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Episode 33

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Published on:

26th Aug 2024

The Coal Wars of West Virginia

In this episode, we take a journey back to the early 20th century, to the coalfields of West Virginia, where a different kind of war was fought—one that has largely been forgotten by history. The Coal Wars were not just a series of labor strikes but a full-scale conflict between coal miners and the powerful companies that controlled their lives.

We'll explore the brutal conditions that led to these uprisings, the pivotal moments like the Battle of Blair Mountain, and the long-lasting effects these wars had on labor rights in America. Through the lens of these events, we’ll answer critical questions: What drove ordinary men to take up arms against their employers? How did the influence of company towns contribute to this conflict? And what lessons can we learn from these battles about the ongoing struggle for workers' rights today?

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Transcript
Speaker:

Humans have struggled to gather resources

for hundreds of thousands of years.

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These resources provide security to our

livelihoods, and few things were more

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precious as a resource than coal was over

the last couple hundred years.

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Even to this day, coal makes up

a big chunk of our energy resources.

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And with something so important,

you'd imagine that people

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gathering this resource would be treated

with the utmost respect.

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This is sadly not the case,

and today we are looking into the blood

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soaked coal fields to discuss the coal

wars, how miners in West Virginia

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tried to make a stand to be treated fairly

by the companies that generated that.

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They generated massive wealth for King

Coal, as is sometimes referred to.

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And how this king was a tyrant

to the people that made it strong.

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We will be talking about hired agents

using machine guns and airplanes on mine

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workers, massive armed uprisings, the

likes of which the country had not seen

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since the Civil War, which, you know, it

was also still healing from at this point.

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All that and more on another episode

of the Remedial Scholar that sanction

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headmistress history, I feel I was denying

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a critical need to know

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information.

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Belong to the family.

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That step in your remedial class.

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Welcome everyone to the remedial scholar.

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I am your host, Levi.

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I hope you have all been well

since the last time we saw one another.

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I am super

excited to be with you once more

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and hopefully give you

some more great history.

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Before we get to the real reason

you're all here,

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I have a few brief

housekeeping things to discuss.

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First is to remind you

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that you can comment on Facebook Instagram

to discuss the episodes.

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There's dedicated posts on the pages

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for the podcast,

as well as on like in the group.

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There's a Facebook group for the podcast,

so go ahead and check that out.

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I would love for that group

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to kind of have natural conversations

about history grow from it.

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That would be awesome.

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That's one of my wishes with

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this podcast, is to have people

that just talk about things, history

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related and spin conversations

from episodes into their own.

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Kind of like sub sub conversation,

I guess, you know?

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Anyway, so all of those things

you can find in the description,

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also in the description merch store

with a lot of,

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you know, fun designs that I've made

and there's many more to come.

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I imagine there will be a design or two

from this episode alone.

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Lastly, before the episode starts,

I want to thank the people who have rated

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and reviewed the podcast

on all of their available

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areas Spotify and Apple Podcasts

or the big one, Spotify.

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You can even leave comments now,

which is cool.

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So I'll go ahead and try that out.

And that's it.

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That's enough of this for this malarkey

that I got going on.

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Time to get down and dirty

and take the elevator down

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to the depths of the earth in that dark,

dreary dungeon that many have called home.

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And some still remain the coal mines.

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Of course,

this episode isn't just about coal mining.

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It is such more broad episode than that.

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Coal, specifically the coal industry

seems to me like one of those occupations

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that show the absolute limit

of how rough you can treat employees.

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I'm sure you've seen the images

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of children covered in coal dust

from the 19th century,

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and despite their supposed restrictions

on many occupations, that still occurred,

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especially in like rural

and more poor communities

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and occupation that was producing

and still is, an in-demand product.

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Not treating the workers who were

the bedrock of this production fairly.

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This whole story is wild

in terms of both what, people put up with

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from the coal companies

as well as how close this

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was to being a much bigger issue

than what it was, that it ended up being,

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which is saying something

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because it's still pretty major

in implications and results.

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There's a reason why people consider this

to be America's second civil war.

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That is, that is

said along the lines of this topic

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in many article

and podcast and documentary alike.

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So this topic also almost immediately

conjures

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up songs and images in my head

about the coal mines.

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Speaking of, I think, yeah.

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Now here I think we need to change the,

background music to fit this topic

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a little bit better.

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Here.

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Yeah. That's better.

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This sounds nice, right?

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It fits the atmosphere.

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Only has some, er, banjo or something.

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Anyway, as I was saying,

I had seen pictures both online

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and in books of coal miners

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and the rickety looking equipment,

the towers of mechanized belts

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that transported the coal from the shaft

to processing trains,

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processing or trains

full of coal passing by.

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I can't read also,

when I came across this topic,

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I had two songs that came into my head.

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One I will tell you about now,

and one towards the end.

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The first one is dark

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as a dungeon, which was originally written

by Merle Travis in:

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Travis had grown up in Kentucky

and has a number of songs

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which discuss the plight of coal miner

and other economically

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disenfranchized things

the people of Appalachia have faced.

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Now people from all over have covered this

song from Gordon Lightfoot.

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Dolly Parton.

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The first time I heard the song

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was not from Merle, Dolly or Gordon,

but a band performing at a local bar.

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They did it, did a rendition of this song,

which is actually a lot closer

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to John Cowan's version.

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Cowan or Coen, I guess.

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I don't know.

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And the singer in this bar,

like in this band that I saw,

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he had that real crazy pipe.

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See, he can sing.

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And the band is called

the Davison Brothers.

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Davison, not Davidson.

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Davison Brothers Band.

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So you can look it up.

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You know, it's a really good song.

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And then the John Cowan

or Coen version is also great.

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I believe he was the one who decided

to add some lines, including the,

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talking about the diamond miners

of South Africa and one of the verses,

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which is pretty cool.

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So anyway, the song starts out

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nicely enough says, come listen,

all you fellas so young and fine.

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All right, very nice. Okay. It continues.

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Seek not your fortune in the dark,

dreary minds.

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It will form as a habit.

And seep in your soul.

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Till your heart and your blood run.

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Black is the coal.

Jesus Christ. All right.

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Chorus.

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Girls, because it's dark as a dungeon

and damp as a do.

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Where the dangerous double.

And the pleasure so few.

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Where the rain never falls.

And the sun never shines.

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Because it's dark as a dungeon.

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Way down in the mines.

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All right, so we just really got real,

real dark right away, which is fine.

