Hard Hat Riot
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The Hard Hat Riot occurred in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
on May 8, 1970, when around 400
construction worker A construction worker is a person employed in the physical construction of the built environment and its infrastructure. Definitions By some definitions, construction workers may be engaged in manual labour as unskilled or semi-skilled workers ...
s and around 800 office workers attacked around 1,000 demonstrators affiliated with the
student strike of 1970 The nationwide student anti-war strike of 1970 was a massive outpouring of anti-Vietnam War protests that erupted in May of 1970 in response to the expansion of the war into neighboring Cambodia. The strike began on May 1 with walk-outs from co ...
. The students were protesting the May 4
Kent State shootings The Kent State shootings (also known as the Kent State massacre or May 4 massacre"These would be the first of many probes into what soon became known as the Kent State Massacre. Like the Boston Massacre almost exactly two hundred years before (Ma ...
and the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
, following the April 30 announcement by
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
of the U.S. invasion of neutral Cambodia. Some construction workers carried U.S. flags and chanted, "USA, All the way" and "America, love it or leave it." Anti-war protesters shouted, “Peace now." The riot, first breaking out near the intersection of
Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...
and Broad Street in
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, led to a mob scene with more than 20,000 people in the streets, eventually leading to a siege of
New York City Hall New York City Hall is the Government of New York City, seat of New York City government, located at the center of City Hall Park in the Civic Center, Manhattan, Civic Center area of Lower Manhattan, between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway, Park R ...
, an attack on the
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
Pace University Pace University is a private university with campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York, United States. It was established in 1906 as a business school by the brothers Homer St. Clair Pace and Charles A. Pace. Pace enrolls about ...
and lasted more than three hours. Around 100 people, including seven policemen, were injured on what became known as Bloody Friday. Six people were arrested, but only one of them was a construction worker associated with the rioters.
The Daily Beast excerpt of The Hardhat Riot; accessed September 11, 2020.
Nixon invited the hardhat leaders to
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, and accepted a hardhat from them.


Background

On May 4, 1970, thirteen students were shot, four of them fatally, at
Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Kent State University at Ashtabula, Ashtabula, Kent State ...
in
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
by National Guardsmen as they demonstrated against the
U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War The involvement of the United States in the Vietnam War began in the 1950s and greatly escalated in 1965 until its withdrawal in 1973. The U.S. military presence in Vietnam peaked in April 1969, with 543,000 military personnel stationed in th ...
and U.S. incursions into neutral Cambodia. One of the dead was Jeffrey Glenn Miller, who was from a
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
suburb on
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
, which led to funeral proceedings in
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
and Long Island and in turn helped fuel local activism. In the days before the riot, there were anti-war protests on
Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...
and smaller clashes between construction workers and anti-war demonstrators. As a show of sympathy for the dead students, New York Mayor
John Lindsay John Vliet Lindsay (; November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American politician and lawyer. During his political career, Lindsay was a U.S. congressman, the mayor of New York City, and a candidate for U.S. president. He was also a regu ...
, a Republican, ordered all flags at
New York City Hall New York City Hall is the Government of New York City, seat of New York City government, located at the center of City Hall Park in the Civic Center, Manhattan, Civic Center area of Lower Manhattan, between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway, Park R ...
to be flown at
half-staff Half-mast or half-staff (American English) refers to a flag flying below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a sal ...
on May 8, the day of the riot. The U.S.
labor movement The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...
was deeply divided over support for
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
's war policy.
AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...
president
George Meany William George Meany (August 16, 1894 – January 10, 1980) was an American labor union administrator for 57 years. He was a vital figure in the creation of the AFL–CIO and served as its first president, from 1955 to 1979. Meany, the son of a ...
and most U.S. labor leaders were vehemently
anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...
and thus strongly supported military involvement in
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
. Peter J. Brennan, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, was a strong supporter of Nixon's policy of
Vietnamization Vietnamization was a failed foreign policy of the Richard Nixon administration to end U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War through a program to "expand, equip, and train South Vietnamese forces and assign to them an ever-increasing combat role, a ...
and ending U.S. involvement in the war. He was also president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of New York, the statewide umbrella group for construction unions, and the vice president of the New York City Central Labor Council and the New York State AFL–CIO, umbrella groups for all labor unions in these respective areas.McFadden
"Peter Brennan, 78, Union Head and Nixon's Labor Chief"
nytimes.com, October 4, 1996.
Brennan was a registered
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...
who had lobbied strongly for that party through the 1950s and 1960s, but increasingly supported Republican candidates as support for skilled labor unions decreased. New York City's building and construction unions were overwhelmingly white,
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
,
blue-collar A blue-collar worker is a person who performs manual labor or skilled trades. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involve manufacturing, retail, warehousing, mining, carpentry, electrical work, custodia ...
and male. Although blue-collar whites were not generally more pro-war than upscale whites, the anti-war movement was particularly unpopular among blue collar whites. In response to
flag desecration Flag desecration is the desecration of a flag, violation of flag protocol, or various acts that intentionally destroy, damage, or mutilate a flag in public. In the case of a national flag, such action is often intended to make a political point ...
within the anti-war movement and perceived rejection of returning veterans, a disproportionate majority of whom were blue-collar, blue-collar whites came to oppose the anti-war demonstrators, who tended to be college-educated, a group which were disproportionately non-veterans.


