Ep. 2. 49: The Great Divorce and the General Strike

This episode examines two traumatic turning points in 1870s St. Louis history: the separation of the city from St. Louis County and the explosive General Strike of 1877. Monsignor and Teresa unpack how mounting infrastructure costs, unequal taxation, and diverging political loyalties led to the “Great Divorce,” a decision whose consequences still shape the region today. Beneath the city’s outward prosperity, they also uncover the roots of widespread labor unrest that culminated in the largest general strike in American history, shutting St. Louis down entirely for days. Together, these crises reveal the fragile foundations beneath the city’s Gilded Age optimism and set the stage for major social and religious responses in the years ahead.