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I like, one line from the middle

is pretty powerful and speaks

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to how people felt towards the companies

and how they believe

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the companies viewed them.

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It goes from West Virginia

down to Queensland, both black

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men and white, and those miners are mules

in the company's eyes.

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So, where the digging of precious

diamonds or number nine coal.

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There is no escaping, Lord,

that life in the whole last verse,

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also pretty intense, goes well,

I hope when I'm gone

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and the ages do roll, that my body

will blacken and turn into coal.

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And then I look from the door

of my heavenly home.

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And I pity the poor miner

who's been digging my bones.

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So why the heck would anybody volunteer

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to do a job

that is turned into a folk song?

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Tragedy, right? What?

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What brought things to this?

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Where?

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Where the cautionary tale

makes an amazingly depressing song.

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Hauntingly beautiful in imagery and tone,

but sad as hell.

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Well, to understand the full story,

we need to consider the context of where

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America was, socially, economically,

and even technologically.

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While coal has been around a lot longer

than the United States,

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the two have endured a lot of history

in the past 200 years.

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But we need to get to the bottom of it.

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So let's dig into it. Yeah.

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That's right. Yeah.

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Catchy with the pun. You're welcome.

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Coal is not native to North America.

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It's, Actually, I mean, it is

technically, it's not like we planted it.

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Like it's not unique, I guess is problem.

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The word has been mined for thousands

of years dating back to ancient Rome.

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And China is, well, one of the most common

formations of coal was from ancient

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vegetation being transformed via

a process called codification.

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And this is just dead plants

transforming into coal, obviously

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over millions of years

of like former dense forest

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or like see weeds and stuff

and then millions of years heat

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and pressure increase the carbon content

and then, you know, kind of

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just amalgamation of things that happened

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very scientific and turned it into coal.

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The earliest traceable use of coal dates

back to:

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BCE in China, where it was used to draw,

which makes sense.

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Still do that kind of,

you know, charcoal.

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It also uses decorative stone

carving jewelry and other things.

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It was used or as in the, 1000

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BCE, that they used it

to help smelt copper.

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And then in the 13th century,

Marco Polo was like, hey,

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these guys are actually using, Blackrock

to like, similar to what we do.

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Coal was not like super popular.

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It was just starting

to regain popularity in Europe.

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And he's like wow.

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These guys seem to be seem to be using it

quite a bit.

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We should probably figure our lives out

a little bit.

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Its biggest appeal is that it burns longer

than it would like.

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You take one piece of coal that weighs

the same as this piece of wood,

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and it's going to burn way longer

than this piece of wood, right?

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Yeah.

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So Romans used coal,

kind of like not super widespread.

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And it started to gain popularity

in the Middle Ages.

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And the mining that they did in the Middle

Ages was very surface level.

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It's not what we think about today. Right.

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But it was just taking coal

and mining it from the very obvious spots.

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Like, there it is right there.

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And by the time the English had started

to try to colonize the other half

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of the land of the world

that the French and Spanish already

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had, coal was being utilized

all over the place.

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Britain had small coal fields,

which they used heavily,

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but in the 13th century

they actually stopped using it because,

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smoke it produced from burning specific

type of coal, made people sick.

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So it polluted their.

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How interesting.

I'm sure there's nothing like in there.

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I'll look into further there.

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But, despite this, coal

would obviously continue to be being used.

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Case, you live under a rock and

that rock is coal and somebody's mined it.

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Now you're open and open,

As the colonists moved to the New World,

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they found coal deposits

and would use them, but not really in

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any extreme fashion.

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That would all change

when the Fire Nation attacked.

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And by Fire Nation,

I mean Industrial revolution, obviously.

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And by attacks, I mean happened.

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So the advent of the steam engine

and many other quality of life

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improvements

succeeded in expanding industry.

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And this expansion created

the need for more fuel.

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Fuel, which was produced by burning coal.

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Coal was cheaper and more efficient

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to burn the wood, so coal mining

began to increase across the globe.

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The newly minted United States

found out that there were plenty

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of deposits to use

right in their backyard, Pennsylvania

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being one of the predominant producers

early on and actually

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remaining to be one of the top states

producing coal to this day.

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There are also a few different types

being mined.

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The turn of the century.

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Anthracite

I'm going to go with is, a harder coal,

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which is smokeless and cleaner,

was preferred for personal use.

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And inside the cities, while

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soft coal or bituminous but, bit ominous,

I don't know.

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I really need to start looking up

how to pronounce think.

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Listen, I listened to the podcast time.

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Second, everybody gives Dan a hard time

for not being able

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to pronounce things, but, like,

it's easy when you're like, oh, yeah,

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obviously you pronounce that wrong,

but like, you're not the one reading it.

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You know, sometimes these words sneak up

on you and it's not as easy as it looks.

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Bituminous is a dirtier coal.

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It's preferred for like steam engines,

industrial plants, things like that.

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Like locomotives starting off relatively

small, the production of the United States

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was around 176,000 short tons, which

apparently is different from regular tons.

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Short ton is exactly 2,000 pounds,

and this will come into play

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a little bit later on.

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Like most measurements, America does it

differently, so just keep that in mind.

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The descriptor of a short ton comes

the fact that a metric ton is:

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which is 2,240 pounds,

which is known as a long time.

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So make note of that.

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Over the next few decades, production of,

production would double and even triple

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into the 1850s, large output of coal

also coincided with the rise of steel

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factories, particularly in places

like Pittsburgh,

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a product of coal being heated

without the influence of oxygen created

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what is called coke,

not just a tasty beverage. Right.

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And this was used in blast furnaces to aid

in the production of iron and steel.

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Another factor of coal

rising in use was the fact that there was

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a lot of deforestation going

on, so wood prices became higher

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and higher and higher, and this kind of

seemed like a suitable alternative.

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Right. The process

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for obtaining the coal actually varied

similarly to the early years.

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It was mined out of the coal fields.

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Like I mentioned,

they did not have a large excavating tools

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and dynamite blast away

inside of a mountain, so that makes sense.

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It's also involved

just brute force, hard labor

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where you swung a pickax at a block,

black square until it shattered

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into a small pellet of coal which floated

haphazardly above the ground.

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No, wait. No no no no, that's Minecraft.

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Same difference.

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All joking aside,

it was, arduous job with the.

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And with the advances

of the Industrial Revolution, things

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changed a little bit, but still required,

you know, men with grit

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who could work half a day or more down

in the dark, blasted out caverns.

