Coal strike of 1902. History of coal miners 2022-11-08
Coal strike of 1902
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The coal strike of 1902 was a significant event in American labor history that resulted in a major victory for the United Mine Workers of America (UMW). The strike, which lasted from May to October of that year, involved over 400,000 coal miners in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. It was the largest strike in the history of the U.S. at that time, and it had a major impact on the coal industry and the broader labor movement in the country.
The coal strike of 1902 was sparked by a series of disputes between the UMW and the coal mine operators. At the time, coal miners worked long hours for low pay, often in dangerous and unhealthy conditions. They also had no job security and could be fired at any time without reason. The UMW, which was founded in 1890, had been trying to negotiate better working conditions and higher wages for its members, but the mine operators had resisted these efforts.
The strike began in May 1902 when the UMW called for a nationwide strike to demand a 20% pay increase and the recognition of the union by the mine operators. The strike quickly spread, and within a few weeks, over 400,000 miners had joined the action. The strike was characterized by violence and clashes between the miners and the mine operators, who hired strikebreakers to try to keep the mines running. The violence reached a climax in July when a group of armed men, believed to be mine operators and their supporters, attacked a group of striking miners and their families, killing more than a dozen people and injuring many more. This event, known as the "Lattimer Massacre," became a rallying cry for the striking miners and increased public support for their cause.
The coal strike of 1902 was a major turning point in the history of the U.S. labor movement. It was one of the first times that workers had successfully organized and staged a nationwide strike, and it helped to establish the UMW as a major force in the labor movement. The strike also had a significant impact on the coal industry, as it led to the recognition of the union by the mine operators and to significant improvements in working conditions and pay for coal miners.
Overall, the coal strike of 1902 was a significant event in American history that helped to improve the lives of coal miners and set the stage for further progress in the labor movement. It is a reminder of the power of organized labor and the importance of standing up for one's rights in the face of injustice.
Coal strike of 1902
Young boys were used outside the mine to sort coal from rocks; they were not allowed underground until age 18. The anthracite mines of Pennsylvania were owned by large railroads, and managed by bureaucrats. Reform and Regulation: American Politics, 1900-1916. The number of coal miners nationwide fell from a peak of 694,000 in 1919 to 602,000 in 1929, and fell sharply to 454,000 in 1939 and 170,000 in 1959. He temporarily kept pump men, engineers, and firemen on the job to prevent the mines from flooding or burning. President William McKinley was running for reelection against William Jennings Bryan under the slogan of "Four Years More of the Full Dinner Pail. The operators, on the other hand, resented the Federal mediation which had brought about the shotgun agreement of 1900, and they bristled at the idea of renewed Federal interference.
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West Virginia coal wars
People have worked as coal miners for centuries, but they became increasingly important during the After the late 19th-century coal miners in many countries were a frequent presence in industrial disputes with both the management and government. Black Coal Miners in America: Race, Class, and Community Conflict. No president had ever shown much sympathy to workers on strike. Roosevelt apologized to Cleveland for dropping him. Although the commissioners heard some evidence of terrible conditions, they concluded that the "moving spectacle of horrors" represented only a small number of cases. In order to do this, power must be given the authorized representatives of the people to act for them by conducting a thorough investigation.
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U.S. Department of Labor
Urbana: University of Illinois Press. He would do whatever was necessary to prevent interference with the resumption of work and would run the mines. Government from strikebreaker to peacemaker in industrial disputes. Then there was the tale of Kate Burns. However, many remained unemployed for many years. Law and Order vs.
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History of coal mining in the United States
Unlike soft coal, anthracite was a natural monopoly heavily concentrated in a few hundred square miles in five counties in Pennsylvania. The Often the victims were memorialized by songs. Roosevelt, who had been injured a month earlier when his carriage was hit by a trolley car, sat in his wheelchair pleading with representatives of management and labor. There photographers took pictures, and the room became so saturated with smoke from their flash powder it had to be aired out. But he also knew that a legal solution, if there was one, would come too late. Cornell University Press, 1993.
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American History USA
History of the British Coal Industry: Volume 2. This portended a shift in mentality that eventually led to much increased regulation such as the It would be decades before unions won full protection and recognition in the eyes of the federal government. Where the federal government in the past had been strongly pro-business in such labor disputes, it now acted in a more neutral manner. Closures were originally concentrated in The NCB saw three major national strikes. To keep wages low, operators flooded the coalfields with immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe. A Nineteenth-Century Coal Town's Experience with a Disaster-Prone Industry. The Letters of Theodore Roosevelt, Vol.
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The Pittsburgh Writer
Morgan, the dominant figure in American finance, had played a role in resolving the 1900 strike. There were riots in the big cities, as people began to fear a freezing winter with no coal to heat their homes. Coal is used primarily to generate electricity, but the rapid drop in natural gas prices after 2010 created severe competition. By early September, the Washington Monument had run out of coal to operate its new electric elevator for the thousands of tourists who visited every month. While the strike was eventually settled, blood had been drawn and men had lost their lives in their fight for a better, well, a better life. As George Baer wrote when urged to make concessions to the strikers and their union, the "rights and interests of the laboring man will be protected and cared for—not by the labor agitators, but by the Christian men to whom God in His infinite wisdom has given the control of the property interests of the country. London: Allen and Unwin, 1979.
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This Day in Labor History: The Anthracite Coal Strike, May 12, 1902
Life for coal miners was indeed nasty, brutal, and short. What's a Coal Miner to Do? Retrieved 1 February 2021. They had produced too much coal early in 1902 and so had large supplies. Roosevelt in 1902 click for source In most of the strikes in the late 1800s, the United States government either did not intervene, or went so far as to intervene on the side of management. It was a confrontation between a past where power was concentrated and a future where it was shared, and it would define the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. Both sides struck a bonanza as operators raised both wages and prices. Suffern, Conciliation and Arbitration in the Coal Industry of America Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co.
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Anthracite Coal Strike
Library of Congress, 1947. Scranton was at the center. He was more worried about a winter of misery, of sickness, starvation, and darkness. Wright wrote that of 147,000 strikers, 30,000 soon left the region, and of these 8,000 to 10,000 returned to Europe. Policy Jonathan Grossman Monthly Labor Review 98, 21 1975.
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The Coal Strike That Defined Theodore Roosevelt's Presidency
The The miners maintained resistance for a few months before being forced by their own economic needs to return to the mines. Theodore Roosevelt, who stepped into the breach, believed that both capital and labor had responsibilities to the public. Why, hell, half of them don't even speak English". In practice, the subsidy gave the mine owners and the government time to prepare for a major labor dispute. The report also issued a strong denunciation of violence and of the boycotting tactics of the UMW. The rank and file miners, however, were primarily interested in regaining lost income, and began slow-downs to force the company to pay higher wages.
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