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  • | Illustration

    "Wife—I Guess We've Got To Strike!"

    This cover illustration from the August 1, 1877 issue of PUCK Magazine depicts a poor family's decision to go on strike.

  • | Photograph

    28th St and Upper Round House, citizens shot here

    Part of a series of stereographs published in the wake of the 1877 Railroad Strike. The images show the destruction at Pittsburgh, which resulted from violent clashes July 21-22.

  • | Newspaper

    A British View of the Baltimore Strike

    This excerpt from the July 18, 1877 edition of the London Times offers a glimpse into the British view of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Strike.

  • | Photograph

    A Freight Crew and Its Hack

    This image from The Modern Railroad (1911) captures a railroad freight crew posing with an Erie Railroad car in the background.

  • | Newspaper

    A General Riot

    This article from the July 21, 1877 issue of the Baltimore American describes the scene of the riot near the Sixth Maryland Regiment armory.

  • | Newspaper

    A General Strike

    This article from the July 20, 1877 edition of the Baltimore American gives an account of the strike and notes the military's effectiveness at calming the mob, but the reluctance of railroad workers to return to work.

  • | Newspaper

    A Perilous Night—fire—riot—murder

    This editorial from the July 21, 1877 edition of the Baltimore American emphasizes the strike and violence was preventable if adequate police had been on the scene and available.

  • | Illustration

    A Pun on Kars

    This image from the August 1, 1877 edition of PUCK Magazine is a pun on Kars (a city in Turkey) that depicts a soldier being pulled behind a railroad car.

  • | Photograph

    A Railroad Engineer "Fussing At His Machine"

    This image from The Modern Railroad (1911), shows a railroad engineer, "oil-can in hand," lubricating the wheel of a locomotive.

  • | Photograph

    A Railroad Fireman Shoveling Coal

    This image from The Modern Railroad (1911), captures a railroad fireman shoveling coal into the firebox.

  • | Newspaper

    Account of the "Golden Spike" Ceremony, Promontory Point, UT on May 10, 1869

    This account of the "Golden Spike" ceremony at Promontory Point, Utah on May 10, 1869, as printed in the May 11th edition of the Salt Lake Telegram, describes the festivities involved and lists some of the important attendees. Following the article, the compiler offers a one-sided picture of the situation regarding pay for the Union Pacific's construction crews and details Samuel Reed's actions after the ceremony.

  • | Newspaper

    After the Riot

    This July 24, 1877 article from the Pittsburgh Daily Post chronicles the efforts of militia, the police, and citizens to put down the railroad strike.

  • | Newspaper

    Among the Ruins

    This article from the July 25, 1877 issue of the Pittsburgh Daily Post notes the railroad strike's extensive destruction and details public and private efforts to keep it under control.

  • | Newspaper

    An Alarm Of Fire

    This article from the July 21, 1877 issue of the Baltimore American describes the mob setting fire to railroad passenger cars and an engine.

  • | Photograph

    An Army of Clerks

    This image from The Modern Railroad (1911), depicts a room full of freight department clerks.

  • | Annual report

    Annual Report to the President and Directors of the Board of Public Works, 1850

    When proposed and the first efforts made in 1850, the Blue Ridge Tunnel was to be the longest tunnel in North America. Claudius Crozet, as chief engineer, warns his Board of Public Works against comparing its progress with other tunnels. The condition of the rock and the scale of the project were different and unprecedented, respectively. Crozet tries to educate the Board on the nature of the project.

  • | Newspaper

    Arbitration as a Remedy

    This letter from the July 30, 1877 issue of the Pittsburgh Daily Post discusses the resolution of the railroad strike and argues that the railroad owners handled the situation poorly. Their inept decision-making required the railroads to seek government assistance to remedy their mistakes.

  • | Newspaper

    ART. IX.—The Recent Strikes

    This August 13, 1877 article reports on the violence and destruction of the Great Railroad strike in cities across the eastern United States.

  • | Newspaper

    At The Hospital

    This article from the July 21, 1877 issue of the Baltimore American describes scenes from the hospital after the Baltimore riots.

  • | Letter

    Attorney General W.P. Bocark's Opinion Regarding the Bureau of Public Works' Liability for Slaves Killed on Blue Ridge Railroad, November 1, 1854

    When two slaves were killed on the Blue Ridge Tunnel project, slaveholders held the Virginia Board of Public Works, which had hired slaves through contractors, liable for the losses. Affidavits were taken on the value of the slaves, their character and history. The Attorney General of Virginia, W. P. Bocock, ruled that whether the slaves were killed on the Virginia Central Rail Road Co. or the Blue Ridge project was immaterial, and that the Board of Public Works was liable for reasonable compensation to the slaveholders.