Question

Describe three specific roles that the Railroad industry played in factories and cities between 1877 and 1920. How did the railroad strikes of 1877 affect the reconstructed nation?

Answer 1

Railroads played a major role in the United States ' development from the North-East Industrial Revolution (1810–1850) to the West Settlement (1850–1890). The American railroad mania began with the founding of the first passenger and freight line in the Baltimore and Ohio Railway nation in 1827 and the "Laying of the First Stone" ceremonies and the start of its long construction in the west over the barriers of the eastern chain of the Appalachian Mountains in the following year of 1828.

Although the antebellum south began building railways early, it focused on short lines connecting cotton regions with ocean or river ports, and the lack of an interconnected network was a major handicap during the Civil War The North and Midwest developed networks that linked each city before the war in 1860. More than 80% of farms were within 5 miles (8 km) of a railway in the heavily settled Midwestern Corn Belt. Shipping to national and international markets of grain, hogs and cattle. A large number of short lines were constructed, but by 1890 the majority were consolidated into 20 trunk lines thanks to a rapidly developing financial system based on Wall Street and geared towards railway bonds. Lines often funded by state and local governments, but never controlled them

Freight railways continue to play an important role in the economy of the United States, especially in moving imports and exports using containers, as well as coal and oil shipments

The 1877 Great Railroad Strike started with a work stop by West Virginia railway employees who protested a reduction in their wages. And it quickly turned into a national movement that initially isolated event. Railroad workers in other states walked away from work and severely disrupted commerce in the East and Midwest. Within a few weeks, the strikes ended, but not before major vandalism and violence incidents.

Workers on a different line, the Pennsylvania Railroad, struck in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania within days, on July 19, 1877. 600 federal troops from Philadelphia were sent to break up demonstrations with the local militia sympathetic to the strikers. The troops arrived in Pittsburgh, faced local residents, and eventually fired into protest crowds, killing 26 and wounding many more. In a panic, the crowd erupted, burning trains and houses.

A few days later, on July 23, 1877, the New York Times, one of the nation's most prominent newspapers, published a front-page story called "The Labor War." Pittsburgh's account of the war was chilling, portraying federal troops unleashing sniper fire volleys at civilian crowds. Local citizens rushed to the scene as the shooting word spread through Pittsburgh. The outraged mob set fire to the Pennsylvania Railroad and destroyed several dozen buildings.