Hard Hat Riot of 1970
The Hard Hat Riot of 1970 was a significant event that occurred amidst rising campus unrest and antiwar sentiments in the United States during the Vietnam War. On May 8, following the tragic deaths of four students at Kent State University, peaceful demonstrators gathered in New York City to protest against the war and call for troop withdrawal. However, the demonstration was violently disrupted when approximately 200 construction workers attacked the protesters, resulting in around seventy injuries. The incident raised questions about police response, as many witnesses criticized law enforcement for their lack of action during the chaos. Mayor John Lindsay called for an investigation into this police inaction, highlighting communication failures and thinly spread resources. Additionally, while union leaders claimed the workers acted independently, there were speculations of potential provocation by union organizers. The media coverage of the riot emphasized the social class divisions surrounding the Vietnam War, portraying blue-collar workers as proponents of the war, while reflecting the frustrations and resentments of lower-income families dealing with the draft. This clash not only illustrated the polarized sentiments regarding the war but also marked a pivotal moment in the broader cultural and political landscape of the time.
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Subject Terms
Hard Hat Riot of 1970
The Event Violence erupts in New York City’s financial district when helmeted construction workers attacked anti-Vietnam War protesters
Date May 8, 1970
Along with highlighting the class divisions in Americans’ attitudes toward the Vietnam War, the riot also called into question police coverage in New York City and the role of unions in encouraging construction workers to participate.
Campus unrest and antiwar sentiment was on the increase during the summer of 1970. News had recently surfaced about President Richard M. Nixon’s secret bombing campaign in Cambodia, and on May 4, four student deaths at the hands of the National Guard at Kent State University made headlines. In memoriam for the Kent State students, administrators at New York’s City Hall had lowered the American flag to half staff. Peaceful demonstrators amassed the morning of May 8 in the streets outside the New York Stock Exchange urging a withdrawal of troops from Vietnam. However, at noon, an estimated two hundred construction workers suddenly stormed the scene and attacked them. The construction workers continued their rampage and forced their way into City Hall, demanding that the flag be raised to full staff. By the time the ensuing melee was halted by police, seventy people had been injured.
Criticisms arose regarding the police and their inability to control the situation. Witnesses to the event contended that the police did little or nothing to stop the violence, and Mayor John Lindsay requested an investigation of the police’s failure to handle the situation. A later report stated that police forces were spread too thin throughout the city and that there was a lack in communication to effectively quell the mob. However, the Knapp Commission, formed by Lindsay to delve into police corruption in June, 1970, asserted that clashes between protesters and workers had taken place earlier in the same vicinity. TheNew York Times and police had also received phone calls warning them that such fighting would escalate in the days prior to the attack. Despite claims from union leaders that workers acted on their own accord, speculation also began that union organizers may have provoked the riot by offering cash bonuses to those who participated in it.
Impact
Media coverage of the event reinforced perceptions of social class distinctions in attitudes toward America’s involvement in the war. The incident was used by the press to illustrate that such conflicts were dividing Americans. Blue-collar workers became viewed as political “hawks” who were supportive of Nixon’s Vietnam policies. Moreover, the anger and violence inflicted upon the protesters by construction workers reflected a deep resentment among lower classes throughout the country that their sons were being sent to Vietnam while student protesters from the middle- to upper-income strata received deferments.
Bibliography
Foner, Philip S. U.S. Labor and the Vietnam War. New York: International, 1989.
Freeman, Joshua B. “Hardhats: Construction Workers, Manliness, and the 1970 Pro-War Demonstrations.” Journal of Social History 26 (Summer, 1993): 725-744.
Levy, Peter B. The New Left and Labor. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1994.