US Edition
1914 Ludlow Massacre took lives of 25 miners and family members during bitter strike for fair wages and conditions
Congressional investigators examined Colorado mine safety after the massacre, citing fatality rates more than twice the national average and harsh strike conditions.
- On April 20, 1914, the Colorado National Guard and Baldwin-Felts security opened fire on a tent colony in Ludlow, Colorado, killing 25 people, including two women and eleven children trapped when the camp was intentionally set ablaze.
- In September 1913, about 10,000 workers employed by Colorado Fuel and Iron went on strike, represented by the United Mine Workers seeking an eight-hour workday and compensation for travel time in the mines.
- The House Committee on Mines and Mining investigated the event, finding Colorado mines had a fatality rate of 7.06 per 1,000 employees versus the national rate of 3.15, and described the strike by workers as "against arbitrary power."
- In 1935, Congress passed the National Labor Relations Act, signed by President Franklin Roosevelt, granting workers the federal right to bargain over wages, hours, and employment conditions—the very demands Colorado miners sought in 1913.
- Commemorating the event, the United Mine Workers purchased 40 acres of land where the tent colony stood; today, the site serves as a National Historic Landmark, preserving how workplace safety laws came about through workers' sacrifice.
15 Articles
15 Articles
1914 Ludlow Massacre took lives of 25 miners and family members during bitter strike for fair wages
On a spring morning in 1914, miners in Ludlow, Colorado, were celebrating Greek Easter when the Colorado National Guard and a private security agency opened fire on their camp with a machine-gun-equipped armored car called the Death Special. The miners waged a pitched battle with the National Guard for 10 days before President Woodrow Wilson ordered federal soldiers to intervene. An estimated 69 to 199 people were killed. It was the end of one o…
The Conversation
1914 Ludlow Massacre took lives of 25 miners and family members during bitter strike for fair wages and conditions
The Ludlow Massacre in 1914 on this site brought congressional attention to miners' labor rights in Colorado. Denver Public LibraryOn a spring morning in 1914, miners in Ludlow, Colorado, were celebrating Greek Easter when the Colorado National Guard and a private security agency opened fire on their camp with a machine-gun-equipped armored car called the Death Special. The miners waged a pitched battle with the National Guard for 10 days before…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
