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workers, executives, and the market that he was in. At all times he tried to back almost everyone he had dealings with into a corner so he could reap the benefits of all things railroad. Because of this Gould was an unpopular figure during his life and remains controversial. Gould was cast as a sinister, power-mad figure who intentionally and methodically lured DA 101 leaders into a confrontation that would allow him to destroy the
Knights on his railroads.
864:
583:
No serious violence was reported up through March 10. One strikebreaker was reportedly beaten in Fort Worth. Increasing acts of sabotage, though, bordered on lawlessness: assaulting and disabling moving trains, threatening notes and visits to working engineers, arson fires in yards, and a crowd of
525:
The roots of the strike began in a pattern of labor actions, negotiations and temporary agreements all through 1885. The
Knights of Labor and Gould's Union Pacific had reached an agreement that included the principle that "no man should be discharged without due notice and investigation." This was
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The exercise of state police power on behalf of the railways led union members to retaliate. As the violence spread, public opinion turned against the workers. The physical attacks by the
Pinkerton agents scared thousands of workers into returning to work. The strike was officially called off on
609:
Gould and his railroad executives continued to resist meeting any strike demands. On April 3, a
Tarrant County deputy named Richard Townsend was shot and killed in a confrontation between officers and a crowd of about 500 in Ft. Worth, Texas. Two other deputies were also wounded. On April 9, in
537:
On the opposing side of
District Assembly # 101 of the Knights and Martin Irons was Jay Gould. Gould was a railroad executive, financial speculator, and ruthless monopolist. Gould was a strict and unscrupulous businessman, which made him one of the richest men of his time. Gould had no remorse for
645:
The failure of the great
Southwest railroad strike represented the first major defeat sustained by the Knights of Labor. When the strike did not draw the support of the engineers and other industrial workers, the Knights' vision of an industrial union withered as well. Internal conflict broke out
533:
Martin Irons, who first became a member of the
Knights of Labor in 1884 was instrumental in forming District Assembly 101, which was composed of workers employed by Jay Gould’s southwestern railroads. Irons eventually became the chairman of the executive committee of the union assembly, and later
614:, violence broke out when a crowd of strikers met with eight deputies guarding a freight train. The guards shot into the threatening crowd, killing six bystanders and narrowly avoiding shooting Mayor Maurice Joyce. The angered crowd answered by setting the rail yards on fire.
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demoralized the
Knights of Labor and energized management. By 1890, membership in the Knights of Labor had plummeted by 90 percent. Employers adopted a model for stamping out strikes that called for holding firm and calling for government troops.
588:
marching on the roundhouse to drain the locomotives' boilers. A favorite tactic of the rail workers was to let steam locomotives go cold, forcing the railroad to spend up to six hours slowly reheating the engines for use.
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with other leaders of the
Knights, the governors of Kansas and Missouri, and railroad officials to try to bring an end to the strike. The meeting continued for two days, but the parties were unable to reach an agreement.
617:
After these incidents, Gould requested military assistance from the governors of the affected states. The governor of
Missouri mobilized the state militia; the governor of Texas mobilized both the state militia and the
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became known as the leader of the strike. Irons believed, and fought for a broad and comprehensive union for labor on the premise that it would counterbalance the power of aggregated and incorporated wealth.
967:
622:. The governor of Kansas refused after local officials reported no incidents of violence, despite claims by railway executives that mobs had seized control of trains and that rail yards were burning.
633:. Six Knights were charged with the crime on the evidence of an informer. And on April 8 a striker named John Gibbons was fatally shot by a "non-union switchman and private watchman" in St. Louis.
447:
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While the collapse of the railroad strike set the American labor movement back, alleged organizational problems within the Knights of Labor also became apparent. This led
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read "Traffic Throttled: The Gould System at the Mercy of the Knights of Labor." At the time of the strike, Gould held some 12 percent of all railroad track in the U.S.
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of the carpenters union and others to organize what they considered a more effective labor organization. On December 8, 1886, these men and a few other delegates met in
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This is the occasion where Gould allegedly declared, "I can hire one half of the working class to kill the other half." No source for this quote has been found.
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was fired for attending a union meeting on company time. The District Assembly # 101 of the Knights, and its leader Martin Irons, called a strike.
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509:. At least ten people were killed. The unravelling of the strike within two months led directly to the collapse of the
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involving more than 200,000 workers. Beginning on March 1, 1886, railroad workers in five states struck against the
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Oscar Washington, John Boner, Patrick Driscoll, Richard Ryckman, Mrs. L. Pfeuffer, and C.E. Thompson;
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East St. Louis, Illinois, where about eighty switchmen had gone out on a sympathy strike against the
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refused to honor the strike, and its members kept working. Meanwhile, Gould immediately hired
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Walker, Edith. 'Labor Problems During the First Year of Governor Martin's Administration.'
