'Killing for Coal: America's Deadliest Labor War'

Miners on strike in Colorado
A group of miners on strike in Ludlow, Colo., are seen in this 1914 photograph.
Courtesy Minnesota Historical Society 1914

Coal mining is dangerous.

On April 20, 1914, it was deadly.

Miners in the Rockefeller-owned Colorado coal fields clashed with the state militia and dozens of men, women and children were killed.

It was a classic battle between workers who wanted a say in their workplace, and corporations that didn't want to yield power.

Woody Guthrie even wrote a song about it.

History professor Andrew Thomas of the University of Colorado tells the story of the battle in his book, "Killing for Coal: America's Deadliest Labor War." He spoke Feb. 20 at the Minnesota Historical Society's "History Forum."

Listen to the talk by using the audio player above.

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