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They weren't even really caverns at first.

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They just kind of dug straight down,

just wider than the men themselves,

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you know, rigging up some buckets

and a rope kind of pulley system.

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This was the typical method

until after the Civil War, at which point

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production of coal was instrumental

in the corporate growth in America.

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And because of that fact, demand

for this black gold, it grew even higher.

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This also meant

that there was a need for more miners.

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And so the once smaller scale

job began to grow and was no longer

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a skilled profession.

You didn't have just like that, guys.

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A miner was like, hey,

the mines are hiring kind of thing, right?

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They're hiring

pretty much to the lowest bidder.

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Anybody who could really swing a pickax,

you might be speculating

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that this fell in my cosmic shoes,

and it definitely did.

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I think the coal operators

felt that, profit they could make over

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these people was higher than the profits

they lose by their ineptness.

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This did not stop the coal companies

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from putting in some,

unsavory business practices in place.

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For instance, the practice of cribbing

in which the mine operators

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retrofitted

the mining carts to hold more than the,

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20 ish pounds

that they were built to hold.

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This is one of those instances

where the pounds for a tonne is important,

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right? Still not the main reason

to remember it, though.

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So keep it. Keep thinking about it.

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Essentially, these miners

would fill these carts up and be paid per

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cart or per 2,000 pounds, when in reality

they were mining

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maybe a few hundred extra pounds of coal

without even knowing it already.

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Not great.

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Another thing that was done,

which was actually done for a good reason

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at first, was company stores.

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If you know anything about them

but don't understand why they'd be good,

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or if you've never heard about them,

let me explain.

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And honestly, either

way, like I'm going to explain it anyway.

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So many of these mines were more remote

than your typical log

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camp or docks, where workers would be able

to, like, find jobs.

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This secluded nature of these mines,

you know, clear in the mountains

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away from civilized nation, meant

that the resources were pretty limited.

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And in effort to keep new miners happy,

happy

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companies often open stores for the camps.

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Right.

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So this would evolve into towns

and the homes, like little cabins

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or shacks, which were owned by the company

and then rented to the miners.

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And I'm sure you're kind of seeing

the issues which can stem from this.

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And if you know about this kind of thing,

then you already know the issues, right?

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Like I said, started

pretty innocently enough.

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This would mutate as soon

as the coming year of the coal companies

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realized they could manipulate the set up

so that they went on every angle.

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Kind of reminds me of that McDonald's

movie where they talk about, McDonald's

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franchises over owning the land in which

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the McDonald's is like placed.

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The franchise is placed

so corporate McDonald's owns land,

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and then they rent

that land to the franchisee.

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So now you're paying rent

to the corporation,

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and you're also giving a chunk

of your profits to the corporations.

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Very tricky stuff.

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Another modern day example would be like

if you worked at Amazon,

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and then they also happen

to own the apartment

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you live in and the gas station you

frequent in the grocery store you shop at.

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I'm sure they wouldn't

do something like that.

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In addition to this,

the people who were taking jobs were often

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not people who had options.

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After the Civil War especially,

it was immigrants new to the country

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or people leaving their former homes

for something new.

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What do you do when you move far away

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and move from far away

and have no real money to do anything?

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Well, you're not the gold company

actually has your back.

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Believe it or not,

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cooperators would often let new miners

move into their company houses.

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How awesome is that?

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First month's rent on us.

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We'll just work it into your contract.

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You don't have any mining tools

of your own.

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Well, that's okay, we'll front

you some money for supplies as well.

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Anything to get you started. Really?

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Your first paycheck will be in a month

of course.

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We need you to work that full month

before we can pay you.

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And by that time, that first paycheck

might just be completely depleted.

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Which means going to the company for more

help, which means more debt and so on.

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If you got fired or quit,

you obviously you'd be out of the house.

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Right? So that was a stressor as well.

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These advances, advances or paychecks

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were sometimes given in

what is called scrip scrip.

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But scrip is also what they called

many different things.

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You know, companies that owned company

stores often paid or offered exchanges

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in scrip for real money

to be used at these companies stores.

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You could get scripts for, you know,

food items, clothing items, whatever.

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There's, in one of the, resources I use.

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They have, a piece of scrip

for a loaf of bread,

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you know, so this could, like,

replace your paycheck if you were in debt.

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They're just like, all right, well, here's

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your script for your food,

and it's just a loaf of bread, right?

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They obviously couldn't let you starve

because, you know,

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they'd have to find a new owner,

but they let you get close.

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Another real dark aspect of scrip

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is what could be done for food

or other necessities in the home.

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Listen, people don't phrase things

the way I just phrase that last sentence

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:

without some real devious things

about to be presented.

357

:

So fair warning,

one thing that could be done

358

:

to feed your family

while your husband works all day

359

:

long or night either

way, was called an Esau script.

360

:

For my Bible fans out there,

you might recognize that name

361

:

from the book Genesis, specifically,

how bad of a hunter he was

362

:

and how his brother Jacob

363

:

agreed to feed him, but only for the small

price of his birthright.

364

:

As firstborn son in the family.

365

:

Pretty is essentially ab

This essential abdication

366

:

of his birthright would give Jacob claim

to the familial inheritance.

367

:

So what exactly does

368

:

the story of the worst hunter in the Bible

have to do with the coal miners,

369

:

where the company

is going to force these families

370

:

to sign away

their wills to the company or something?

371

:

Did they ask for the firstborn son?

372

:

Are we selling kids to the mines?

373

:

Kind of,

if the family had a need for money,

374

:

you know, if the if the miner, you

know, was working and then got injured

375

:

or if he got sick or something, you know,

376

:

obviously if they if they were healthy,

they didn't have any need

377

:

for any such thing.

378

:

They were they would just be in this,

like, endless Groundhog Day of debt,

379

:

right, with the mine operators,

which was better

380

:

than not having anything at all to many.

381

:

But if the if the husband couldn't

work, often children would toil

382

:

at his place sorting coal, something

menial, pushing carts, things like that.

383

:

If the kid was too young or did not exist,

you know,

384

:

then the loan was issued to the wives

and given 30 days to be repaid.

385

:

If the husband got well before then,

great debt repaid.

386

:

Wonderful.

387

:

If not, then the loan

would be in a sort of like default

388

:

and then could be paid off with the body,

you know?

389

:

So yeah, not really the best option

you could have.

