Essay on The Great Railroad Strike

Life in the early 1900’s wasn’t easy. Competition for jobs was at an all time high, especially in New York City. Immigrants were flooding in and needed to find work fast, even if that meant in the hot, overcrowded conditions of garment factories. Conditions were horrid and disaster was inevitable, and disaster did strike in March, 1911. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York set on fire, killing 146 workers. This is an important event in US history because it helped accomplish the tasks unions and strikes had tried to accomplish years earlier, It improved working conditions in factories nationwide and set new safety laws and regulations so that nothing as catastrophic would happen again. The workplace struggles became public after

In the late 1800s and the early 1900s, labor was anything but easy. Factory workers faced long hours, low pay, high unemployment fears, and poor working conditions during this time. Life today is much easier in comparison to the late 1800s. Americans have shorter days, bigger pay and easier working conditions. Not comparable to how life is today, many riots sparked, and citizens began to fight for equal treatment. Along with other important events, the Haymarket Riot, the Pullman Strike, and the Homestead strike all play a vital role in illustrating labor’s struggle to gain fair and equitable treatment during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

After the civil war, up until the early 1900s, the need for a larger workforce grew as industrialization expanded. Samuel Slater brought the industrial revolution from England, and even since then, there were people trying to get better working conditions. Due to the growth in population by immigrants and expansion of industrialization, the working conditions became worse and worse, causing workers to suffer. Many people fought to solve this problem and changed many American’s lives for the better.

In the late 1800, conflicts arose from farmers, workers, and railroad companies. These issues were resolved by significant battles among them, but never had an affect on the railroads. The railroads charged an extraordinary amount of money for transportation of products. This made farmers extremely outraged, and made them use their money more wisely than spend it on the transportation of their products. The railroad companies misused their money given by the government to gain profit of off land grants. The competition led to workers going on strike for their budgets being cut. These concepts show that railroads, in their wasteful competition, exploited farmers and workers because of budget cuts, transportation of products, and rates.(Introduction, Timeline)

The Great Railroad Strike, also known as the Great Upheaval, commenced on July 14 in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Due to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroads lowering wages for the third time in a year, the workers began to revolt. The strike lasted 45 days before it was put down by local and state militias and federal troops. The strike in West Virginia set off a chain reaction resulting in workers in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Illinois, and Missouri going on strikes. The strike disrupted work everywhere, as 100,000 workers across the country supported it. Workers burned down factories and destroyed railroads, engines, and cars. In response to the chaotic strike, the railroads organized private militias, as did the city and state governments,

For the American laborer, factory worker, and farmer, the early twentieth century addressed a wide multitude of social and economic issues all across the board. Immigration, World War II and all of its supports and anti-war protests, the strong governmental reinforcement of laws that prohibited alcohol, radical literature, and any behavior that was considered “unpatriotic,” this century was full of revolutionary change. But one of the most notable issues of this time was the public growth of Socialism, an economic theory in which manufactured goods and delivery were governed not by the elite, but by the community as a whole. Between 1915 and 1920 especially, Socialism was beginning to pick up speed, as it had originated from the tense cracks that had begun to grow and fester between the working class and bourgeois. While the elite enjoyed the lavish wealth and ample opportunities that were available to only them alone, working class Americans gradually grew dissatisfied by their unsanitary conditions, 10 to 12 hour dangerous workdays, and very little pay. It was no wonder that during this time, the IWW and the phenomenon known as “strike fever” was born.

The late nineteenth century (1875-1900), having just witnessed the long years of Reconstruction, left America in the spirit of change. This ardor led to the creation of new technological advancements such as the remodeled sewing machine but most importantly it changed the way workers wanted to be treated and payed. But during this time, organized labor was unsuccessful in improving the working conditions of laborers due to the abundance of violent attacks and the inability to overcome different backgrounds.

This event went on for ten days. It was a protest of low wages, unemployment, and the general condition of the economy (Volume 2 From Reconstruction, 2015, p. 487). This strike begin with the railroad company, of which was founded on immigrant workers, which were vital to the progression of the industrialized Americana. It was laid down by 13,500 men. Out of that number, 12,000 were Chinese workers (Volume 2 From Reconstruction, 2015, p. 450).

