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366:. The Cleveland political establishment of the time prevented the popular Cleveland Socialist Party from acquiring any political power which brewed resentment and radicalism among the party. Cleveland was a large industrial city of blue-collar workers, many of whom were immigrants or the descendants of immigrants. This population was very sympathetic to the Socialist Party and
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tanks, taken from
Germany after World War I, were used indiscriminately by the police and army despite the fact there were women and children in attendance. The article suggested that the deaths and injuries were the results of police acting to break up the celebration and that overall, there were 130 sentenced and/or fined.
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office furniture were thrown into the street." Towards the end of the day, the anti-socialists piled "scores of red flags and banners" — which they had taken by force from the marchers — at the foot of the
Soldiers and Sailors' Monument in Public Square and set them alight in a giant bonfire.
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In suppressing the riot the mounted police and several tanks were used to support the patrolmen. In driving the war tanks thru the streets, there was no effort made to avoid women and children, but all were compelled to run for their lives. Part of the war tanks were those taken from
Germany at the
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workers, who demanded that they lower their flags. At some point, an army lieutenant leading a number of soldiers likewise directed the marchers to discard their flags. When the marchers refused to do so, the lieutenant ordered his soldiers to attack. Mass fighting broke out immediately. A call for
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They detail that as those at the event were incited by police and self-described "patriots", causing a disturbance, but not a riot; this then was detailed as the pretense for the police to move in to suppress the perceived riot in order to "suppress lawlessness" by using mounted police and German
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The police used mounts, army trucks, and tanks in response to the protests. Casualties amounted to two people killed, forty injured, and 116 arrested, including
Ruthenberg himself on a charge of "assault with intent to kill". Local newspapers quickly pointed out that only eight of those arrested
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at Keith's
Hippodrome. An army lieutenant ordered socialists to clear away from a speaking platform, and directed his men to attack all those who did not comply with his orders. Mounted policemen with clubs and army tanks charged the crowd. Seventy individuals were arrested and incarcerated at the
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The previous year, Eugene Debs's
Federal Court trial was held in Cleveland, and Charles Ruthenberg's Socialist Party chose to hold a march which would both protest against Debs' imprisonment as well as help promote Ruthenberg's own candidacy for Mayor of Cleveland. The procession consisted of 32
44:
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A third riot then occurred on Euclid Avenue in the heart of the shopping district. Later in the evening, Ruthenberg's socialist party headquarters on
Prospect Avenue was ransacked by soldiers, police, and armed civilians. This latter mob "completely demolished the building" and "typewriters and
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reserves brought several mounted police who charged their horses directly into the crowd and swung their clubs indiscriminately. In this ensuing melee, over twenty marchers were severely injured by the clubs, and ambulances from nearby hospitals were dispatched to rescue the many wounded.
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Several parades started from different parts of town to converge at the public square. The paraders, but were soon being heckled by the police and "patriots", with the result that a "riot" was started.
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flag at its head. Although the cause of the riots is disputed, repeated demands by the police and army personnel that the marchers relinquish their flags reportedly became a flashpoint.
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201:
434:, in which they outline that those there, celebrating May Day had not violated any city ordinance to incite rioting, and that the then Republican mayor of Cleveland,
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438:, had issued an order to the police to suppress any violations of law with "promptness and firmness" setting the tone of how police should respond to the event.
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423:. Overall, the occurrence is seen as the most violent of a series of similar disorders that took place throughout the U.S. as a result of the
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After the first riot had been quelled, a second riot began in the downtown area; specifically, the Public Square where former
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The
Cleveland chapter of the Socialist Party had been much more radical than other Socialist Party chapters in the
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419:. In response to the riots, the city government immediately passed laws to restrict parades and the display of
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Charles
Ruthenberg had previously run for mayor in 1917 and attained almost 30% of the vote.
