Annals of the great strikes in the United States : A reliable history and…
"How to speak with the dead" by Sciens is a historical account written in the late 19th century. It focuses on the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 in the United States, tracing its causes in wage cuts and corporate practices, its swift spread across rail networks, and the ensuing confrontations among workers, railroad executives, local authorities, militias, and federal troops, with attention to the agitational role of Internationalist and Communard currents. The
tone is urgent and admonitory, treating the upheaval as a nationwide test of law, order, and the fraught relationship between capital and labor. The opening of the book frames the strikes as a spontaneous, unprecedented shock to the republic, then narrows to the Baltimore & Ohio wage reduction that sparks walkouts and blockades from Baltimore to Martinsburg. Early clashes at Martinsburg reveal unreliable state militia, a shooting at a switch, and a governor forced to appeal to the President, whose proclamation and deployment of regulars under General French still cannot secure train crews. Committees of workers widen the stoppage to other lines and towns as meetings list grievances—successive pay cuts, irregular work, garnished wages, and unsafe conditions—while public alarm mounts. The Internationalists and kindred radicals enter the scene, intensifying fears. The narrative then concentrates on Baltimore’s first major eruption: swelling crowds besiege armories, pelt marching militia, volleys are fired into the mob en route to Camden Station, and the city endures a night of bells, gunfire, and dread. This summary covers only the book’s opening portion. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Dacus, J. A. (Joseph A.), 1838-1885 |
|---|---|
| LoC No. | 08000146 |
| Title | Annals of the great strikes in the United States : A reliable history and graphic description of the causes and thrilling events of the labor strikes and riots of 1877 |
| Original Publication | Chicago: L.T. Palmer, 1877. |
| Credits | Richard Tonsing, Carla Foust, Turgut Dincer, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | HD: Social sciences: Economic history and conditions, Production |
| Subject | Railroad Strike, U.S., 1877 |
| Subject | Strikes and lockouts -- United States -- History -- 19th century |
| Subject | Labor movement -- United States -- History |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 77297 |
| Release Date | Nov 22, 2025 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 387 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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