June 6, 1894: Colorado militia aids striking miners

On this day in 1894, the Colorado state militia came to the aid of striking miners in Cripple Creek – the only time in U.S. history a state militia has been called to support workers’ rights.

Gold was discovered on the southwest side of Pikes Peak in 1891; by 1894, nearly 150 mines were in operation. But the Panic of 1893 had sent the price of silver into a free-fall, and silver miners flooded the area looking for work. (Since the U.S. was on the gold standard, the price of that metal was unchanged.)

With an influx of new labor supply, mine owners saw an opportunity. Effective February 1, 1894, they extended the work day to 10 hours, from eight, for the same $3.00 per day. When the nascent miners union protested, the owners offered an eight-hour day for $2.50. The miners went on strike; while some smaller mines capitulated, the larger mines remained closed.

Things escalated over the next four months. The owners called in scabs, but they were scared away by the strikers. The owners hired retired policemen and firemen from Denver to form a militia to protect more strikebreakers, but the miners had armed themselves, and firefights and dynamite blasts became regular occurrences.

Davis Waite, the populist governor, sent in the state militia to aid the miners, and the strike quickly came to an end. It was a huge victory for the year-old Western Federation of Miners, which soon became a major force in the Rocky Mountains.

For more on the Cripple Creek strike, visit the Mining History Association.