The Coal War

Almost a century ago, in the stark Rocky Mountain foothills of Colorado, coal was king, coal miners were armed and restless, and coal barons were ready to kill to keep the fuel coming.

April 20th, 1914, all hell broke loose near Ludlow, Colorado. Open warfare over coal and compensation. The guns came out on all sides. Bullets flew. Fire roared. When it was over, scores had died in the deadliest labor conflict in American history.

A new telling of the Ludlow Massacre traces the conflict to the mansions of the Rockefellers, and deep into the earth. This Hour, On Point: killing for coal.

You can join the conversation. Do you know the history of the Ludlow Massacre? Of killing and coal?

Guests:

Thomas Andrews joins us from Denver. He's Assistant Professor of History at the University of Colorado Denver, and author of "Killing for Coal: America's Deadliest Labor War."

Read an excerpt from the book

Watch Thomas Andrews describe the book at BookVideos TV

Read a review at The New Yorker

Hear a 1974 interview with Mary Thomas (O'Neal), survivor of the Ludlow massacre, at History Matters