The first national strike in US history had a rather humble origin. On July 16, 1877, forty railroad workers responded to news of a wage cut by walking out of work and halting train traffic in Martinsburg, West Virginia. That single event triggered a domino effect, spreading the revolt like wildfire throughout the American working class. By the end of the month, one million workers had walked off the job in industrial cities across fourteen states, from New York City to San Francisco. On July 20, a crowd gathered outside the Sixth Regiment armory in Baltimore and began throwing rocks at the militia. The troops responded by firing muskets and charging with bayonets. At least ten people were killed, including “a barefoot and shirt-sleeved paperboy, a sixteen-year-old photography student, and a nineteen-year-old baker,” according to the Baltimore Sun. Days later, the state militia opened fire on a gathering of strikers and their families, killing twenty. By August 1, 1877, the Great Riot had been virtually quelled, and nearly all trains had resumed operation. The events of 1877 gave great impetus and activity to the labor movement throughout the United States, and indeed, throughout the world.
