Jeremy Keeshin

THE OTHER 1877: NEW FACE OF AMERICAN ECONOMY:

THE GREAT UPRISING OF 1877

How did the law and government react to the crisis? Were they consistent?
Evenhanded?
The government and law reacted poorly to the crisis and were inconsistent and unfair
with their actions. When President Rutherford B. Hayes dispatched troops to resolve the
growing momentum behind the strike, he acted inconsistent and unjustly in the eyes of
the Constitution. Workers should have the right to protest, and killing 20 people does not
seem fitting as a resolution for a strike for higher wages. The recent New York City
transit strike was another example of how important the railway system is. The recent
Union was charged with an illegal strike. In both cases the government does not
recognizes the union’s ability to peacefully protest. The inherently legal strike at its most
important stages is being declared void by the government in their highly inconstant
actions.

What did Gompers mean by “American manhood”? Why did he use that phrase?
When Gompers wrote: “Their rebellion was a declaration of protest in the name of
American manhood against conditions that nullified the rights of American citizens” he
was really speaking on the issue of the age. By “American manhood” he meant restoring
the goodness in the American man. He did not believe that these intense times of poverty
fit into the American dream and the life of an American man. He used that phrase to
depict the enigma of a time in which employers and employees coexisted in harmony
while both furthering their individual goals in a working capitalist society. His idea of
“American manhood” is almost the Communist Utopian America, where good prevails,
or at least attempts to. Gompers really tried to depict a time different that the strike where
labor did not involve rebellion.

Do you think that the strikers were successful or unsuccessful?

I think that the strikers were successful because although the strikes were relatively short
and unorganized, they sparked a movement within the populace of America that made the
people have to think about wages and change. Although change did not occur
immediately in response to the strikes, it was these types of political uprising that paved
the way for future progress. The most important aspect was that railroad workers revved
up members of other industries to protest the terrible treatment that they were receiving.
The poor relationships between boss and laborer did not end here, but it was this initial
step taken by the strikers that catalyzed change and made them successful.

What patriotic appeals did each side make? How did they differ?
Both sides made differing patriotic appeals. The strikers made such appeals to liberty and
that the government was abridging their right. Strikers emphasized freedom; freedom to
strike and to work and receive fair wages. The employers made such appeals as to
question the sense in how the destruction of property could result in higher wages. Both
sides tried to appeal to the Constitution in order to defend their side and achieve their
goal.