The St. Louis General Strike in 1877

The St. Louis general strike in 1877 that I was just mentioning there was a multiracial coalition of worker organizers who literally took charge of the strike. Race was a huge factor in why the strike spread and how the workers took over. When it became clear that the militias were being called into St. Louis to attack the city the workers demanded that they appropriate money to acquire arms to defend the city but they refused to do that. They eventually tried to call off the strike which lasted a few days.