Today in Labor History January 29, 1834: Chesapeake and Ohio Canal workers rioted. President Jackson sent in troops to quell the unrest. It was the first time the government used troops to suppress a domestic labor dispute. Workers rebelled because of deadly working conditions and low pay. George Washington had designed the canal project. He intended it to facilitate transportation of goods from the Chesapeake Bay to the Ohio River Valley. Construction teams were made up mostly of Irish, German, Dutch and black workers. They toiled long hours for low wages in dangerous conditions. From this, and similar projects of the era, came the line: “the banks of the canals are lined with the bones of dead Irishmen.” Also from this project came the poem:
Ten thousand Micks,
They swung their picks,
To build the new canal.
But the choleray
Was stronger ‘n they
And twice it killed ‘em all.
