Great Railroad Strike of 1877 in Ohio

In the 1870s, a deep economic depression caused railroads in the East and Midwest to get into rate wars, which cut into their already dwindling income. Revenue on the Baltimore & Ohio, for example, shrank 62% between 1873 and 1877. Despite this, the road continued to issue a 10% dividend between 1873 and 1876, paying for it by cutting jobs and wages. By 1877, firemen on the Baltimore & Ohio went from earning $55 a month in 1873 to $30, and conductors from $90 to $30—the same as they’d made in 1842. This fact came from The Great Railroad Strike in Ohio by this website's creator, Mark Strecker. You can buy it at Amazon or from the History Press.