390

:

Essentially, like,

I don't know, there's, there's

391

:

been some whitewashing on this too,

because that like entire topic

392

:

of coal wars

in general is very muddied up.

393

:

But like this thing,

the Esau's script specifically,

394

:

where these women were, like,

ashamed about it or like,

395

:

people were saying

the women weren't ashamed about it

396

:

because, you know, they're doing this

proud thing.

397

:

They're feeding their

families. And, you know,

398

:

you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes.

399

:

But like, also, the company's

kind of forced them into this situation

400

:

a little bit.

401

:

They basically are like, hey,

we have our company stores

402

:

for you to shop at,

and you obviously have debt to us already.

403

:

And hey, would you know that

404

:

your husband is working a dangerous job

that has toxic air and poor conditions?

405

:

Oh, wow. Yeah, he got sick too. Darn.

406

:

Guess you'll be needing to feed the kids,

Speaking of his, little John Jacob

407

:

Jingleheimer Schmidt.

Old enough for the mines.

408

:

He's not darn darn.

409

:

Well, good luck feeding the family.

410

:

And then, like, they just, like,

completely railroaded the situation.

411

:

So now you have women have to do whatever

the mine guards or owners

412

:

or whoever decides

to cash in on the Esau's script.

413

:

So that's exciting, right?

414

:

Other things companies would do

to take advantage of the workers would be

415

:

to refute the purity of the hauls,

stating that too much

416

:

non coal got it into the cards

and thus paying less for these hauls.

417

:

The coal operators were often ones

who decided how impure the coal was,

418

:

so you can imagine how quickly

this could spin out of control,

419

:

especially when combined with the fact

that these hauls were sometimes way larger

420

:

than what the miner thought.

421

:

You bring up a car of what you believed

to be through that 2,000 pounds

422

:

or close to it, and then you were told

that it's a 75% pure haul,

423

:

so you get paid for 75% of that haul,

when in reality

424

:

the haul might have been 95% pure

and also weighed 2,500 pounds.

425

:

So then they just

got a bunch of free money by

426

:

both not paying you for the

427

:

amount and docking for the purity,

which is kind of wild to me.

428

:

Things like this are why the miners

quickly looked around and wondered why

429

:

they weren't saying something, doing

something about this, what could be done?

430

:

The company owned your house, had your

job, your safety, maybe even your wife.

431

:

In some situations, I think these factors

all point to the desperation

432

:

a lot of these miners felt,

433

:

and they thought they should perform

a strike to take power of the position

434

:

and show these coal companies what

Matt would like, that that they mattered.

435

:

Right.

436

:

This was not the first strikes in the US,

not by a long shot.

437

:

Even the steelworkers had their own strike

going around, a little bit before.

438

:

That's called the Homestead strike.

439

:

And even before that,

the railroad, strikes happened, which the

440

:

homestead strike I mentioned had a, well,

it turned into the Homestead massacre.

441

:

So you could probably guess

it didn't work out super well.

442

:

Still, the coal miners felt

they had a better position of negotiation.

443

:

In 1897, a union walkout occurred.

444

:

Coalfields

all over ceased to function in this time.

445

:

And which is rough because obviously coal

a big part of your society as a whole,

446

:

like so you have walkouts that cripple

the coal industry in every state,

447

:

you know, hundreds of thousands of miners

standing in solidarity.

448

:

And every state except West

449

:

Virginia, West Virginia mines

remained anti-union and staunchly so.

450

:

They actively fired anyone who breathed

the word of union activity.

451

:

And since being fired

452

:

also meant losing your home in many cases,

this spread fear throughout the miners.

453

:

Right?

454

:

Kind of reminds me of like, North Korea

in a way where there's

455

:

I don't know how true this is.

456

:

I never actually looked into it.

457

:

But there's that thing where, like,

if you disrespect North Korea

458

:

or if you flee North Korea,

the government will pretty much

459

:

take every member of your family

and put them into work camps.

460

:

So that's like so

that's like preventing you from doing this

461

:

because it's like you're causing

the suffrage of all these people, right?

462

:

I don't know

if suffrage is the right word.

463

:

But anyway,

so these mines in West Virginia, actually,

464

:

they, they

465

:

supported the mining industry,

the coal industry during these strikes.

466

:

Right.

467

:

And made it possible

for the coal companies

468

:

to outlast the strikers,

469

:

because the whole point of a strike is,

hey, we're going to walk out on our jobs.

470

:

Good luck. You trying to do it?

471

:

And then the coal companies were like,

well, we got West Virginia.

472

:

We'll just work them to the bone.

473

:

And so that's what they did.

474

:

So, the last bastion of Union,

475

:

this West Virginia,

476

:

was now the target of union leaders

and say, we need to get you guys on board

477

:

so we can do this. Right.

478

:

And they felt if they could get into West

Virginia, they would finally have this

479

:

bargaining power that they needed to argue

their case for just fair treatment.

480

:

It's not like

they're trying to like, run the companies.

481

:

They were like,

we just want to be treated fairly

482

:

and so West Virginia

threw everybody out of whack, right?

483

:

I want to stop for a moment

and paint a picture as to why unions were

484

:

such a four letter word, similar

to how they are perceived by some today.

485

:

Right.

486

:

Unions are looked at,

with a sort of hesitation from both public

487

:

and definitely from company perception.

And why is that?

488

:

Well, today's story definitely influenced

that from the company's perspective.

489

:

But let's take a moment,

go back a little bit.

490

:

The idea of unions is not new to the 19th

century, or even an American invention.

491

:

One could argue

492

:

that unions actually have their origin

in trade guilds from medieval times.

493

:

Your prices and quality of work was

dependent on the guilds across the lands.

494

:

Medieval guilds were associations

of artisans and merchants in towns

495

:

during the Middle Ages

that regulated trade, maintained quality

496

:

standards and provided social

and economic support to their members.

497

:

The word guild is an Old Saxon word

for yield or to pay,

498

:

not the and this comes from union

dues like type of payments

499

:

that would be contributed

500

:

to the guild itself paying in, essentially

like buying into it.

501

:

There are two main types of guilds

merchant guilds, which were,

502

:

which controlled trade and commerce,

and then craft guilds,

503

:

which oversaw specific trades

like blacksmithing or weaving.

504

:

Guilds had, you know, a hierarchy,

apprentices as journeymen masters.

505

:

And they played major roles

in the economic regulation, social worker.

