page_title: Chicago railroad strike of 1877
section_title: July 23
hierarchical_section_title: Chicago railroad strike of 1877 / July 23
caption_attribution_description: English: State troops encamped outside the post office in Chicago
context_page_description: The Chicago railroad strike of 1877 was a series of work stoppages and civil unrest in Chicago, Illinois, which occurred as part of the larger national strikes and rioting of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. Meetings of working men in Chicago on July 26 led to workers from a number of industries striking on the following morning, and over the next few days, large crowds gathered throughout the city, resulting in violent clashes with police. By the time order was restored on the evening of July 26, 14 to 30 rioters were dead or dying, and 35 to 100 civilian and nine to 13 policemen were wounded.
context_section_description: City authorities prepared for potential unrest in earnest, deploying muskets to police stations and equipping a newly created artillery company with three cannons. The governor ordered local militia to the ready to assist civil authorities if called upon to do so. There were multiple confrontations between crowds and police, forcing the police to retire.
  That night a meeting of as many as 10,000 occurred on Market Street. Speakers impressed on the crowd the need to join the strikes taking place elsewhere. They carried banners reading "We want work, not charity" and Life by work, or death by fight". As one speaker put it, "We must rise up in our might, and fight for our rights. Better a thousand of us be shot down in the streets than ten thousand die of starvation."
  The crowd retired by 11:30 PM, but resolved to meet again at 10:00 AM the following morning.
caption: State Troops encamped outside the post office in Chicago
exif: {}