# F\*ck the "long American tradition of armed resistance to intrusive government" **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 29, 2009, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-ck-the-long-american-tradition-of-armed-resistance-to-intrusive-government/522859 "2009-12-29T00:23:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-ck-the-long-american-tradition-of-armed-resistance-to-intrusive-government/522859/61 "2009-12-30T07:08:58Z")
**lurking guest** , if you insist of ignoring Mod instructions, you can go back to lurking. You are suspended while the staff determines whether you will be permitted to post, here. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-ck-the-long-american-tradition-of-armed-resistance-to-intrusive-government/522859/62 "2009-12-30T08:28:54Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > I did, because I need to emphasize how obnoxious and annoying it is. This is nothing against the poster personally, it’s just that I think people should try to conform to a certain standard of posting here and that includes typing out your post in a paragraph instead of just making a gigantic, long list of things. > [@PrettyVacant](#): > > What did you just do :smack: Whoosh. 😃 But now that **lg** is taking a leave of absence, I’ll let this thread revive. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-ck-the-long-american-tradition-of-armed-resistance-to-intrusive-government/522859/63 "2009-12-30T14:03:57Z")
Hmm – a discussion of American Armed Resistance to government and no one mentions the Great Uprising of 1877 (AKA The Great Railroad Uprising)? Larry Gonick was right – it IS scandalously unreported. The second title is somewhat misleading – it wasn’t just about railroads, but spread to other groups through the labor unions. And it was, certainly in part, directed as much against the government as private industry. It certainly changed its direction when the federal government started opposing it. [http://home.earthlink.net/~trolleyfan/image\_24.html](http://home.earthlink.net/~trolleyfan/image_24.html) > **[Great Railroad Strike of 1877](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Railroad_Strike_of_1877)** > > Monroe Heath > > The Great Railroad Strike of 1877, sometimes referred to as the Great Upheaval, began on July 14 in Martinsburg, West Virginia, after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) cut wages for the third time in a year. The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 was the first strike that spread across multiple different states in the U.S. This strike finally ended 52 days later, after it was put down by unofficial militias, the National Guard, and federal troops. Because of economic problems ... [http://www.eslarp.uiuc.edu/ibex/archive/vignettes/1877\_rr\_strike.htm](http://www.eslarp.uiuc.edu/ibex/archive/vignettes/1877_rr_strike.htm) [http://www.socialistappeal.org/uslaborhistory/great\_railroad\_strike\_of\_1877.htm](http://www.socialistappeal.org/uslaborhistory/great_railroad_strike_of_1877.htm) > **[The great railroad strike, 1877 - Howard Zinn](https://libcom.org/article/great-railroad-strike-1877-howard-zinn)** > > Howard Zinn's short history of the biggest industrial dispute in American history by that time, shutting down half the country's rail network. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-ck-the-long-american-tradition-of-armed-resistance-to-intrusive-government/522859/64 "2009-12-31T04:51:48Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Hmm – a discussion of American Armed Resistance to government and no one mentions the Great Uprising of 1877 (AKA The Great Railroad Uprising)? Larry Gonick was right – it IS scandalously unreported. The second title is somewhat misleading – it wasn’t just about railroads, but spread to other groups through the labor unions. And it was, certainly in part, directed as much against the government as private industry. It certainly changed its direction when the federal government started opposing it. But not _armed,_ no striker used a gun, afaik. Violence, certainly. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-ck-the-long-american-tradition-of-armed-resistance-to-intrusive-government/522859/65 "2009-12-31T11:29:22Z")
And generally, the rioters weren’t armed during the Draft Riots, either. > **[New York City draft riots](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Draft_Riots)** > > The New York City draft riots (July 13–16, 1863), sometimes referred to as the Manhattan draft riots and known at the time as Draft Week, were violent disturbances in Lower Manhattan, widely regarded as the culmination of white working-class discontent with new laws passed by Congress that year to draft men to fight in the ongoing American Civil War. The riots remain the largest civil and most racially charged urban disturbance in American history. According to Toby Joyce, the riot represen Pr... On the other hand, the NY Tribune protected themselves with two Gatling guns, and the Militia fired grapeshot down 6th Avenue. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-ck-the-long-american-tradition-of-armed-resistance-to-intrusive-government/522859/66 "2009-12-31T12:10:32Z")
> [@PrettyVacant](#): > > Compared to a functioning democracy - somewhere with an independent press, with politicians less bought, where - for its own citizens - [habeas corpus.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Padilla_%28prisoner%29) prevails. Stuff like that. I’m going to assume you’re trumpeting your own country here. Care to name it so we can compare notes? ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-ck-the-long-american-tradition-of-armed-resistance-to-intrusive-government/522859/67 "2009-12-31T18:20:48Z")
I think Americans have a long history of wanting to be action heroes. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-ck-the-long-american-tradition-of-armed-resistance-to-intrusive-government/522859/68 "2009-12-31T18:47:32Z")
I’ve got a mind towards being a porn star, myself. But I’ve decided to wait until the kids are all dead. So as not to embarass them. Any further. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-ck-the-long-american-tradition-of-armed-resistance-to-intrusive-government/522859/69 "2009-12-31T18:56:20Z")
> [@sqweels](#): > > I think Americans have a long history of wanting to be action heroes. Hans Gruber: But, you have me at a loss. You know my name but who are you? Just another American who saw too many movies as a child? Another orphan of a bankrupt culture who thinks he’s John Wayne? Rambo? Marshal Dillon? John McClane: Was always kinda partial to Roy Rogers actually. I really like those sequined shirts. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-ck-the-long-american-tradition-of-armed-resistance-to-intrusive-government/522859/70 "2009-12-31T19:00:25Z")
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