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Ludlow Massacre
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Colorado Fuel and Iron is Founded
General William Palmer, founder of Colorado Springs, and John Osgood, merge their companies to create Colorado Fuel and Iron. -
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Early Strikes in Colorado Coal Fields
The early strikes in Colorado's coal fields did not last long, and were easily broken. -
The Rockefeller Family Takes Over
John D. Rockefeller Jr., son of the world's first billionaire, and George Jay Gould, a major railroad executive, gain control of the company. -
The United Mine Workers for America get involved
The United Mine Workers of America, a national union, support the miners. They demand fair pay, an 8-hour work day, the right to use any store, pay in dollars instead of company money, the right to choose their own housing and doctors, and enforcement of existing safety laws. -
The Strike Begins
After a union leader is assassinated in Trinidad, the coal miners begin to strike. The UMWA provides them with supplies during this time. The tent city at Ludlow is created four days later. -
Battle of Berwind
Strikers attack the coal camps of Berwind and Hastings. Earlier, the strikers had killed a mine guard. -
The National Guard arrives
The Colorado National Guard, led by Karl Linderfeldt, arrive to keep the peace between the strikers and company agents. -
The Ludlow Massacre
A fire, most likely started by the mine guards, breaks out in the tent colony. 20 strikers die, including 11 children and 2 women. For ten days afterward, strikers destroy coal camps and take over nearby, including Trinidad. -
The Feds End It
President Woodrow Wilson orders the Federal Army to end the war. The Army arrives and takes the weapons of both sides, ending the coal war. -
The Government Investigates
The Commission on Industrial Relations begins to investigate the causes of the massacre, eventually publishing several volumes of writing relating to the events in Ludlow. The ultimate blame for the event falls on John D. Rockefeller Jr., who begins to negotiate with the Union. -
The Rockefeller's Respond
John D. Rockefeller, under public pressure, creates a company union to address the needs of the workers. The is an early event in "PR" -- where major companies get in trouble for public wrongdoing.