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1889 Duluth, Minnesota riot....
1889 Duluth, Minnesota riot....
Item # 719014
July 12, 1889
THE COLDWATER REPUBLICAN, Semi-Weekly, Michigan, July 12, 1889
* Duluth, Minnesota
* Labor strike riot
The top of the front page has a one column heading: "Bloody Riot at Duluth" with subheads. (see images)
Other news of the day. Complete in 4 pages, a little wear a the margins, mostly along the spine, generally good.
background: In July 1889, Duluth, Minnesota, became the site of a violent labor conflict known as the Strike Riot, sparked by wage disputes between sewer and street workers and their contractors. The workers, many of them immigrants, had previously struck in 1888 for a daily wage increase to $2 but settled for $1.75. When wages were later reduced back to $1.50, frustration reignited, and over 2,000 workers—backed by the Knights of Labor—walked off the job. Tensions escalated when contractors brought in strikebreakers under police protection, prompting strikers to confront crews with rocks and firearms near West Michigan Street. The clashes intensified into open street fighting, culminating in a gun battle at 12th Avenue West where police and armed strikers exchanged fire. The riot resulted in four deaths, including 18-year-old bystander Thomas Fitzsimmons, and left many injured. The city’s mayor supported police efforts to break the strike, which was ultimately suppressed through force. The incident exposed deep class divisions in Duluth’s rapidly industrializing economy and marked one of the bloodiest early labor confrontations in Minnesota’s history.
Category: Post-Civil War
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