506

:

Well, welfare, warfare,

social welfare and local politics.

507

:

Over time, the rise of capitalism

and the Industrial revolution

508

:

led to their decline.

509

:

But their influence, you know,

can still be seen in these trade unions.

510

:

The reason for this connection

is that both aimed to protect the members

511

:

economic interests, enforce quality

standards, provide social support,

512

:

guilds regulated trade, ensured fair

wages, offered apprenticeship programs

513

:

much like union had unions

advocate for workers rights,

514

:

influence industry

standards and offer vocational training.

515

:

To this day,

516

:

both held a political influence

and represented members in the disputes.

517

:

Overall.

518

:

You know, guilds

519

:

kind of established these practices

that unions would pick up on later.

520

:

These medieval

521

:

unions, union counterparts, also did

a lot for communities they lived in.

522

:

You know, masonry

guilds often helped plan or just build,

523

:

buildings, schools, churches, cathedrals,

524

:

roads, guilds would help their members

when they were ill.

525

:

They would pay for funeral services

if they died and give money to the widow.

526

:

They had a high standard

for who could join.

527

:

Entry fee and dues often reflected that.

528

:

You know, the higher the entry fee,

the higher the dues, the better.

529

:

The guild was supposed to be.

530

:

You know, if your copper was less

than stellar, you'd make no money.

531

:

So the Sierra is lucky

there's no guild in his town, right?

532

:

Guilds also held apprenticeships

and trained the next generation

533

:

and then off and promoted an increase

in skills amongst them over time.

534

:

And this seems like why so many beautiful

buildings are from that time.

535

:

You know, guilds provided

significant advantages to their members

536

:

by controlling competition,

maintaining quality standards.

537

:

Like I mentioned.

538

:

And then also sometimes

539

:

members could be exempt from local taxes,

which would help them, you know,

540

:

focus a little more on their work

and stress a little less about money.

541

:

They enforced rules, prevent undercutting

prices, poaching customers and working

542

:

religious holidays, maintained,

fair practices within the Guild.

543

:

Guilds

also controlled wages at a certain aspect,

544

:

and the conditions of product sales.

545

:

And they had kind of a monopoly

on their craft.

546

:

Like if you didn't buy a guild quality

piece of furniture or whatever.

547

:

Like that was kind of like,

all right, you're gonna

548

:

you're rolling the dice thing might suck.

549

:

So anyway, but also

550

:

that strict control

kind of could backfire and would lead to,

551

:

you know, dissatisfaction in the workers

and also the general public.

552

:

So just a little connection

to some ancient stuff,

553

:

comparing these to, modern unions,

medieval guilds in modern day unions are,

554

:

they share similar roles

in protecting members, regulating labor

555

:

conditions, controlling competition,

setting standards, managing wages.

556

:

But they differ significantly in methods

and impact.

557

:

Guilds established monopolies,

controlled entire trades, with sometimes

558

:

suppressed wages, even,

which could lead to worker revolt, like

559

:

they would start rioting in contrast,

modern unions focus on advocacy for worker

560

:

rights, fair wages, competitive market

without monopolistic control,

561

:

or the same level of legal authority

that deals guilds had.

562

:

So what do people dislike

about modern unions?

563

:

Well, one is that,

you know, it kind of takes away control.

564

:

Of the employees away from the employer.

565

:

This is only kind of a negative

if the employer genuinely

566

:

cares about their employees.

567

:

But if there is a union present,

I'd say the likelihood of that

568

:

being the case is probably not very high.

569

:

You know, it's like if, Child

Protective Services,

570

:

if CPS comes to your house

and takes your kids,

571

:

you probably did something to make

that happen.

572

:

Unions don't just show up in a vacuum

if the employees are being taken

573

:

care of thanks to the unions,

then why do companies hate them?

574

:

Well, a few reasons.

575

:

Firstly, unions

protect the worker. Right or wrong.

576

:

This means, you know, these lazy

sleaze bags don't get fired

577

:

for being lazy or messing up.

578

:

Obviously,

if you have unproductive workers

579

:

which hinder your profits,

you aren't going to be super pumped.

580

:

Another issue is that

when unions are around for too long,

581

:

that power can get to their heads.

582

:

In a way,

the longer the unions are around,

583

:

the more it seems they act in ways

to ensure they stay relevant.

584

:

These type of actions,

585

:

or what leads to legislation

preventing bad workers from being fired?

586

:

More and more demands made by unions

tend to scare people at a certain point

587

:

because they can be unreasonable

to a certain extent.

588

:

And part of this is the union continuing

to try and justify

589

:

its existence, to bring back,

to bring back the CPS metaphor,

590

:

it would be like, having a light,

like a live in service worker to monitor

591

:

you all the time and also demanding that

you give her massages and do her laundry.

592

:

Is monitoring necessary?

593

:

I mean, you hope not,

but it might be not massages and laundry

594

:

a little bit overkill.

595

:

Going back to the lazy union workers

a little bit in my experience,

596

:

there can be interpretation

that union people work harder

597

:

just because unions are found

more frequently in more difficult jobs.

598

:

I worked with a guy who was former union,

and that was always like the attitude

599

:

about him before we really knew

anything about him as a person.

600

:

Turned out,

you know, he did know his trade well.

601

:

But as for working pace,

it really wasn't that great.

602

:

He tried to cut corners

when he could, got mad

603

:

when people held them to the standards

of the company we worked for didn't help.

604

:

That was already old as hell.

605

:

So on.

606

:

Then, on top of that,

607

:

he's saying the weirdest stuff

all the time, didn't conform to change,

608

:

and just kind of seemed overall

disinterested in helping the team,

609

:

which all seem very weird

knowing he was a union guy.

610

:

But the real hostility towards

unions were back in the day

611

:

is actually connected

to the unionization of workers.

612

:

A little movement growing in the East.

613

:

The rise of communism,

the connection to Marxist ideologies,

614

:

and the eventual fall of the aristocracy

in Russia would make people scared

615

:

of that sort of thing.

616

:

In the United States,

617

:

his did align with some of the events

that began to transpire.

618

:

Specifically, it comes on the heels

of one of the first major moments

619

:

in these cold wars.

620

:

In April of 1912,

a strike drawn up by the United

621

:

the United

622

:

Mine Workers of America began in paint

in Cabin Creek, West Virginia,

623

:

and there was a list of demands

of the Union on that, wanted.

624

:

And it went like this.

