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  • [Let Us Have Peace]

    This article from the July 23, 1877 edition of the Chicago Inter-Ocean argues that a strike cannot be allowed to start in Chicago, or the city will see the same bloodshed and violence as in Baltimore and Pittsburgh. The editors state that violence must not be allowed to flourish; despite the contention between railroad workers and railroad executives, peace should trump workplace disagreements.

  • | Illustration

    Workmen Dragging Firemen and Engineers from a Freight Train

    This August 4, 1877 image from Leslie's Illustrated depicts striking and armed railroad workers pulling firemen and engineers from a train in Martinsburg, West Virginia, to protest the pay cuts and the double-heading of trains.

  • | Illustration

    Women Leading a Mob in Baltimore

    Railroad detective Allan Pinkerton's history of the strike emphasized the unruliness of the mob and the threat of foreign, anarchist, and communist influences on American labor. He also emphasized the role of women in inciting the conflict. Here, his illustration shows women leading a mob against the police during the 1877 railroad strike in Baltimore.

  • | Letter

    William P. Jarman's Affidavit, October 27, 1854

    When two slaves were killed on the Blue Ridge Tunnel project, the Board of Public Works attorneys sought sworn affidavits from white men who knew the enslaved men to determine their value for compensation to the slaveholders. The legal process regularized and the practice of industrial slavery on the railroads.

  • | Letter

    William M. Sclater's Proposal to the Board of Public Works, November 1, 1854

    When labor shortages slowed the Blue Ridge Tunnel project, Claudius Crozet solicited proposals from local contracting agents to supply slave labor.

  • | Letter

    William M. Sclater's Affidavit, October 28, 1854

    When two slaves were killed on the Blue Ridge Tunnel project, the Board of Public Works attorneys sought sworn affidavits from white men who knew the enslaved men to determine their value for compensation to the slaveholders. The legal process regularized and the practice of industrial slavery on the railroads.

  • | Newspaper

    Washington

    This article from the July 28, 1877 issue of the Pittsburgh Daily Post notes the actions of the federal government in response to the strike at this point, including instructions to military commanders and the president's policy.

  • | Newspaper

    Washington

    This article from the July 27, 1877 issue of the Pittsburgh Daily Post notes the debate in Washington on how to settle the problems with the railroads.

  • | Newspaper

    Washington

    This July 25, 1877 article from the Pittsburgh Daily Post notes the response of the federal government to the strikes and describes where military personnel will be stationed.

  • | Photograph

    Union Pacific Railroad Engineering camp in Weber Canyon, Utah, 1868

    This is a photograph of a Union Pacific Railroad engineering camp in Weber Canyon, Utah in 1868.

  • | Photograph

    Union Pacific Railroad Brigham Young Construction Camp, Echo Canyon, Utah

    This is a digital photograph of an image of the Union Pacific Railroad's Brigham Young Construction camp in Echo Canyon, Utah.

  • | Newspaper

    Trouble on the Baltimore & Ohio

    This article from the July 17, 1877 edition of the Baltimore American gives an account of the strike's origins in Baltimore, its spread to Martinsburg, West Virginia, the arrival of the miltary, and a description of the demonstrations that took place.

  • | Newspaper

    Traffic Resumed

    This article from the July 30, 1877 issue of the Pittsburgh Daily Post covers the return of freight and passenger rail travel to the entire region and details meetings between railroad workers, railroad owners, and government officials to ensure long-term peace.

  • Timely Advice

    This article from the July 23, 1877 edition of the St. Louis Dispatch advises the Missouri Pacific Railroad to "set the example to other roads to promptly acquiesce in all reasonable demands" by the workers in order to peacefully end the railroad strike.

  • | Letter

    Thomas W. Wood's Affidavit, October 27, 1854

    When two slaves were killed on the Blue Ridge Tunnel project, the Board of Public Works attorneys sought sworn affidavits from white men who knew the enslaved men to determine their value for compensation to the slaveholders. The legal process regularized and the practice of industrial slavery on the railroads.

  • | Letter

    Thomas E. Calvert 1888 strike remarks

    Following the strike of 1888, railroad officials were careful to avoid hiring union members and employees who had "behaved badly" during the 45-day strike. Thomas Calvert, as General Superintendent in Lincoln, worked with railroad officials to help in the process of regulating re-employment.

  • | Photograph

    The Wrecking Train

    This image from The Modern Railroad (1911) shows a number of railroad workers standing atop a wrecking train.

  • | Illustration

    The Workmen's Train

    This image from the November 9, 1872 issue of Harper's Weekly depicts a workmen's train in the subway of London, England as a part of a fictional story entitled London: A Pilgrimage by Gustave Doré and Blanchard Jerrold.

  • | Newspaper

    The Workingmen

    This July 25, 1877 article from the Pittsburgh Daily Post comments on the role of the workingmen in starting the strike and emphasizes their ability to end it as well.

  • The Tyranny of the "Brotherhood"

    This article from the July 25, 1877 edition of the Toledo Blade states the newspaper's strong oppositon to the "tyranny" of the railroad union, whose "managers care nothing for the welfare of the community at large, nor the best good of its members."