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  • | Annual report

    The Mountain Top Track

    This December 1, 1856 report details the high maintenance costs for track running through the Blue Ridge mountains.

  • | Illustration

    The Police Watching, In Concealement, The Crowd in Tompkins Square

    Although there was no large-scale unrest in New York, crowds did gather in Tompkins Square during the Railroad Strike. Tompkins Square had been the site of civil unrest and rioting at several points in New York history, including during the 1863 Draft Riots, and police feared speakers would rile up strike supporters.

  • | Newspaper

    The President Asks for Information

    In response to West Virginia Governor Henry M. Matthews request to President Hayes for U.S. troops in the crisis, Secretary of War George W. McCrary replies by asking for details about the scale and scope of the "insurrection."

  • | Newspaper

    The President's Proclamation

    On July 18, 1877, President Rutherford B. Hayes issued a proclamation calling the citizens engaged in the strike to peacefully disperse and return to their homes.

  • | Photograph

    The Railroad Conductor

    This image from The Modern Railroad (1911), shows a railroad conductor at work.

  • | Newspaper

    The Railroad Strike

    This article from the July 28, 1877 issue of the Pittsburgh Daily Post notes a misunderstanding between the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Colonel Thomas A. Scott regarding whether or not Scott could have prevented the outbreak of violence.

  • | Photograph

    The Railroad Track Walker

    This image from The Modern Railroad (1911), captures a track walker, lantern in hand, performing his nightly duties.

  • | Newspaper

    The Railroad War

    This July 21, 1877 article from the Pittsburgh Daily Post details the extent of the railroad strike and the government's efforts to suppress it through military force.

  • | Newspaper

    The Railway Strike

    This article from the July 21, 1877 edition of the London Times gives an account of the strike's changing scope following the arrival of Federal troops as well as the suspicion of its growth in other cities around the country.

  • | Newspaper

    The Riot Begins

    This July 21, 1877 article from the Baltimore American gives an account of the strike's opening moments and details the confrontation between the police, the military, and the mob.

  • | Newspaper

    The Road To Hell Is Easy

    This editorial from the July 26, 1877 issue of the Pittsburgh Daily Post discusses the social ramifications of the strike and wonders why a solution cannot be reached between the railroad owners and the railroad strikers.

  • | Newspaper

    The Situation

    These selections from the July 27, 1877 issue of the Pittsburgh Daily Post note the expectation that all strikers will soon return to work. They also describe the arrival of General Hancock's troops and detail the legislation enacted in response to the strikes.

  • | Newspaper

    The Situation

    This article from the July 28, 1877 issue of the Pittsburgh Daily Post notes the expected next-day arrival of General Hancock and volunteer troops and outlines what the editors believe will be a satisfactory end to the strike in Pittsburgh.

  • | Newspaper

    The Situation at Martinsburg

    This article in the July 18, 1877 edition of the Baltimore Sun gives an account of the previous day's confrontation in Martinsburg, West Virginia.

  • | Newspaper

    The Strike

    This July 23, 1877 editorial in the Baltimore American emphasizes the participation of the "lawless classes" in the strike, hijacking it from the employees and turning it into a dangerous national threat, similar to the Paris Commune.

  • The Strike

    This article from the July 23, 1877 edition of the St. Louis Daily Globe-Democrat condemns the recent actions of the railroad strikers and hopes that the city can avoid a repeat of the violence in Pittsburgh, where the mob has "pillaged and burned and murdered in the carnival of crime."

  • The Strike

    This article from the July 24, 1877 edition of the St. Louis Dispatch notes the outbreak of violence in the city and states that "the railroad war in St. Louis has actually begun." The newspaper condemns the workers who are destroying property, but supports the "real workingmen" who "do not cut their own throats in this way."

  • | Newspaper

    The Strike at Home

    This article from the July 20, 1877 issue of the Pittsburgh Daily Post describes the blockade of the by railroad workers on strike and describes the strike's impact on the entire region.

  • | Newspaper

    The Strike Ended and Trains Moving

    This article from the July 30, 1877 issue of the Pittsburgh Daily Post calls the end of the strike a failure for the railroad workers and warns of the potential for a hollow truce between the railroad workers and the railroad owners.

  • | Newspaper

    The Strike in West Virginia

    This article from the July 20, 1877 edition of the London Times provides a description of the strike-related events in West Virginia.