Washington Navy Yard Strike (1835)

Fri Jul 31, 1835

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Image: Colored lithograph published by E. Sachse & Company, Baltimore, Maryland, c. 1862. It depicts the Navy Yard as seen from above the Anacostia River, looking north, with Building # 1 and the trophy gun park in the center. [Wikipedia]

On this day in 1835, the first strike of federal civilian employees in the U.S. began when workers at the Washington Navy Yard went on strike for a ten-hour day; the strike devolved into a race riot and failed to achieve its demands.

The strike, known as the Washington Navy Yard Strike, lasted just over two weeks and was part of the ten-hour day movement. Workers also demanded a redress of grievances such as newly imposed lunch hour regulations.

The striking workforce was all-white and took out its frustrations on nearby black communities. On August 12th, workers formed a lynch mob and rioted in the nation’s capital, terrorizing the free black community there for days, until President Andrew Jackson ended the race riot by force.

In what is now known as the “Snow Riot”, white workers attacked establishments run by free black people, such as schools, churches, and businesses. The riot caused public support for the strike to wane, and the black community received no compensation and little public sympathy for the violence they suffered.

Five years later, in 1840, all public workers finally received a ten hour day by order of President Martin Van Buren.