6. The Ludlow Massacre (1914)
The Ludlow Massacre stands as a grim chapter in America’s labor history. In April 1914, striking coal miners and their families in Ludlow, Colorado, were attacked by the Colorado National Guard and company guards. Gunfire erupted, and the attackers set the miners’ tent colony ablaze. Twenty-five people—including women and children—lost their lives in the chaos. This brutal assault exposed the deadly consequences of labor disputes and corporate power, yet it’s a story rarely discussed in classrooms today.
