The Great Strike of 1877 was one of the first of its kind, infectious enough to spread through the nation. As it collected tens of thousands of supporters, the strike shut down the American railroad system for six weeks before Pinkerton spies thwarted their revolution and put the freight trains back on rail. In the end, the Great Strike failed. But it begs to be asked: would the outcome have changed if the strikers had organized under a labor union strong enough to keep them fighting? One such union, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), would be founded in 1905. In conjunction with the Socialist party, the IWW effectively created change, largely due to its appeal to all kinds of laborers and its persistence. The IWW provided a labor