625

:

Number one, cooperators

needed to recognize the unions.

626

:

If you can't do that,

then you know we can't be here.

627

:

Like, obviously,

628

:

number two miners have a right to free

speech and peaceable assembly.

629

:

Oddly enough,

even though these things are part

630

:

of our modern constitution,

it wasn't always the case.

631

:

But, and it wasn't always enforced.

632

:

All the way either.

633

:

Number three, they wanted the blacklisting

of workers who had been fired

634

:

for a number of things,

most notably trying to unionize.

635

:

They wanted them un blacklisted,

which makes sense.

636

:

You know, officially,

if you're going to allow the unions in,

637

:

then you've got a UN blacklist of people

that you fired for being in the union.

638

:

Number four, the end of compulsory

trading at company stores before

639

:

shopping at company stores,

only the company owned

640

:

really wasn't fair for anyone

other than the very secluded mines.

641

:

But even those were beginning

to gain access to nearby towns

642

:

via trains, so company stores

kind of pointless at this point.

643

:

Number five,

the practice of cribbing was to be banned,

644

:

which you will remember

is the stealing of extra coal from miners.

645

:

They also wanted

2,000 pounds to equal a ton.

646

:

Which of you know it is a ton in America?

647

:

If you ask somebody what?

648

:

How much is a ton more than likely

they'll go 2,000 pounds.

649

:

That is an American ton,

a long ton or a short ton.

650

:

Sorry, not a long done

long ton is also a metric ton.

651

:

I'm still confused by that.

652

:

And number six, this bit is actually tied

to this next one, right?

653

:

Where they demand miners

be allowed to have their own check.

654

:

Women like somebody checking the waste

girls, ensuring that the miners

655

:

were being treated

and paid fairly for that, you know, by

656

:

the operators not being scammed

in any way, shape or form.

657

:

And number seven, lastly,

the two check women,

658

:

one by the union rep

and won by the coal company.

659

:

They were cooperatively cooperative.

660

:

Decide what, if any, docking penalties for

impurities shall be placed on the miner.

661

:

Right.

662

:

So instead of

663

:

just the coal company being like,

oh darn, this thing's only like 30% pure.

664

:

Sorry,

I guess you only get 30% of your money.

665

:

Now there's two people named one,

you know, the person to verify

666

:

basically what's going on.

667

:

So obviously all of these kind

of infringe on these coal miners rights.

668

:

You, you know,

669

:

you want us to not just fire you

for wanting rights for speaking freely.

670

:

You want to you want to stand there

and tell us that we need to treat

671

:

you like regular people.

672

:

Oh, okay. No, thanks.

So the strike was on.

673

:

Now we need to take note of a few of the

main actors in the in this said strike.

674

:

First, we have Mother Jones.

675

:

Is she related to Mother Teresa?

676

:

I hope not, mother Jones, born Mary G.

677

:

Harris in Ireland around 1837,

fled with her family to North America

678

:

during the potato famine

and faced all the challenges

679

:

an Irish immigrant

would face in that time.

680

:

You know, they

681

:

they honestly did not get,

not getting treated great back in the day.

682

:

But anyway, they first settled in Canada

and then she would end up moving

683

:

to America and moved to Michigan

specifically and began

684

:

teaching at a convent, I think in 1859.

685

:

She was 23.

686

:

And then she got kind of tired of it,

moved to Chicago,

687

:

where she met a man named George

George E Jones.

688

:

I wanted to emphasize that George E,

his middle name,

689

:

starts with an E Jones, not

because I wanted to say it, George Jones.

690

:

And then it was just going to be like,

his name is Georgie.

691

:

It's not. But it could be.

692

:

I guess.

693

:

He was an ironworker and a union member,

694

:

which, you know, would later influence

her activism.

695

:

By 1867,

Mary had three children with George.

696

:

But unfortunately for Mary, tragedy

would strike,

697

:

and the form of yellow fever,

the yellow fever epidemic in:

698

:

and it would claim the lives

of her husband and all of her children.

699

:

So rough start, right?

700

:

Devastated, she returned.

701

:

She returned to Chicago and started,

dressmaking

702

:

business catering to the city's

wealthier residents.

703

:

You know, finding a little bit

of a new purpose in her life.

704

:

She's like, all right, well, I'm going to.

705

:

I'm going to just make some cool dresses.

706

:

This is like, this is my life.

707

:

However, however, in 1871, the

708

:

The Great Chicago Fire destroyed

most of the city, including her home

709

:

and her business,

and also probably all of her

710

:

treasured family heirlooms

and any memory of her children.

711

:

I'm imagining like, I can't

712

:

this is Mary had, like, the worst luck

for the first half of her life.

713

:

Despite these hardships, Mary

714

:

continued to channel her passion

and helping rebuild the city.

715

:

She became involved

with the Knights of Labor,

716

:

an organization

which was not like a true union.

717

:

But they did advocate for workers rights.

718

:

They're kind of like a social club,

I guess.

719

:

She participated in various strikes

and actions

720

:

led by the Knights,

but as the organization kind of declined,

721

:

she shifted her

focus to the United Mine Workers.

722

:

When Mother Jones became

a prominent union organizer or educator.

723

:

And then, she was also a member

of the Socialist Party of America,

724

:

which is, you know, these are like

these little things that people are like,

725

:

see, communism, I told you, like,

these are like the seedlings of this.

726

:

Yeah.

727

:

She she gained notoriety for organizing

wives and children of striking workers

728

:

in the demonstrations, earning the title

of the most dangerous woman in America.

729

:

Not to be confused with Typhoid Mary, but,

one of the, district attorneys

730

:

that would go up against her in the 1902

731

:

trial would declare her

the most dangerous woman in America.

732

:

Unlike many female activists of her time,

Jones did not

733

:

prioritize women's

suffrage, famously stating, quote,

734

:

you don't need to vote to raise hell,

which I love that, that that's awesome.

735

:

This ladies, she's a badass.

736

:

And also, you know, I feel bad for her.

737

:

But even if I didn't know her story,

that quote still awesome.

738

:

That might be the next T shirt,

I don't know.

739

:

Let me know if you agree.

740

:

I'll get it out before election season.

741

:

She believed that advocating

for the working

742

:

class was more important

than focusing solely on women's rights.

743

:

She thought, though

she supported any movement that brought,

744

:

you know, freedom to her class.

745

:

Jones was known for her

charismatic and impactful speeches,

746

:

often using props, visual aids,

dramatic stunts to make her point.

