The Great Railroad Strike of 1922

The Great Railroad Strike of 1922 became the fifth biggest labor strike in the nation's history. United States Attorney General at the time, Harry Daugherty said, "Agitation of railroad strikers at Shawnee is at as high a pitch as any point in the United States." Shawnee, Oklahoma became the epicenter in the battle between workers and railroad management. Between July 1, 1922 and January 16, 1923, the town saw massive meetings and demonstrations, shootings on the streets, the invasion of over a hundred deputy marshals, robberies of strikebreakers, and six explosions caused by dynamite within the city limits. By the end of March 1923, twenty-five men had been arrested related to the violence. One of the young men arrested in the strike, James Overstreet would become a notorious bank robber credited with over 15 bank robberies, including one in his hometown of Shawnee, Oklahoma. This book surveys newspaper articles from the Shawnee Morning News, The Daily Oklahoman, the New York Times, the Associated Press, and other periodicals between July 1, 1922 and December 31, 1924.