RPTM Podcast Episode Sixty Five: Whistle Stops and Illuminating Watts

​After the Civil War, America grappled with its identity, and this struggle had profound implications for politics, society, and the economy. The end of Reconstruction marked a worsening situation for African Americans, as Jim Crow laws and inadequate government protection left them vulnerable to discrimination. The shift from agriculture to industrialization created wealth disparities and labor discontent, with workers unhappy about their conditions. In response to these injustices, the NAACP was founded, and influential leaders like Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois emerged. The legal validation of racial segregation in the Civil Rights Cases of 1883 exemplified the challenges faced during this period, known as the Gilded Age. While the United States gained global power, it continued to grapple with civil rights and cultural achievements, with these historical roots evident in contemporary debates. This era serves as a crucial source of lessons for the present, highlighting the importance of remembering the past.

The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 was a pivotal moment in American history that began when workers' pay was reduced by 10 percent at the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in Martinsburg, West Virginia. The protest quickly spread nationwide, revealing the interconnectedness of American workers. Dissatisfaction with poor working conditions and low wages highlighted the growing disparity between laborers and large corporations. This event led to significant changes, including enacting new laws governing labor-management relations, the emergence of labor unions, and gradual improvements in worker conditions. However, the strike also witnessed violence and the use of the military to quell protests, exposing weaknesses in the nation's systems. These strikes marked a significant shift in the workers' movement, fostering more organized and vocal demands for labor rights that extended into the Progressive Era. Their importance endures as they continue to shape ongoing struggles for fair pay, safe workplaces, and the right to organize, making the events of 1877 a guiding force in the fight for workers' rights today.

CHAPTERS:

• 0:00 Start
  
• 2:54 Introduction
  
• 5:43 The Great Railroad Strike of 1877
  
• 8:53 Eadweard Muybridge
  
• 12:54 Commerical Break
  
• 14:47 Thomas Edison's Light Bulb
  
• 17:11 Carlisle Indian Industrial School
  
• 20:10 Dudley Allen Sargent
  
• 22:53 Outro​

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Hosts:
Ryan Lancaster
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HILDY

Producer: Ryan Lancaster
Executive Producer: Ryan Lancaster
Sound Engineer: Ryan Lancaster
Editor: Ryan Lancaster
Theme Music Composer: Craig Riley
Artwork Design: Ryan Lancaster
Recorded at: Ryan Lancaster Studios

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Hey, welcome to the work cited section! Here's where you'll find all the heavy hitters that inspired the content you've just consumed. Some might think citations are as dull as unbuttered toast, but nothing gets my intellectual juices flowing like a good reference list. Don't get me wrong, just because we've cited a source; doesn't mean we're always going to see eye-to-eye. But that's the beauty of it - it's up to you to chew on the material and come to conclusions. Listen, we've gone to great lengths to ensure these citations are accurate, but let's face it, we're all human. So, give us a holler if you notice any mistakes or suggest more sources. We're always looking to up our game. Ultimately, it's all about pursuing knowledge and truth. ​

• Adams, David Wallace. Education for Extinction: American Indians and the Boarding School Experience, 1875-1928. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1995.
• Deloria, Philip J. Indians in Unexpected Places. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2004.
• Du Bois, W. E. B. The Souls of Black Folk. Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Co., 1903.
• Foner, Eric. Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877. New York: Harper & Row, 1988.
• Gordon, Colin. New Deals: Business, Labor, and Politics in America, 1920-1935. Cambridge University Press, 1994.
• Hofstadter, Richard. The Age of Reform: From Bryan to F.D.R. Vintage Books, 1955.
• Hoxie, Frederick E. A Final Promise: The Campaign to Assimilate the Indians, 1880-1920. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1984.
• Jonnes, Jill. 2004. Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World. New York: Random House.
• Josephson, Matthew. 1979. Edison: A Biography. New York: Wiley.
• Sargent, Dudley Allen. Dudley Allen Sargent: An Autobiography. Edited by Ledyard W Sargent. Introduction by R Tait McKenzie. Chicago: Kessinger Publishing, June 13, 2008.
• Sargent, Dudley Allen. Physical Education. Legare Street Press, 2022.
• Sargent, Dudley Allen. Anthropometric Apparatus: With Directions For Measuring And Testing The Principal Physical Characteristics Of The Human Body. Illustrated Paperback. July 18, 2023.
• Solnit, Rebecca. "River of Shadows: Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West." Viking, 2003.
• White, Ronald C. Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2011.
• Zinn, Howard. A People's History of the United States. Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2005.
• Stross, Randall E. 2007. The Wizard of Menlo Park: How Thomas Alva Edison Invented the Modern World. New York: Crown Publishers.

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