The riot

At 7:30 a.m. on May 8, several-hundred anti-war protesters, mostly college students, began picketing the
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, and later held a protest and memorial at
Federal Hall Federal Hall was the first capitol building of the United States under the Constitution. Serving as the meeting place of the First United States Congress and the site of George Washington's first presidential inauguration, the building existe ...
for the four dead students at Kent State. By late morning, after some high school students, teachers and others joined, more than a thousand protesters were gathered in the street in front of Federal Hall and on the steps around
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
's statue. Future
New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...
member
Paul O'Dwyer Peter Paul O'Dwyer (June 29, 1907 – June 23, 1998) was an Irish-born American politician and civil rights lawyer who served as President of the New York City Council during 1974–1977. He was the younger brother of Mayor William O'Dwyer, and t ...
was among the speakers. The protesters demanded an end to the war, the release of
political prisoners in the United States Throughout its history and into the present, the United States has held political prisoners, people whose detention is based substantially on political motives. Prominent US political prisoners have included anti-war socialists, civil rights mov ...
such as
Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist and Black Power movement, black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newto ...
leaders
Huey Newton Huey Percy Newton (February 17, 1942 – August 22, 1989) was an African American revolutionary and political activist who co-founded the Black Panther Party in 1966. He ran the party as its first leader and crafted its ten-point manifesto with ...
and
Bobby Seale Robert George Seale (born October 22, 1936) is an African American revolutionary, political activist and author. Seale is widely known for co-founding the Marxist–Leninist and black power political organization the Black Panther Party (BPP) ...
and an end to military-related research on all university campuses.Bigart
"War Foes Here Attacked By Construction Workers"
''New York Times'', May 9, 1970.
Freeman, "Hardhats: Construction Workers, Manliness, and the 1970 Pro-War Demonstrations", ''Journal of Social History'', Summer 1993. Shortly before noon, more than 400 construction workers, many of whom were building the
World Trade Center World Trade Centers are the hundreds of sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may also refer to: Buildings * World Trade Center (1973–2001), a building complex that was destroyed during the September 11 at ...
, converged on the student protest from four directions. Some construction workers carried U.S. flags and chanted, "USA, All the way" and "America, love it or leave it." Anti-war protesters shouted, "Peace now." More than 800 office workers soon joined the construction workers' ranks. Hundreds more construction workers arrived around noon, as the lunchtime crowd and onlookers in the streets exceeded 20,000. A thin and inadequate line of
NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
police officers, who were largely sympathetic to the workers' position, formed to separate them from the protesters. Construction workers then broke through the police lines and began chasing students through the streets. Workers attacked those who looked like hippies and beat them with their hard hats and other weapons, including tools and steel-toe boots. Victims and onlookers reported that the police stood by and did little. Hundreds of construction workers and counter-protesters moved up
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
, making their way to City Hall. They pushed their way to the top of the front steps as some chanted "Hey, hey, whattya say? We support the USA", while others held American flags. The workers attempted to gain entrance, demanding the flag above City Hall be raised to whole staff. Police on duty at City Hall, and reinforcements, were able to stop them from getting inside. A few workers were asked to enter the building to calm tensions. One postal worker, who was already inside, went to the roof and raised the U.S. flag there to full mast. When one mayoral aide lowered the flag back down to half-mast, hundreds of construction workers stormed the area around City Hall, leading to a melee similar to the one on Wall Street the hour prior. Deputy Mayor Richard Aurelio, fearing the building would be overrun by the mob, ordered city workers to raise the flag back to full mast. Rioting construction workers, many of them Catholic "white ethnics", also attacked buildings near City Hall. Several workmen ripped the
Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...
flag down at nearby Trinity Church, because the flag was associated with the anti-war protestors, though it was planted to signal a
first aid First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with a medical emergency, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery until medical services arrive. First aid is gener ...
haven. Several groups of construction workers stormed the newly-built main building at
Pace University Pace University is a private university with campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York, United States. It was established in 1906 as a business school by the brothers Homer St. Clair Pace and Charles A. Pace. Pace enrolls about ...
, smashing lobby windows and beating up students and professors, including with tools. Ironically, Pace was a
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
, business-oriented school where the most popular major was
accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...
—hardly a hotbed of activism. More than 100 people were injured, including seven policemen. Most of the injured required hospital treatment. The most common victim was a "22-year-old white male collegian" and the worst injuries were to the "half-dozen young men beaten unconscious," but about one in four of the injured were women. Six people were arrested, but only one construction worker was arrested by police.


