5. Memorial Day Massacre
-
The United States
When minor steel businesses declined to follow the US Steel Corporation in accepting union demands for recognition, eight-hour workdays, and greater compensation, Cleveland steelworkers went on strike on May 26, 1937. Following the work stoppage in Cleveland, two major unions—the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)—called for strikes in a number of locations throughout the country.
Approximately 1,500 striking steelworkers and sympathizers gathered at the SWOC offices in Chicago on Memorial Day, May 30th. In protest, they planned to march to the adjacent Republic Steel factory, which is not unionized.
The unarmed, nonviolent crowd—which included women and children—was met at the mill’s gates by 250 armed Chicago cops who were provided and paid by Republic Steel. The collected police officers fired over 100 rounds into the crowd without warning, killing 10 people and injuring over 100 others. The majority of the shots were fired from behind.
The shooting resulted in no charges being filed against any of the officers involved. The walkout, which was centered on Cleveland, was eventually defeated, with the sole violent incident occurring throughout the whole work stoppage in Chicago. The killing of Chicago workers and the subsequent strike, however, attracted national attention to the steelworkers’ situation. Five years later, they were recognized as a union and their requests were met.
5 thoughts on “8 Most Horrific Massacres In World History”
I don’t believe either the limited scale Russia-Ukraine conflict or a brutal police action in the US could possibly top the Armenian massacre by the Turks!! What about the Hutu massacre by Tutus in Rwanda? The Uighur persecutions by the CCP many of our politicans love taking money from? The rape camps and concentration camps the mostly Muslim Bosnians experienced?
The Rape of Nanking? Those two of the named actions on your list do not belong in the top five hundred of world’s worst massacres!
Tamerlane, Genghis Khan, the Crusades, the European wars from Julius Caesar to WWII, the African tribal conflicts, these ALL contained within their parameters incidents of great violence perpetrated on the innocent! I am not even including the actual wars and what atrocities occurred when the soldiers were fighting each other.
I’m no historian so these are just some of worse atrocities that came to my mind as I went through this list.
BEFORE I READ THE ARTICLE, I WAS SO SURE THAT YOU WOULD HAVE OMITTED THE CARNAGE METED OUT TO NEGROES DURING AMERICAN SLAVERY – AND INDEED I WAS CORRECT –
THE THOUSANDS OF DEAD BODIES THROWN OVERBOARD DURING THE MIDDLE PASSAGE, THE DAILY AND WEEKLY HANGINGS , THE COUNTLESS YOKINGS WHERE SLAVES WERE PLACED IN VATS AND BOILED TO DEATH ON EACH PLANTATION- I AM SURE YOUR RESPONSE WOULD BE – IT NEVER HAPPENED IN THIS WORLD – OR “IT WAS NOT POLITICAL ” YES IT WAS !!
WHAT ABOUT THE CARNAGE OF THE HUTUS AND TUTUS AND – IDI AMIN IN UGANDA ? I FORGOT – AFRICA AND AFRICANS ARE NOT PART OF THIS WORLD …
Just anted to add. I guess it is easy to omit the slaughter of thousands of Native Americans and the lynching of black Americans post 1860. Ever heard of thee Trail of Tears and the Tulsa Massacre.
The U.S. ranks #1.
How could you leave out the Cambodian massacre of thousands of people under the dictator Pol Pot?
Can’t believe you left out the Rape of Nanking in 1937, where Japanese invaders committed unspeakable atrocities on a grand scale, killing millions of Chinese innocents, including just-born and unborn babies, and required family members to have sex with each other as the women were systematically raped and killed. I’d have it in the top three to say the least along with Stalin’s and Hitler’s pogroms.