War in the Coalfields: The “Ludlow Massacre” and its Impact on the Eight-hour workday

The burned out remains of miner’s tents at the Ludlow Tent Colony

Denver Public Library

Recipient: United Mine Workers of America

Amount: $91,260.00

In 1910, Colorado’s coal mining industry employed almost 16,000 of the state’s residents, accounting for nearly 10% of the available jobs market. A large number, despite the fact that coal mining was incredibly risky to the workers who undertook it, particularly in Colorado. In 1912, the death rate for coal miners in the state was double the national average, and over a hundred men died in mine-related accidents by the end of the following year.

Employing approximately 7,000 workers and controlling nearly 70,000 acres of land, the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company was one of the most powerful mining companies during this time period, and one of the worst violators of existing mine safety rules. In response, the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) presented a list of demands that included enforcement of the eight-hour workday and the right to choose their own housing and doctors. Demands that were all rejected by the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, leading to a general strike by the UMWA.

As a result of the strike, coal miners and their families were evicted from their company housing and forced to establish a tent colony in Ludlow, Colorado. Members of the UMWA also armed themselves, as confrontations between the mining company’s private security and the striking coal miners escalated, reaching a breaking point in the Spring of 1914.

On the morning of April 20, National Guardsmen aligned with the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company attacked the Ludlow Tent Colony to try and break the UMWA strike, killing 21 people (including 11 children) in what became known as the “Ludlow Massacre.” This act of collective violence ignited 10 days of continuous warfare in Colorado, until President Woodrow Wilson ordered Federal troops to disarm both sides and restore order. The ensuing public outcry led Congress to direct a House Committee to investigate the events of the massacre, and ultimately produce a report in 1915 which was instrumental in promoting child labor laws and enforcing the eight-hour workday. Today, the landscape where the tent colony once stood is designated as a National Historic Landmark.

Using the financial support of a Preservation Planning Grant, the non-profit United Mine Workers of America will create a Master Plan to guide the preservation and interpretation of the Ludlow Tent Colony Site in a sustainable and ethically responsible manner. This plan will update a previous Site Management Plan to incorporate work completed over the past 20-years and include wider stakeholder input to tell the story of this turning point in U.S. labor history.

Preservation Planning Grants from the National Park Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program support a variety of projects that are focused on the preservation and interpretation of sites of armed conflict, including battlefields and associated sites on American soil. In addition to this grant opportunity, the program also provides financial assistance through Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants.