Workers in America had been disgruntled for some time, so when the owners of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Companies decided to cut pay by 10%, the second reduction in less than eight months, workers in Martinsburg, West Virginia, had had it. On July 16, 1877, the workers who drove the engines stated that no train would leave the station until their pay was returned. The townspeople gathered and rallied their support for the strike. Strikes are when workers refuse to work in protest. The mayor of Martinsburg tried to threaten the workers back to work, but it just made the crowd laugh. The police were too small to make any difference, so the mayor turned to the governor who then called in the National Guard to force the trains to move by force. When the guardsmen arrived, they did not use much effort, for many of them were railroad workers as well. After two people were killed in a shootout, the men of the Guard laid down their weapons and mingled with the crowd. Finally, federal troops were called in by President Hayes, and the trains finally left the station only to be sabotaged and harassed on the way. Only one train reached its destination.

The Martinsburg strike was just a local strike and one of many, but it is important because it spread. Soon other units in the railroad joined in the strike. It soon spread to Pennsylvania and from there moved to the Midwest. All over the country, the police, National Guard, and U.S. Army had conflicts with angry mobs. The wealthy feared a violent worker revolution was sweeping the nation. The strikes, however, proved to be too much. Some were stopped by force and some just gave up. This Great Upheaval was the first mass strike to involve workers from all areas of the United States. So were the strikes a success? It seems like it failed, but many workers did have their demands met. Companies were probably reluctant to cut pay again to avoid more strikes. The Great Upheaval was not planned, which showed how workers had the same concerns with those who controlled the wealth. It showed the power of strike and protest, and it would not be the last.

People were on one of two sides. They either supported the workers or the bosses and each hated the other. Workers were realizing they had strength in numbers and were asking more of their bosses. As those demands were being rejected, they began plotting their schemes to win. At the same time, the bosses were planning their reactions to these schemes. The most common strategy used by the workers was the strike. The workers would refuse to work. The theory was the company would suffer so much financial loss they would agree to the terms. Mostly strikes in the 19th century were not successful. Unions were thinking of other means to get the workers what they wanted.

Some unions issued boycotts. If the workers in a factory could get the townspeople to boycott buying goods from that factory, maybe the factory would lose enough money to meet worker demands. This would only work if the factory only sold to local people. If the workers were desperate enough, they might opt to use illegal means. Sabotage of factory equipment was sometimes used. This kind of violence could even be used against the higher-ups in the company.

The owners of the companies employed their own strategies. Sometimes if the company had enough supplies, they would lock out the workers. If they wanted to cut pay, they would tell the workers not to show up to work until they agreed to the cut. Often new employees were forced to sign contracts stating they would not join a union. Companies used many strategies to counter a strike. They would try to hire others, people called scabs, who would agree to work during a strike. The strikers would often use violence against these scabs. During the 1800s, the national government always would side with the bosses in a labor dispute. If the strike continued, the workers would be arrested and put in prison, and eventually they would send in the militia to break the strikes. Both sides had their reasons for what they did. The owners felt if they paid their workers more, prices would go up and they could not compete. Workers wanted higher wages and better working conditions. The number of American workers could not be ignored and was gaining momentum.