By Philip S. Foner 

In July of 1877, one year after the celebration of the one hundredth birthday of the United States, the country was prostrate after five years of economic depression. Railroad workers at Martinsburg, West Virginia, went out on strike against still another wage cut.

 Despite the intervention of the state militia and the US army, the strike extended up the Baltimore & Ohio line and spread rapidly to other lines. The railroad strikes carried the spark of rebellion to other workers in the great cities, including the unemployed.

 Within a few days, 100,000 workers were on strike in the first nationwide labor upheaval. In St. Louis, the Great Strike developed into a systematically organized and complete shutdown of all industry— the first truly general strike in history.