Deadliest U.S. labor war will be focus of acclaimed historian's Sept. 15 talk

            An award-winning author and historian will explore the nation’s deadliest uprising within the labor force when he presents the annual Carroll R. Pauley Lecture on Sept. 15 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

            Thomas G. Andrews, an associate professor of history at the University of Colorado, Boulder, will present “Killing for Coal: America’s Deadliest Labor War” beginning at 7:30 p.m. at UNL’s Great Plains Art Museum, 1155 Q St. His talk is free and open to the public.

            Andrews has garnered many honors for his 2008 book that shares the name of his upcoming lecture. He was awarded a Bancroft Prize, bestowed annually by the trustees of Columbia University. It is considered among the highest honors in American history writing.

            The book explores the 1914 massacre of striking coal miners in Colorado. It probes the fossil-fuel dependency in the American West and the role of workplace environments in shaping mineworker solidarity. It also examined how a group of migrant workers from more than 30 nations transformed into a militant fighting force.

            The lecture series, which is sponsored by the UNL Department of History, honors UNL alumnus Carroll R. Pauley, class of 1930. The series is meant to feature the best of current research in the field of history, to reach beyond the academy, to interest and inspire the public, and to enhance a broad understanding of the past.

            Pauley’s son, Bruce Pauley, established the endowment that created the series as a way to honor his father who had a lifelong passion for history.

Writer: Jean Ortiz Jones, University Communications, (402) 472-8320