United States 1877

Synopsis

In 1877 an explosion of working-class protest rocked the United States. Initiated as a more or less spontaneous railway workers strike, it became generalized into a nationwide crescendo of street protests and pitched battles. Millions of dollars of property was destroyed, more than a hundred lives were lost, with many more injuries. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was at the explosive center of this historic upsurge, but similar confrontations and struggles wracked cities throughout the eastern and midwestern portions of the country. The uprising was systematically repressed but helped to generate future labor struggles.

Timeline

• 1857: In its Dred Scott decision, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that a slave is not a citizen.
• 1862: Major Civil War battles include Shiloh, Second Bull Run (Manassas), and Antietam. During the latter battle, 17 September is the bloodiest day in American history, with nearly 5,000 dead, and more than 20,000 wounded.
• 1867: Establishment...