before railroad companies cut wages again.
Rutherford B. Hayes : The nineteenth president of the United States, serving from 1877 to 1881. Hayes authorized federal military intervention as unrest spread across railroad networks.
Railroad strikes : Work stoppages by railway employees protesting pay, conditions, or management decisions. The 1877 events became an early nationwide example of railroad labor conflict.
Baltimore railroad riot of 1877 : A July 1877 clash in Baltimore between striking railroad workers, crowds, and Maryland militia troops. Militia violence there helped spread the stoppage and prompted workers to block rail traffic.
Martinsburg railroad strike : The July 1877 stoppage by Baltimore and Ohio Railroad workers in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Workers there halted trains after a second wage reduction, making the dispute a national crisis.
Long Depression : A period of falling prices and economic stagnation that lasted from the 1870s into the 1890s in many countries. Its prolonged downturn formed the economic backdrop to workers’ wage losses.
John W. Garrett : An American railroad executive who led the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad during the 1870s. Garrett’s company imposed the wage reductions that helped set off the strike.
Labor movement in the United States : Collective efforts by workers in the United States to improve wages, conditions, and political influence. The strike exposed the obstacles workers faced when confronting large employers and government force.
Reading railroad massacre : A July 1877 confrontation in Reading, Pennsylvania, in which state militia killed civilians during strike unrest. It shows how attempts to clear railroad property could produce civilian deaths.
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