Aftermath

During a press conference that evening, President Nixon tried to defuse the situation before tens of thousands of students arrived in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
for a scheduled protest rally the next day. Before dawn, the next morning, Nixon told some protesters that, "I understand just how you feel" and defended the recent troop movements into Cambodia as aiding their goal of peace.Foner, ''U.S. Labor and the Vietnam War'', 1989. Mayor Lindsay severely criticized the NYPD for their lack of action. NYPD leaders later accused Lindsay of "undermining the confidence of the public in its police department" by his statements, and blamed their inaction on inadequate preparations and "inconsistent directives" in the past from the mayor's office. The following week, Brennan claimed that "the unions had nothing to do with" the riot and that workers were allegedly "fed up" with violence and
flag desecration Flag desecration is the desecration of a flag, violation of flag protocol, or various acts that intentionally destroy, damage, or mutilate a flag in public. In the case of a national flag, such action is often intended to make a political point ...
by anti-war demonstrators. He also denied that anything except fists had been used against the demonstrators, though police records showed tools and some iron pipes were used. Brennan claimed telephone calls and letters to the unions were 20 to 1 in favor of the workers.Perlmutter
"Head of Building Trades Unions Here Says Response Favors Friday's Action; 20-1 Endorsement Cited In Phone Calls and Mail"
nytimes.com, May 12, 1970.
One man, Edward Shufro, of the brokerage firm Rose and Ehrman, saw two men wearing grey suits directing the workers. The NYPD "buried most records of police malfeasance", according to Kuhn's ''The Hardhat Riot'', and in August 1970 the NYPD published a report that largely acquitted itself of any collusion with the construction workers though its own records were decades later shown to undercut that report. The construction workers and police were both mostly "white ethnics", lived in the same neighborhoods, and socialized in similar establishments; many were also veterans of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and
Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...
, and both were also disproportionately likely to have family and friends in Vietnam. On Sunday, May 10,
White House Chief of Staff The White House chief of staff is the head of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, a position in the federal government of the United States. The chief of staff is a Political appointments in the United States, politi ...
H. R. Haldeman Harry Robbins "Bob" Haldeman (October 27, 1926 – November 12, 1993) was an American political aide and businessman, best known for his service as White House Chief of Staff to President Richard Nixon and his consequent involvement in the Water ...
wrote in his diary, "The college demonstrators have overplayed their hands, evidence is the blue-collar group rising up against them, and hepresident can mobilize them". Several thousand construction workers,
longshoremen A dockworker (also called a longshoreman, stevedore, docker, wharfman, lumper or wharfie) is a waterfront manual laborer who loads and unloads ships. As a result of the intermodal shipping container revolution, the required number of dockworke ...
and
white-collar worker A white-collar worker is a person who performs professional service, desk, managerial, or administrative work. White-collar work may be performed in an office or similar setting. White-collar workers include job paths related to government, co ...
s protested against Lindsay on May 11, holding signs reading, "Impeach the Red Mayor" and chanting, "Lindsay is a bum."HOMER BIGAR
"Thousands Assail Lindsay In 2d Protest by Workers"
nytimes.com, May 12, 1970, p. 1
They held another rally May 16, carrying signs calling Lindsay a "rat", "commie rat" and "traitor". Mayor Lindsay described the mood of the city as "taut". The rallies culminated in a large rally on May 20 in which an estimated 150,000 construction workers, longshoremen and others rallied outside City Hall. When the workers later marched down Broadway, many office workers in surrounding buildings showed their support by showering the marchers with ticker tape. One magazine coined the day, "Workers'
Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...
". On May 26, Brennan led a delegation of 22 union leaders, who represented more than 300,000 tradesmen, to meet with Nixon at the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
and presented him with several ceremonial hardhats and a flag pin. Nixon said he sought to honor those “labor leaders and people from Middle America who still have character and guts and a bit of patriotism.” Nixon's
general counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...
,
Charles Colson Charles Wendell Colson (October 16, 1931 – April 21, 2012), generally referred to as Chuck Colson, was an American attorney and political advisor who served as Special Counsel to President Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1970. Once known as ...
, who organized the meeting and was later in charge of developing a strategy to win union support for Nixon in the 1972 presidential election, identified Brennan as a friendly labor leader due to his role in organizing the counter-protests in the weeks after the riot. Brennan later organized significant union political support for Nixon in the 1972 election. Nixon appointed Brennan as his
labor secretary The United States secretary of labor is a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and as the head of the United States Department of Labor, controls the department, and enforces and suggests laws involving unions, the workplace, and all ot ...
afterward as a reward for his support and he was retained by President
Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...
into 1975, following Nixon's resignation. The book ''The Hardhat Riot'' wrote of the riot that it was the day when the Old Left attacked the
New Left The New Left was a broad political movement that emerged from the counterculture of the 1960s and continued through the 1970s. It consisted of activists in the Western world who, in reaction to the era's liberal establishment, campaigned for freer ...
, because "two
liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...
s collided that day, presaging the long Democratic civil war ahead", and that the riot and demonstrations after captured the "era when FDR’s everyman first turned against the liberalism that once had championed him" and Nixon "moved the Republican Party from blue bloods to blue collars". In their reviews of ''The Hardhat Riot'', the ''
New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...
'' wrote that the riot "changed American politics, perhaps forever" and, in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', Clyde Haberman characterized the riot as "a blue-collar rampage whose effects still ripple, not the least of them being
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
’s improbable ascension to the presidency".


