Idaho Governor Assassinated (1905)

Sat Dec 30, 1905

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On this day in 1905, Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg, who had arrested striking workers en masse and detained them without trial, was assassinated by a bomb outside his home.

The event took place in the context of militant labor disputes in Idaho, in which the U.S. government crushed organizing by the Western Federation of Miners (WFM). Steunenberg took a hard line against these labor organizers, declaring martial law and asking President McKinley to send federal troops to assist him in crushing the union movement.

The unions, many of which had supported Steunenberg, felt betrayed. The unions, many of which had supported Steunenberg, felt betrayed. On the matter of labor, Steunenberg stated “We have taken the monster by the throat and we are going to choke the life out of it. No halfway measures will be adopted. It is a plain case of the state or the union winning, and we do not propose that the state shall be defeated.”

Notable Pinkerton Agent James McParland was called in to investigate the murder. McParland arrested Harry Orchard, a stranger who had been staying at a local hotel, and helped him draft a confession, assuring Orchard that providing evidence against the WFM would prevent him from being executed. Orchard complied, naming William Hayward (general secretary of WFM), Charles Moyer (WFM president), and union member George Pettibone as accomplices.

During the three month trial, the prosecutor was unable to present any information against Hayward, Moyer and Pettibone except for the testimony of Orchard. All three were acquitted. Harry Orchard, because he had provided evidence against the other men, received life imprisonment rather than the death penalty.

  • @hdnsmbt
    4•10 months ago

    What an inspiring story!