In an editorial from the New York Times on July 18, 1877, it states that the railroad strike was merely just a result of ignorant men who couldn’t fully understand their own interests (Doc. B). This editorial also demonstrated the lack of sympathy that the general public felt towards strikers. A new union that formed after the disintegration of the National Labor Union was the Knights of Labor. These “knights” wanted both economic and social improvements, and to achieve the 8-hour work day. They won many strikes for the 8-hour work day, but were associated with anarchists on some occasions. Their little success with later strikes proved to be their eventual downfall. A union different from both the National Labor Union and the Knights of Labor was the American Federation of Labor. Founded by Samuel Gompers in 1886, this federation only yearned for fair shares and social improvements. Their motivations were demonstrated in a testimony of Samuel Gompers before a commission in 1899; in this he proclaims that unless working people strike, improvements will only go toward their employers, not them (Doc. I). Through their different appeals, the American Federation of Labor proved to be a standout union in the late 19th century.

All of the low wages, long and hard work days, as well as the poor working conditions were not only in the railroad industry. The railroad was a large one because they hired one in every 25 people in The United States. Every industry at this time was in a state of change, needing workers as well as newer and faster methods of production to keep up with the demand. The packing industry is another example of poor working conditions and long hours. There was a large need for change in the air as many people were getting upset with the conditions. Soon for them to have new immigrants come into The United States.

The two major Railroad Strikes were the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 and Railroad Shop workers Strike of 1922. The Great Railroad Strike of 1877, was due to workers not being happy about the pay cuts that were being made by their employer so often. Northern Railroads began cutting salaries and wages. Because of various railroads cutting wages by 10% back to back, workers were not willing to continue working under those conditions. Not only were the wages of the workers being cut, the amount work of work given to the employees increased and the employer did not hire additional workers. This then caused railroad employees to respond by taking control of the rail yard switches, and blocking movement of trains. Throughout various cities such as Baltimore, Pittsburg, St. Louise, and Chicago, Violent acts began to occur. Many people died throughout the cities. The strike cause the country’s commerce to become paralyzed and pushed governors in different states to utilize militia members to reopen rail traffic. This action also helped set the stage for violence that would occur later in the 1880s and 1890s.

On July 8, 1892, the workers of the Amalgamated Association had disbanded from Homestead due to the strike that had occurred in June 30th. However, this was able to occurred thanks to the actions that had taken place a few years back to the actions that were taken in the late 19th century such as the beginning of the want of work change. As Albert Parsons wanted, the process of changing did go by degrees, which is seen in the edge of the 20th century. In June 26 of 1894, he American Railway Union protested just was what had happened in the following

Once the rebellions and strikes settled down in the nineteenth-century people could continue working and could have the ability to have major success while working. There were favorable outcomes in terms of money, workers needs, and the ability to spread the political power around so it was not concentrated and owned by one person or company for each prospective market. While the decrease in strikes, eight-hour workdays, and compensation for some workers looked to have made gain in the labor workforce, it actually was the opposite. Problems still surfaced like the division of the workforce ethnically and racially, increase in immigrants, and the enlargement of wealth for the big political figures and the people in command.

The workers in the industrial era were up against many changes that they needed to adapt to. Often times in the high Industrial age, faster machines enabled efficient production at the compromise of the worker’s safety, thus needing to adapt to a more hostile work environment. The ever-dwindling salary of workers in the factories and mills catalyzed the need to adapt to a new, poverty-stricken lifestyle. Workers who sailed from Europe in hopes of securing job in America were received with little respect in the industry, and they now needed to adapt to an American Industry that they had no experience in. These worker injustices ultimately led up to strikes and the governmental evaluation of big manufacturers such as Pullman’s industries.

First of all, coal miners asked to shorten the working hours to six hours per day and five days a week and increased the wages to 60 percent. According to the textbook, the American promise, in 1919, workers had to work seven days a week and twelve hours per day normally. Thus, I agree with the miners for asking to reduce the working days and hours. I believed that working twelve hours a day was too long for a person and indeed the workers should get higher pay. I also thought that asking for 60 percent of the raise sound like a little too much because from the cooperative point of view, reducing