"We here mark an epoch in the history of the nation, from which will be dated the beginning of political discussion and social movements destined to attract the deep attention of thinking minds throughout the civilized world .”-JA Dacus, on the Great Railroad Strike, 1877Rapid industrialization during the nineteenth century revolutionized American commerce, communication, politics, and social life. But in the wake of that transformation, an emerging group has been left behind: the ordinary worker. When workers finally rose up in 1877, their cause, which became known as the Great Railroad Strike, marked the first national labor event in U.S. history and served as a turning point for the American labor movement. Although the strike itself failed, it sparked further labor upheaval, American worker organizing, and long-term political and social change. The changing nature of workers' strikes has existed as long as paid employment has existed; records reveal strikes at the Egyptian pyramids thousands of years ago, and the first documented strike in North America occurred in 1636. Yet in the early 1800s, strikes in the United States were local, unorganized, and often illegal. Before the Second Industrial Revolution, in the mid-1800s, the vast majority of workers were self-employed farmers or artisans, so there was no need for strikes.4 In the event of a dispute, workers simply stayed home until disputes were resolved. terms; these "turnouts" were largely peaceful. However, as the nineteenth century progressed, the nature of work changed dramatically. The factory system increased the demand for labor in urban areas, and rural Americans, lured by the offer of a steady wage, saw industrialization as their chance to end… half the paper… century. The first mass strike in U.S. history, the Great Railroad Strike served as a turning point for American workers by spurring widespread labor organizing and nationalizing the American labor movement. While the strike hardly resolved workers' challenges, it politicized the issue of workers' rights, leading to long-term political and social change. Only a few weeks after the strike ended, Washington Capital noted: "Those who understand the forces at play in American society already know that America will never be the same again. For decades, yes, centuries to come, our nation will feel the effects of the tidal wave that overwhelmed him for two weeks in July." Although the journalist who wrote these words could not have imagined the changes the United States would face in the next century, the prediction remains surprisingly accurate..