The 1877 Railroad Strike in Baltimore

We are really excited for Bill Barry's upcoming book talk on his new history of the great railroad strike of 1877—a national wave of proletarian revolt that kicked off right here in Baltimore.  In the meantime, here's a song to get you riled up and ready for some radical history, courtesy of Red Emma's collective member Ryan Harvey...

Thanks to the historical investigations of Baltimore labor activist and educator William Barry, whose new book The 1877 Railroad Strike in Baltimore examines the origins of the first national strike in Baltimore, we now have this remarkable document of 19th century capitalism at work. 

In the letter, Edgar T. Welles of the Gatling Gun Company writes to John Garrett, the president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, whose unvarnished greed had helped spark the massive wave of labor unrest that shook the country in the summer of 1877, and suggests that the company's machine guns are just the thing to help manage labor relations in the future.

Baltimore-related gift ideas for the city that reads.