May Day riots of 1919

Cleveland May Day riots
Part of First Red Scare
Pershing's Band escort William Gibbs McAdoo from Union Station, Cleveland, May Day 1919
DateMay 1, 1919
Location
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Parties
Cleveland Police Department, anti-socialist civilians
Local socialists, communists, unionists, and the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)
Liberty loan workers
Lead figures

Captain C.D. Paxton[1]

Casualties
Death(s)2
Injuries40+
Arrested116

The Cleveland May Day riots of 1919 were a series of violent demonstrations that occurred throughout Cleveland, Ohio on May 1 (May Day), 1919.[4][5] The riots occurred during the May Day parade organized by Socialist leader Charles Ruthenberg, of local trade unionists, socialists, communists, and the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) to protest against the conviction of Eugene V. Debs and against American intervention in the Russian Civil War against the Bolsheviks.[4][6]

  1. ^ a b "1 Dead, Many Hurt In Cleveland Riot". The New York Times. 2 May 1919. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  2. ^ "Ruthenberg, Charles". The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University. May 19, 2019. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  3. ^ Dubelko, Jim. "Charles E. Ruthenberg: America's Most Arrested Man". Cleveland Historical. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "May Day Riots". The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University. May 19, 2019. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  5. ^ "May Day Riot". Cleveland Historical. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  6. ^ "Radical Outrages Stir Washington". The New York Times. 3 May 1919. Retrieved 2 January 2019.