In this Book
- From Redstone to Ludlow: John Cleveland Osgood's Struggle against the United Mine Workers of America
- 2011
- Book
- Published by: University Press of Colorado

summary
The most comprehensive study of John Cleveland Osgood to date, From Redstone to Ludlow covers events from 1892, when Osgood and his associates organized the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, to 1917, when Osgood signed a contract with the United Mine Workers of America, marking the end of his long history of battling the union. Called the Fuel King of the West, Osgood was the leading coal baron in the western mountain region and the most prominent spokesperson for the coal industry for over three decades. During this time, his anti-union policies made him the UMWA's most formidable foe in its effort to organize the Colorado coalfields.
From Redstone to Ludlow depicts the bipolarity of his approach to the threat of unionism. The "Redstone experiment," a model industrial village designed to improve the lives of workers through social programs, showed Osgood's efforts to attain his anti-union goals through compassion. Conversely, the Ludlow tent colony and the events that transpired there, marked by armed gunmen and machine guns paid for by Osgood, illustrate his willingness to resort to violence and intimidation for the same purpose. A leading participant in the transformation of the West, Osgood helped to shape the character of the Gilded Age. Today, the beautiful village of Redstone and a granite memorial at Ludlow are reminders of Osgood's complex role in the clash between labor and management during the most violent industrial struggle in American history.
From Redstone to Ludlow depicts the bipolarity of his approach to the threat of unionism. The "Redstone experiment," a model industrial village designed to improve the lives of workers through social programs, showed Osgood's efforts to attain his anti-union goals through compassion. Conversely, the Ludlow tent colony and the events that transpired there, marked by armed gunmen and machine guns paid for by Osgood, illustrate his willingness to resort to violence and intimidation for the same purpose. A leading participant in the transformation of the West, Osgood helped to shape the character of the Gilded Age. Today, the beautiful village of Redstone and a granite memorial at Ludlow are reminders of Osgood's complex role in the clash between labor and management during the most violent industrial struggle in American history.
Table of Contents
- 1: Fuel King of the West
- pp. 12-31
- 2: Industrial Betterment
- pp. 32-54
- 4: The 1903 – 1904 Strike
- pp. 82-101
- 6: Conditions in Southern Colorado Coalmines
- pp. 122-139
- 7: The 1913 – 1914 Strike
- pp. 140-160
- 8: Tents, Arms, and a Tumult Threatened
- pp. 161-186
- 9: The Editors’ and Governor’s Conferences
- pp. 187-209
- 10: Congressional Investigation
- pp. 210-231
- 11: The Ludlow Massacre
- pp. 232-255
- 12: The Ten Days’ War
- pp. 256-276
- 13: Federal Intervention
- pp. 277-298
- 14: The Strike Ends
- pp. 299-319
- 15: King’s Verdict
- pp. 320-341
- 16: The Rockefeller Plan
- pp. 342-360
- Bibliography
- pp. 371-378
Additional Information
ISBN
9781607320005
Related ISBN(s)
9780870819346, 9781607321002
MARC Record
OCLC
794700662
Pages
392
Launched on MUSE
2012-01-01
Language
English
Open Access
No