John Calderwood was a

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-born

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miner, and influential labor union leader, who led miners organized by the

Western Federation of Miners The Western Federation of Miners (WFM) was a labor union that gained a reputation for militancy in the mines of the western United States and British Columbia. Its efforts to organize both hard rock miners and smelter workers brought it into s ...

to victory in the

Cripple Creek miners' strike of 1894 The Cripple Creek miners' strike of 1894 was a five-month strike action, strike by the Western Federation of Miners (WFM) in Cripple Creek, Colorado, Cripple Creek, Colorado, United States. It resulted in a victory for the trade union, union and ...

. Little is known about his parentage or life.

Early years

Calderwood was born in

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

East Ayrshire East Ayrshire ( sco, Aest Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir an Ear) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquart ...

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, and went to work in the local coal mines at the age of nine while attending public night school. After emigrating to the United States at age 17, he attended Mckeesport School of Mines in

McKeesport, Pennsylvania McKeesport is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is situated at the confluence of the Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers and within the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The population was 17,727 as of the 2020 census. It ...

, graduating in 1876. After graduation, Calderwood settled in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. He was elected president of a miners'

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

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. In November 1893, he traveled to

Cripple Creek, Colorado Cripple Creek is a statutory city that is the county seat of Teller County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 1,155 at the 2020 United States Census. Cripple Creek is a former gold mining camp located southwest of Colorado Sprin ...

at the behest of the

(WFM) to organize miners there.

Cripple Creek strike

Calderwood was president of the newly formed WFM during the

. As the strike began, Calderwood left for

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, to attend the second convention of the WFM. His departure fortuitously left Junius J. Johnson, a former

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

officer, in charge of the union. Johnson's planning and cool head helped the miners weather the initial assault by gangs of hired thugs sent to break the strike. Calderwood arrived back in Cripple Creek on the third day of the strike, and took control again. The strike was a major success.

Later life

After the strike, Calderwood continued as president of the union.

Blacklist Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, t ...

ed and unable to find employment as a miner, he worked as an assayer. Calderwood retired as president of the local union in 1901, and was succeeded by John Curry. In 1897, Calderwood was one of 37 men who formed the Victor Elks Lodge, No. 367. Calderwood was the First Secretary. Calderwood wrote about his experiences during the Cripple Creek strike in 1905. Emma Langdon was the wife of a man who had been a newspaper reporter in

Victor, Colorado The City of Victor is a Statutory City in Teller County, Colorado, United States. Gold was discovered in Victor in the late 19th century, an omen of the future of the town. With Cripple Creek, the mining district became the second largest gold ...

, during the Cripple Creek miners' strike of 1903–04. Her husband had been wrongfully imprisoned by the

state militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

in a notorious

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

. Outraged, Langdon wrote and published a book about the 1903–04 strike. Calderwood contributed a chapter to the book, providing background about the 1894 strike. It is the most comprehensive first-person discussion of the strike to be published.

References

* Calderwood, John. "The strike of 1894" in ''The Cripple Creek Strike: A History of Industrial Wars in Colorado''. Emma F. Langdon, ed. Denver, CO: Great Western Publishing Co., 1905. * Rastall, Benjamin McKie. "The labor history of the Cripple Creek district; a study in industrial evolution". ''Bulletin of the University of Wisconsin.'' No. 198. February 1908
Cornell Library Historical Monographs
* Szasz, Ferenc Morton. "Scots in the North American West". ''Montana: The Magazine of Western History.'' Spring 2001.

American trade union leaders Scottish emigrants to the United States Year of birth missing Year of death missing {{worker-activist-stub