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1877 Pennsylvania. General Assembly. Committee Appointed to Investigate the Railroad Riots in July

Created in the aftermath of the great railroad upheaval of 1877, this Pennsylvania legislative committee assembled a detailed official record of one of the most important labor conflicts of the nineteenth century. Its report is especially valuable for readers interested in eyewitness testimony, government inquiry, and the social tensions of the Gilded Age.

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Report of the Committee Appointed to Investigate the Railroad Riots in July, 1877

Report of the Committee Appointed to Investigate the Railroad Riots in July, 1877

by 1877 Pennsylvania. General Assembly. Committee Appointed to Investigate the Railroad Riots in July

About the author

Formed by the Pennsylvania General Assembly after the railroad riots of July 1877, this committee was charged with investigating the unrest and producing an official report. The resulting volume, published in 1878, is a substantial primary source that gathers testimony, statements, and documentation related to the strikes, violence, and public response.

Because this work was produced by a legislative committee rather than a single literary author, the best way to understand it is as a collaborative government document. It reflects how Pennsylvania officials examined the causes and consequences of the riots, including the role of railroad companies, workers, militia forces, and state authorities.

Today, the report remains useful to historians and general readers alike for its close-up view of labor conflict in industrial America. It offers a window into how public institutions recorded crisis, assigned responsibility, and tried to make sense of a turning point in the history of work and protest.