747

:

She spoke in a brogue that was like,

you know, it was,

748

:

you know, pleasant kind of Irish tone.

749

:

People would enjoy listening to her

speak and then, she

750

:

you like,

she would put crazy inflections on.

751

:

And apparently the age of 60,

752

:

she embraced the persona, Mother Jones

deliberately appearing older

753

:

by wearing outdated black dresses

and referring to male workers as her boys.

754

:

This was also a propaganda stunt for her,

to get sympathy from people.

755

:

You know,

so the first, recorded reference

756

:

to her as Mother

Jones appears in a print in:

757

:

Yeah, yeah, she would

she would, like, work this mother angle.

758

:

She'd like, I'm just a frail old lady.

759

:

And then she'd like.

760

:

And also, you guys needed,

761

:

you know, she had she would cry,

she would say some crazy stuff.

762

:

I'll I'll repeat some things

that she says in a little bit, but.

763

:

So that's the first person maybe

I talk too much better, I don't know.

764

:

Her story is super,

super cool, rad as hell.

765

:

And I wanted to share it either

way. Moving on.

766

:

Baldwin Felt's detective Agency

not so much a noir crime

767

:

fighting group, but more like a union

strike busting group.

768

:

Think of like the Pinkertons,

especially like in the years

769

:

after the Wild West chases and whatnot.

770

:

The Pinkertons would break rail union

strikes, and I think they still do that.

771

:

I think I think they're still actively

doing things like that.

772

:

Happy to have smoked many of them

773

:

during my playthroughs of Red Dead

Redemption, though, so I, I

774

:

yeah, I am not nice to them,

I'll tell you that.

775

:

The Baldwin Phelps Detective Agency

was founded by William Baldwin in the late

776

:

19th century, along with Thomas Phelps,

began as a private detective agency

777

:

providing security investigator

writing services for railroads,

778

:

particulary particularly in cases of train

robberies.

779

:

Baldwin was originally

from Virginia, moved to Roanoke to oversee

780

:

the security of the Norfolk or Norfolk,

whatever, Western Railway.

781

:

Thomas Phelps, he's a lawyer from Virginia

and joined the agency in the:

782

:

And then, you know, in 1910,

the company was renamed to Baldwin Phelps

783

:

Detective Agency.

784

:

Agency gained national recognition in 1912

during the manhunt for Floyd Allen

785

:

and his family after a deadly courtroom

shootout in Carroll County, Virginia,

786

:

Baldwin Phelps detectives successfully

captured most of the fugitives,

787

:

solidifying their their reputation right

as railroad crime declined

788

:

in the early 20th century,

they shifted their goals to strike,

789

:

breaking working for mine companies, suppress labor unions, their violent tactics.

790

:

Would ramp up in West Virginia,

791

:

but also in Colorado,

in these coalfield struggles.

792

:

And then there, you know,

in this case in West Virginia,

793

:

particularly led by Thomas Phelps

and also his brothers, Albert and Lee.

794

:

So those are the people of the detectives

agencies to keep in mind.

795

:

Lastly, for this instance,

we have Governor William E Glasscock.

796

:

Glasscock. Right.

797

:

Which Mother Jones has is one of one of

the things I was going to tell you about.

798

:

She referred to him as Crystal.

799

:

Peter, for modesty

sake, is what she said so incredible.

800

:

Great burn. For the early 1900s.

801

:

Oh, what's that, Mr. Glasscock?

802

:

Now, I'm going to call you Crystal Peter,

803

:

just to make sure I don't ruin

the modesty of these women here.

804

:

Governor

805

:

Bailey was the governor of West Virginia

at the beginning of the strike.

806

:

But, you know, governorship would change

807

:

hands, a few months in or a few months

before it would actually end.

808

:

His inclusion is more to paint

the full picture of the strike.

809

:

And who was at the opposing side.

810

:

He held power to quell

any potential violence that may occur,

811

:

protect those miners who were striking

and yet refused to do so every chance

812

:

that he got. Pretty much so.

813

:

The strike started around

about in May of:

814

:

and by July, Mother

Jones was already fully involved.

815

:

She had organized marches

and petitioned the governor.

816

:

In July of that year, she marched with

817

:

approximately 3000 miners to Charleston,

the state capital, and read a deck.

818

:

Declaration of war.

819

:

Later that same month, the first

battle of these Cold War started the mine.

820

:

Battle of Mucklow and the mine battle.

821

:

The Battle of Mucklow took place on

July 28th and ended roughly on July 30th.

822

:

A lot of the mines that, miners are now,

I said it right.

823

:

A lot of the mines had created

824

:

these rampart like structures

to fortify their positions.

825

:

The governor

okayed them placing machine guns on them.

826

:

So, you know, super casual, a lot of,

827

:

a large force of up to 2000 miners

arrived.

828

:

And over the next two days, over

100,000 rounds were spent.

829

:

And by the end of this, 16

men died, 12 miners, four guards.

830

:

During the assault, a group of guards

actually flank the miners advance.

831

:

Man moved to the a camp encampment

where their children and wives were

832

:

and forced them from their tent tents

and chased them into a river.

833

:

Yes, that could have been worse.

834

:

Not great though

outside of the actual battle,

835

:

there were many little moments

of mine guards in these Baldwin Fields

836

:

detectives coming after miners and smaller

taxer miners coming after them.

837

:

Either way, either side

picking the other off by sniper fire

838

:

in the woods, jumping them in the woods,

real guerrilla warfare type stuff.

839

:

The next

major movement came on September 1st,

840

:

when a large group of 5000 miners

joined in on the current strikers, which,

841

:

then inspired governor Earl Crystal

Peter to, institute martial law.

842

:

Right.

843

:

As actually did help to a point,

the state troops coming in,

844

:

calming things, confiscating weapons.

845

:

But then there were like extra rules

that were now imposed on a group

846

:

that were already striking against unfair

rules with martial law, military trials,

847

:

tribunals.

848

:

These kinds of things were used quickly

to adjudicate the miners

849

:

and throw them into jail.

850

:

The miners were also being forced

to not congregate, which is like

851

:

kind of the whole point

of the strikes in congregation.

852

:

So this was like more of a direct assault

on the mission.

853

:

With martial law in effect, many began

854

:

to grow hungry as a union

were unable to reach people with food.

