Directions: Use the document and your knowledge of history to answer the questions that
follow.
“The mob which raided private establishments today closed up nearly all the rolling-mills,
machine-shops and factories on the west side of the river. The mob was not composed of
railroad men, but of tramps, miners, and idle roughs, who seem to have but recently come to the
city. No violence was offered by the mob, as the operatives quit work and the shops suspended
on the first demand in almost every case. In a few instances protests were made, but invariably
the reply was shut up or burn up. The striking railroad men deny any connection with the raids
on the shops, and say they are not responsible for the actions of the mob.”
Source: A July 24, 1877 Washington, D.C. newspaper account of protests in Columbus, Ohio,
during the nationwide railroad strikes in the summer of 1877.
Question 1: Explain why a historian might not think that this passage provides enough evidence
to understand the role of railroad workers during this strike in Columbus?
Source: An English visitor’s description of African Americans on the streets of New York City
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in the 1850s.
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Question 2: Three documents are described below. Explain whether each document could be
used to support the newspaper’s account of the role of the railroad workers in the protest. If the
document could not be used to support the newspaper’s account, explain why not.
a.) A July 26, 1877 editorial condemning the railroad workers for their role in the violence
by a Columbus newspaper known to be sympathetic to the railroad owners.
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CONTINUE ON BACK
b.) A police file on those arrested during riots in St. Louis, Missouri indicating that many of
the rioters were railroad workers.
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c.) A letter written by a railroad worker two days after the protest that describes how he and
his co-workers refused to participate in the violence.
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