Rock Springs Massacre

The Rock Springs Massacre occurred on September 2, 1885, in Rock Springs, Wyoming Territory. Tensions between white coal miners, organized under the Knights of Labor, and Chinese coal miners had been escalating. White miners resented the Chinese workers, who were willing to work for lower wages, and blamed them for poor working conditions and pay cuts imposed by the Union Pacific Railroad Company.

When the Chinese miners refused to strike with the white miners, a mob of white men and women attacked Chinatown. This violent event, known as the Rock Springs Massacre, resulted in the deaths of 28 Chinese people and injuries to 15. This incident was part of a broader pattern of anti-Chinese sentiment and violence in the United States, which also led to discriminatory legislation like the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.1