TROLLEY WARS
American cities rapid expansion after the Civil War fueled the growth of organized transportation systems omnibuses, horsecars, and later electric streetcars. Trolley Wars traces the social dynamics of these first masstransportation systems as they developed in Rhode Island, the most urbanized state in Gilded Age America. Covering years of careening growth, Scott Molloy focuses on the laborers who operated the transit system, the changing ownership of the streetcar lines, and the strong bond that grew between trolley crews and passengers a bond that sustained a powerful political alliance during the bitter car wars of 1902. Nineteenthcentury motormen and conductors often spent their entire career on one route, becoming sentinels of the community with loyal followings among riders. As the changeover from horsepower to electricity revolutionized urban travel, outofstate syndicates purchased the transit lines and instituted costsaving measures that irritated employees and patrons alike. Even more unsettling was the links between the corporations and the Republicandominated state legislature in Rhode Island an unholy alliance that ignored the organized carmens demand for better wages, shorter hours, and safety improvements. A showdown, Molloy demonstrates, was inevitable. Labors response to corporate arrogance and corrupt politics galvanized citizens throughout Providence, Pawtucket, and surrounding industrial areas. The ensuing walkout, transit boycott, strike, and fundraising efforts to aid picketing workers during the car wars were supported across class lines and directed at both the railroad and the politicians. Molloy dissects Rhode Islands 1902 car wars and relatesthem to a larger pattern of labor unrest and urban malaise throughout the country. He argues that the development of urban mass transportation involved a battle for control of city streets and city government. By focusing on transit workers in Rhode Island, Trolley Wars
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American cities rapid expansion after the Civil War fueled the growth of organized transportation systems omnibuses, horsecars, and later electric streetcars. Trolley Wars traces the social dynamics of these first masstransportation systems as they developed in Rhode Island, the most urbanized state in Gilded Age America. Covering years of careening growth, Scott Molloy focuses on the laborers who operated the transit system, the changing ownership of the streetcar lines, and the strong bond that grew between trolley crews and passengers a bond that sustained a powerful political alliance during the bitter car wars of 1902. Nineteenthcentury motormen and conductors often spent their entire career on one route, becoming sentinels of the community with loyal followings among riders. As the changeover from horsepower to electricity revolutionized urban travel, outofstate syndicates purchased the transit lines and instituted costsaving measures that irritated employees and patrons alike. Even more unsettling was the links between the corporations and the Republicandominated state legislature in Rhode Island an unholy alliance that ignored the organized carmens demand for better wages, shorter hours, and safety improvements. A showdown, Molloy demonstrates, was inevitable. Labors response to corporate arrogance and corrupt politics galvanized citizens throughout Providence, Pawtucket, and surrounding industrial areas. The ensuing walkout, transit boycott, strike, and fundraising efforts to aid picketing workers during the car wars were supported across class lines and directed at both the railroad and the politicians. Molloy dissects Rhode Islands 1902 car wars and relatesthem to a larger pattern of labor unrest and urban malaise throughout the country. He argues that the development of urban mass transportation involved a battle for control of city streets and city government. By focusing on transit workers in Rhode Island, Trolley Wars
