Boom Days

In 1913, the United Mine Workers of America launched the most ambitious labor strike Colorado had seen since the turn of the century. It became one of the defining moments of civil unrest and anti-union violence in American history.

The WFM has become a powerful force in Colorado politics, capable of checking the power of mine owners. The Citizens Alliance organizes to use corrupt politicians, industrial spies, and hired gunmen to bury the union once and for all.

By 1896, the Populists have been defeated in their fight to secure economic relief for the working class. The miners of Colorado turn to the revolutionary methods of Edward Boyce and the Western Federation of Miners, and come to blows with the mine owners of Leadville and Telluride.

The continuing growth of industrial capitalism has modernized Colorado's mining sector, then destroyed it beyond repair with market crashes. Like other workers across America, miners struggle to protect their livelihoods as they're absorbed into a wage-worker economy.

From the 1870s to the 1880s, railroads propel Colorado out of the haphazard gold rush economy and into the modern age of industry, but this transformation comes at a heavy price.

In this first episode, we examine two gold rushes - one in California, the other in Colorado - that demonstrate the economic incentives of western expansion, but also its human costs.

In 1914, thousands of Colorado miners went on strike, demanding better wages and working conditions. By the end of that year, federal troops were being deployed into Colorado to suppress an insurrection. This is the story of the Colorado Coalfield War.