See also

*
List of incidents of civil unrest in New York City This list is about incidents of civil unrest, rioting, violent labor disputes, or minor insurrections or revolts in New York City. By date Civil unrest in New York by date in ascending order, from earliest to latest. * 1712 – New York Slave ...
*
List of incidents of civil unrest in the United States Listed are major episodes of civil unrest in the United States. This list does not include the numerous incidents of destruction and violence associated with various sporting events. 18th century *1783 – Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783, June ...
*
New Left The New Left was a broad political movement that emerged from the counterculture of the 1960s and continued through the 1970s. It consisted of activists in the Western world who, in reaction to the era's liberal establishment, campaigned for freer ...
*
Mineriad The mineriads () were a series of protests and often violent altercations by Jiu Valley miners in Bucharest during the 1990s, particularly 1990–91. The term "mineriad" is also used to refer to the most significant and violent of these encount ...


Notes


References

* Bigart, Homer. "Huge City Hall Rally Backs Nixon's Indochina Policies", ''New York Times.'' May 21, 1970. * Bigart, Homer. "War Foes Here Attacked By Construction Workers", ''New York Times.'' May 9, 1970. * Fink, Gary M., ed. ''Biographical Dictionary of American Labor'', Westport, Ct.:
Greenwood Press Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG) was an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which was part of ABC-Clio. Since 2021, ABC-Clio and its suite of imprints, including GPG, are collectively imprints of B ...
, 1984; * Foner, Philip S. ''U.S. Labor and the Vietnam War'' (paperback ed.) New York: International Publishers, 1989; * Freeman, Joshua B. "Hardhats: Construction Workers, Manliness, and the 1970 Pro-War Demonstrations", ''Journal of Social History'' (Summer 1993). * Kifner, John. "4 Kent State Students Killed by Troops", ''New York Times'', May 5, 1970. * Kuhn, David Paul. ''The Hardhat Riot: Nixon, New York City, and the Dawn of the White Working-Class Revolution'', New York: Oxford University Press, 2020. * McFadden, Robert D. "Peter Brennan, 78, Union Head and Nixon's Labor Chief", ''New York Times.'' October 4, 1996. * Naughton, James M. "Construction Union Chief in New York Is Chosen to Succeed Hodgson", ''New York Times'', November 30, 1972. * Perlmutter, Emanuel. "Head of Building Trades Unions Here Says Response Favors Friday's Action", ''New York Times'', May 12, 1970. * Semple, Jr., Robert B. "Nixon Meets Heads Of 2 City Unions", ''New York Times'', May 27, 1970. * Shabecoff, Philip. "Brennan Choice Called Political Move", ''New York Times'' December 1, 1972. * Stetson, Damon. "Brennan Reports Labor Leaders Favoring Nixon Are Organizing", ''New York Times'', September 9, 1972. * Stetson, Damon. "200 Labor Chiefs in City Form Nixon Committee", ''New York Times'', September 28, 1972. {{Anti-Vietnam Protests against the Vietnam War Kent State shootings Political riots in the United States Labor-related riots in the United States Riots and civil disorder in New York City * Right-wing populism in the United States 1970 riots 1970 in New York City May 1970 in the United States 1970s crimes in New York City Labor disputes in New York City 20th-century political riots 1970 in American politics