What was the historical significance of the Great Railroad Strike of Essay

What was the historical significance of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 - Essay Example If we look at this event from a historical perspective, it was the forerunner modern labour laws and unions ("Ohio History Central"). The working class began to realize that they were not just puppets of their employers and they could voice their rights. They also started thinking on the lines that they had a greater chance of having their demands met if they stood up collectively. More and more organized strikes were witnessed in succeeding years and it was not long before labour unions started to form. Even at the time, the most charismatic labourers of the lot started to take control of small groups of fellow labourers marking the first instances of present day union leaders (O. Stowell 128-137). And although proper labour laws were not adapted until after the great depression of the 30’s; the framework for such laws had already been devised due to excessive pressure. This was done by the labour unions via organized strikes, on President Roosevelt (Rhea Dulles and Dubofsky 319-388). The railroad workers of 1877 might just have seen their wage cuts restored, but this marked the beginning of a flurry of strikes across industries which evolved into more coordinated and structured ones over