August 4, 1877 | Illustration
Images of rowdy or drunken strikers were common in the wake of the 1877 strikes.
August 4, 1877 | Illustration
As the Philadelphia Militia was driven from the Twenty-eighth Street roundhouse by rioters, they moved through the streets of Pittsburgh to the supposed safety of the Allegheny Arsenal, frequently under fire.
August 4, 1877 | Illustration
This August 4, 1877 image from Leslie's Illustrated depicts a stealthy and determined crowd setting fire to the Camden Street Railroad Station.
August 4, 1877 | Illustration
Fears of violence during the 1877 strike pushed many states to press local guards and militias into service in railyards.
August 4, 1877 | Illustration
The violence at Pittsburgh resulted in numerous arrests - one is pictured below.
August 4, 1877 | Illustration
With other local clergy, Bishop Twigg of Pittsburgh tried to quell the violence of the strike and rioting.
August 4, 1877 | Illustration
This August 4, 1877 image from Leslie's Illustrated depicts soldiers from the Sixth National Guard Regiment firing into the crowd, which includes women in the foreground and features the crowd hurling bricks, waving clubs, and shooting at the soldiers with a revolver.
August 4, 1877 | Illustration
Strikers greased the tracks running out of Hornellsville up Tip Top Summit, effectively preventing trains from climbing the grade.
August 4, 1877 | Illustration
This image comes from a series of illustrations "Scenes In The Armory Of The Seventh Regiment, N.G.S.N.Y." depicting the soldiers' stay in their armory in preparation for violence on the streets of New York.
August 8, 1877 | Newspaper
This brief article, an opinion taken from PUCK Magazine, speculates about the future position of railroad employees.
August 8, 1877 | Contract
In this August 8, 1877 application to buy land from the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Company, Joseph Fischer purchases 160 acres in Lancaster County, Nebraska for $7.00 per acre. An immigrant from Bohemia, Fischer took advantage of the railroad's 10-year credit plan to finance his new purchase. Railroad credit plans enabled immigrants and others who lacked ready cash to buy land.
August 8, 1877 | Illustration
This cover image from the August 8, 1877 issue of PUCK Magazine depicts Henry Ward Beecher as a hypocrite.
August 8, 1877 | Newspaper
This short poem or "fable" appeared in the August 8, 1877 issue of PUCK Magazine as lesson for strikers.
August 8, 1877 | Illustration
This illustration from the August 8, 1877 issue of PUCK Magazine mocks the Fifth Pennsylvania Regiment's efforts to put down the riot.
August 11, 1877 | Illustration
This August 11, 1877 image from Leslie's Illustrated depicts the U.S. cavalry charging into the crowd in Chicago on July 26, 1877, and emphasizes the crowd's fear and panic in the face of sabers-drawn, overwhelming military response.
August 11, 1877 | Illustration
This August 11, 1877 front page from Leslie's Illustrated is meant to capture the immediacy of the violence and action associated with the strikes.
August 11, 1877 | Illustration
The strike spread from Baltimore into small towns, big cities, and rural areas in the summer of 1877. This August 11, 1877 image from Leslie's Illustrated depicts a gang of workers under the protection of the 23rd New York State National Guard Regiment repairing the tracks near Corning, New York.
August 11, 1877 | Illustration
An August 11, 1877 image from Leslie's Illustrated depicting a New York City meeting in Tompkins Square; both supporters and opponents of the strike are visible in the image. Note the placard to the side of the stage: "Our Strength Lies in the Justice of Our Demands Let the Workingmen of the World Unite."
August 11, 1877 | Illustration
During the strikes, New York's Seventh Regiment occupied the armory for several days in preparation for violence in the city. Although there were several large meetings held, no mob action took place in New York.
August 11, 1877 | Illustration
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.