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Pershing's Band escort
William Gibbs McAdoo from Union Station, Cleveland, May Day 1919
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According to the Cleveland Bicentennial Commission, as they marched to Cleveland's
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were a series of violent demonstrations that occurred throughout
740:'Until Victory is Achieved:' The Cleveland May Day Riots of 1919
382:, one of the units was stopped on Superior Avenue by a group of
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469:
List of incidents of civil unrest in the United States
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This account is disputed by the IWW in the newspaper
566:"Charles E. Ruthenberg: America's Most Arrested Man"
686:"May Day celebration crushed by tanks from Germany"
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98:Local socialists, communists, unionists, and the
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326:(IWW) to protest against the conviction of
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792:Riots and civil disorder in Cleveland
743:. Cleveland: MSL Academic Endeavors (
604:The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History
539:The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History
507:"1 Dead, Many Hurt In Cleveland Riot"
452:1919 United States anarchist bombings
7:
797:Political riots in the United States
787:Anti-communism in the United States
655:"Radical Outrages Stir Washington"
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692:. Industrial Workers of the World
690:The New Solidarity (May 10, 1919)
772:1919 riots in the United States
608:Case Western Reserve University
543:Case Western Reserve University
324:Industrial Workers of the World
292:Cleveland May Day riots of 1919
100:Industrial Workers of the World
1:
822:20th-century political riots
465:, at the origin of May Day.
91:Cleveland Police Department
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745:Cleveland State University
402:Central Police Station.
232:1918-1920 NYC rent strikes
93:, anti-socialist civilians
392:Secretary of the Treasury
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737:Bodde, Emerson (2022).
254:Cleveland May Day riots
30:Cleveland May Day riots
827:1910s political events
242:Seattle General Strike
237:US Strike wave of 1919
535:"Ruthenberg, Charles"
457:May Day Riots of 1894
332:American intervention
248:US anarchist bombings
18:May Day Riots of 1919
634:Cleveland Historical
570:Cleveland Historical
395:William Gibbs McAdoo
384:Victory Liberty Loan
260:Boston Police Strike
141:William Gibbs McAdoo
128:Captain C.D. Paxton
368:left-wing politics.
782:1910s in Cleveland
723:close of the war.
660:The New York Times
512:The New York Times
432:The New Solidarity
399:Victory Loan rally
308:Charles Ruthenberg
134:Charles Ruthenberg
754:978-1-936323-95-1
415:were born in the
397:was addressing a
336:Russian Civil War
310:, of local trade
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228:(Jan 22 – Nov 13)
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630:"May Day Riot"
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610:. May 19, 2019
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564:Dubelko, Jim.
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545:. May 19, 2019
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694:. Retrieved
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665:. Retrieved
663:. 3 May 1919
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637:. Retrieved
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517:. Retrieved
515:. 2 May 1919
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355:flag and an
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338:against the
330:and against
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272:Palmer Raids
266:Steel strike
253:
139:
132:
127:
120:Lead figures
108:Liberty loan
278:Coal strike
58:May 1, 1919
817:Red Summer
766:Categories
475:References
346:Background
340:Bolsheviks
322:, and the
320:communists
316:socialists
302:on May 1 (
244:(Feb 6–11)
226:Red Summer
150:Casualties
667:2 January
519:2 January
421:red flags
410:Aftermath
353:Socialist
312:unionists
296:Cleveland
68:Cleveland
639:June 11,
614:June 11,
575:June 11,
549:June 11,
446:See also
357:American
171:Arrested
163:Injuries
155:Death(s)
63:Location
35:Part of
461:1886's
364:Midwest
334:in the
304:May Day
262:(Sep 9)
256:(May 1)
110:workers
80:Parties
751:
74:, U.S.
708:Notes
696:1 May
374:Event
102:(IWW)
749:ISBN
698:2018
669:2019
641:2020
616:2020
577:2020
551:2020
521:2019
300:Ohio
290:The
72:Ohio
55:Date
747:).
174:116
166:40+
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203:e
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189:v
158:2
20:)
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