Labor Troubles

President Grover Cleveland faced the nations worst economic and labor problems to date during his second term in office. Beginning in February, less than a month after being sworn into office, the nation faced a crippling run on the banks. The event is widely recognized as the first serious sign of an economic depression in America although it has been argued the problems began 1890 with the passage of a series of bills through Congress which ineviteably led to the banking disaster and the labor disputes.

President Cleveland's job was further complicated when the first of the labor strikes his the railroads only a few short months after the banking crisis. At the time, the railroad was the only way to move goods across the country and the strike threatened to derail what little economic stability was left. He made what he later called the hardest decision of his presidencies, to send in Federal Troops to force the strikers back to work.

It should come as no suprise this move was not popular with the working class as the railroad strike was ended without the workers receiving any of their demands. Most importantly, since the banking collapse, the nation had suffered unprecedented inflation leaving these important laborers making less money than they required to feed their families. They were in many cases forced to send their daughters and wives to work which was looked down upon in all social circles of the era.

Throughout the remainder of his term President Cleveland was faced with many strikes in nearly every major industry in the nation. His efforts to repeal a high tarriff passed by congress under the previous term of President Harrison largely failed and left the import and export industries of America in shambles. It seemed no matter what steps President Cleveland attempted to take he was either blocked by congress of made inconsequential by worsening times.

Labor disputes reached a pinnacle in his final year of office with several turning bloody. In May of 1896 a coal miner's strike began in a small town outside of Denver, Colorado. The mine owner, a prominent businessman and mine owner in the state of Virginia, sent in strike breakers with a train load of unemployed men from Missouri who were willing to work the mine.

The Colorado miners formed a barricade around the mine and refused to allow the new workers inside. The strike breakers used techniques of intimidation on the miners, such as threatening their families and damaging or destroying property. This was a standard response at the time to strikes, however the miners' response was not. They took up arms and fought back.

The once quiet town quickly turned into a war zone with dozens of people injured or killed on both sides. The governor of Colorado called in the assistance of Federal troops to bring an end to the fighting. The miners were forced back to work, however they did win new working standards, the most important and long lasting of which was the 8 hour work day.