Lattimer Massacre: A Tragic Fight for Rights скачать в хорошем качестве

Lattimer Massacre: A Tragic Fight for Rights

The Lattimer Massacre: When 19 Striking Miners Were Gunned Down and Justice Failed In 1897, one of America's most shocking labor massacres unfolded in the coal fields of Pennsylvania. This is the true story of how a peaceful strike turned into a bloodbath that changed the labor movement forever. Immigrant miners were living in hell - working brutal 10-hour shifts underground, facing constant danger of cave-ins and explosions, all for wages that barely kept their families alive. But the breaking point came when mining companies forced them to walk an additional 2 hours daily, unpaid, just to retrieve work mules. On September 10, 1897, approximately 400 unarmed miners began a peaceful march toward the Lattimer mine, hoping to convince fellow workers to join their newly formed union. What they encountered instead was a county sheriff and his armed posse, lying in wait. What happened next was nothing short of murder. The sheriff later claimed he feared for his life and that the miners "charged" at him. But the evidence told a horrifying different story. Of the 19 men killed and 39 wounded, most were shot in the back as they desperately tried to flee. Some victims were riddled with multiple bullets. Contemporary newspapers didn't mince words - they called it a "butchery." When the sheriff and his deputies were put on trial for murder, the verdict shocked the nation: Not guilty. But from this tragedy came transformation. The massacre sparked outrage that rippled across America. In its aftermath, 15,000 new members flooded into the United Mine Workers union, turning the organization into a powerhouse that would fight for workers' rights for generations to come. This is the story of how 19 men's deaths, though met with injustice, became the catalyst that changed American labor history forever.