Today, April 20th, is the anniversary of the 1914 Ludlow Massacre
Today, April 20th, is the anniversary of the 1914 Ludlow Massacre – one of the deadliest incidents in American labour history. This contemporary sketch by Morris Hall Pancoast shows a woman gasping for air while tents burn and Colorado state militiamen shoot protesters. Thousands of coalminers had gone on strike in September 1913 against poor pay, long hours and unsafe conditions. Strikers in Colorado were evicted from company homes and set up tent villages near the mines. On the 20th April, 1914, Colorado state militia opened fire on the tent village in Ludlow, shooting miners and their families in what became known as the Ludlow Massacre. Approximately 21 people were killed, including many women and children – though some accounts suggest the death toll may be much higher. The Ludlow Massacre was a watershed moment in American labor relations, and the site of the tent village is now designated a National Historic Landmark. Today, we remember those who were killed in the...