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The official history of the great strike of 1886 on the Southwestern railway system
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The official history of the great strike of 1886 on the Southwestern railway system
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The official history of the great strike of 1886 on the Southwestern railway system
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between various factions within the Knights, paralyzing the union.
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On April 26 sabotage caused the derailment of a freight train near
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Within a week, more than 200,000 workers were on strike throughout
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U.S. Marshalls attempt. to start a train during the strike in
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1.2 (1887): 184-222; detailed coverage by a leading scholar;
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purportedly violated where a Knight named Charles A. Hall in
844:. No. 30 August 1886. The Lawrence Evening Informer
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Rail transportation labor disputes in the United States
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7th ed. Arlington Heights, IL: Harlan Davidson, 2004.
819:. Missouri Bureau of Labor Statistics. 1886. p.
757:. Missouri Bureau of Labor Statistics. 1886. p.
699:. Missouri Bureau of Labor Statistics. 1886. p.
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892:The Great Southwest Railroad Strike and Free Labor
570:Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen
933:February 1936 (vol. 5, no. 1). pp. 33–53.
782:Texas Lawmen, 1835-1899: The Good and the Bad
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900:Dulles, Foster Rhea and Dubofsky, Melvyn.
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779:Clifford R. Caldwell, Ron DeLord (2011).
649:The great Southwest railroad strike, the
917:"The South-Western Strike of 1886." The
894:(Texas A&M University Press, 2010);
592:On March 19, 1886, Grand Master Workman
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488:Great Southwest railroad strike of 1886
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785:. Arcadia Publishing. p. 164.
576:to work the railroad, some of them
948:1880s strikes in the United States
887:Austin: University of Texas, 1942.
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612:Louisville and Nashville Railroad
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641:Collapse of the Knights of Labor
584:600 Knights and sympathizers in
958:1886 labor disputes and strikes
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596:of the Knights of Labor met in
448:Patco (air traffic controllers)
919:Quarterly Journal of Economics
24:Great Southwest strike of 1886
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931:Kansas Historical Quarterly.
902:Labor in America: A History.
675:American Federation of Labor
515:American Federation of Labor
885:The Great Southwest Strike.
723:"Great Southwestern Strike"
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563:St. Louis Post-Dispatch
227:Missouri National Guard
973:1886 in rail transport
405:NYC teamsters truckers
319:New Orleans waterfront
120:Union Pacific Railroad
598:Kansas City, Missouri
561:. A headline in the
472:Montreal longshoremen
399:Minneapolis teamsters
393:West Coast waterfront
356:West Coast waterfront
289:Great Railroad Strike
231:Texas Volunteer Guard
194:Casualties and losses
48:March 1 – May 4, 1886
16:American labor strike
505:railroads, owned by
411:Vancouver waterfront
594:Terence V. Powderly
454:SEPTA Regional Rail
417:Gulf Coast maritime
374:Portland waterfront
368:Seattle waterfront
225:States mobilized:
915:Taussig, Frank W.
890:Case, Theresa A.
721:Case, Theresa A.
627:Wyandotte, Kansas
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442:1980s–2000s
423:NYC tugboat
387:1930s–1970s
332:1900s–1920s
942:Categories
681:References
521:Background
307:Burlington
631:Kaw River
507:Jay Gould
295:Camp Dump
159:Jay Gould
568:But the
555:Missouri
547:Illinois
543:Arkansas
93:sabotage
70:Missouri
62:Illinois
58:Arkansas
53:Location
848:7 April
826:7 April
798:7 April
764:7 April
728:7 April
706:7 April
637:May 4.
213:Deaths:
205:Deaths:
182:200,000
99:Parties
89:protest
81:Methods
923:online
908:
789:
551:Kansas
495:strike
490:was a
460:Pan Am
172:Number
112:(KOL)
85:Strike
66:Kansas
559:Texas
283:1800s
74:Texas
906:ISBN
850:2016
828:2016
800:2016
787:ISBN
766:2016
730:2016
708:2016
557:and
501:and
486:The
474:2020
468:1997
462:1985
456:1983
450:1981
437:1971
431:1970
429:USPS
425:1946
419:1936
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401:1934
395:1934
382:1922
376:1922
370:1919
364:1919
358:1916
352:1911
346:1907
340:1905
327:1894
321:1892
315:1892
309:1888
303:1886
297:1882
291:1877
45:Date
466:UPS
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