855

:

I forgot to mention that unions

856

:

were providing things

like food and clothes to striking miners

857

:

and their family

to supplement their income,

858

:

and also like if they were striking,

they got kicked out of their houses,

859

:

which meant they couldn't

go to the company store.

860

:

And they were all owned by the mines.

861

:

And so this was like, we don't have

any money because you only pay us in scrip

862

:

and you only let us shop at your store,

and now we can't feed our family.

863

:

And now we're striking.

864

:

Now we definitely can't feed our family.

865

:

And now the governor comes in

with these troops,

866

:

and now the Union can't even give us food

like it's.

867

:

It's a real big mess.

868

:

Mother Jones wanted to do something,

so she organized what is known as

869

:

an umbrella march, where she and

a bunch of pro-union women, some related

870

:

the miners, some where they walk

through the valley where these miners

871

:

were, with their umbrellas

up to show, like, support.

872

:

Look like, look how many of us support,

support these things.

873

:

And these are just the women, you know,

like, this is half essentially of what,

874

:

the true number, right?

875

:

By mid-October,

martial law had been lifted,

876

:

but only for a month

before it was reinstated.

877

:

And then it was like

it would go up and down, up and down.

878

:

And what Kansas?

879

:

Well, oh, governor Crystal

Peter was on his way out.

880

:

His successor was about to take the reins.

881

:

So I suppose you don't want this mess

to be

882

:

the first thing

he was to worry about right now?

883

:

Feels like it, makes sense.

884

:

But the actions of, Glasscock

would definitely tell a different.

885

:

I can't say his name without laughing.

886

:

It's his very ridiculous name.

887

:

He gave the okay for one mine.

888

:

One of the mine operators

and owner of a mine to go in and break up

889

:

some of the tent cities

that had popped up.

890

:

Quinn Morton I don't think he's

related to the salt people.

891

:

But either way, he had a plan.

892

:

He paid for a train

to come through this area.

893

:

And this train, it wasn't a normal one.

894

:

It was, retrofitted

with armored planning.

895

:

You know, like normal trains are

896

:

more armor plated than a regular train.

897

:

I guess,

898

:

as is essentially a riot control vehicle.

899

:

Furthermore, what else do you need?

900

:

Well, you got to have machine guns.

901

:

So you put some machine guns on it, right?

902

:

And who do you get to operate these guns?

903

:

Sheriff's deputies, mine guards,

along with the Baldwin salts guys.

904

:

So this train was dubbed

the Bull Moose Special.

905

:

And in any other context,

I bet it was cool as hell.

906

:

As the train rode through this tent city,

907

:

they started shooting

just haphazardly all over the place.

908

:

Luckily or not,

only one person was killed,

909

:

but a bunch of people were injured.

910

:

And the purpose of this,

911

:

while they were serving a warrant to one

John Doe for inciting a riot.

912

:

So kind of feels like

they just kind of wanted to do that,

913

:

to, like, Sir John Doe here.

914

:

We're here to serve you a warrant

for inciting a riot or.

915

:

This is

916

:

what I just it blows my mind

like, imagine,

917

:

imagine the last time you went camping.

918

:

All the tents all over the place.

919

:

People just chilling, living in the woods.

920

:

And then.

921

:

Now imagine a giant steel train

that has more steel put on to it.

922

:

Firing machine guns at you.

923

:

Okay, that's. That's scary.

924

:

That's scary.

925

:

Isaac Martin himself

would actually say on this on the topic.

926

:

He said we gave them hell

and had a lot of fun.

927

:

Again, psycho. Absolute psycho.

928

:

This assault caused a retaliation, which,

the miners now had their turn to attack.

929

:

They attacked the, mucklow mine

as they did

930

:

before, and they actually overran

the mine guards this time.

931

:

Proceeded

with blowing up a bunch of equipment.

932

:

Martial law was now placed once again,

naturally.

933

:

And this, Mother Jones actually

was arrested this time,

934

:

and under martial law,

tried for a litany of things, including,

935

:

conspiracy to commit a murder, murder,

inciting a riot, all these things.

936

:

After refusing to enter

any kind of plea where she knew

937

:

this was a kangaroo court,

she was sentenced to 20 years.

938

:

So we cool?

939

:

Enter Henry Drury Hatfield.

940

:

That's right.

941

:

Yeah.

942

:

You didn't think we'd

have this Appalachian Trail

943

:

without some good old fashioned

hot smoke dog fog action.

944

:

Did you time stoke reference

for those who.

945

:

Yeah, for those of you

who know, maybe don't know, Henry Hatfield

946

:

is the nephew of one Lance

Hatfield of the famed Hatfield

947

:

and McCoy story, which is also a story

I should do at some point anyway.

948

:

Hatfield, Henry Hatfield,

or should I say Doctor Hatfield,

949

:

as he was a surgeon

and served for many years as such?

950

:

For what reason? I'm not sure.

951

:

But Doctor Hatfield was sympathetic

to the plight of the miners.

952

:

He supported their cause,

953

:

and as soon as he entered office

as governor, he the whole scope changed.

954

:

He knowing the Hatfield and McCoy story,

then hearing that once a Hatfield shows up

955

:

in this and things calm down, it's

objectively hilarious to me.

956

:

But that's that's what happened.

957

:

This is very funny.

958

:

Hatfield swears in on March 4th, 1913,

and right away goes to the area

959

:

to render care for injured miners

and assess the situation.

960

:

He was told by a mine owner

or someone similar that it was stupid

961

:

for the governor to go to this area

in the, in the, in the strike zone.

962

:

And being a Hatfield at heart,

he punched that guy a bunch of times.

963

:

So heck yeah, he found Mother Jones, saw

how poor of health she was.

964

:

And then he issued an order

to have her transferred to a hospital.

965

:

He also issued a compromise to the miners

refusal to the contract,

966

:

which was, you're going to have to leave

West Virginia.

967

:

That was his compromise.

968

:

Like, I'm going to help you guys out.

969

:

If you don't like this, you can leave.

970

:

Also, very Hatfield of him,

I guess, I suppose.

971

:

And honestly,

probably not a bad idea, right?

972

:

Considering miner unions were in, like,

all of the other states, but,

973

:

still a hassle.

974

:

They were, ordered

nine hour workdays, right?

975

:

The right to shop at independent stores,

not just company stores

976

:

and having union reps there for Wayne.

977

:

So they got a few of the things

they were asking for, but not everything.

978

:

More fallout from this is that there were

investigations by the Senate.

979

:

They were called in,

980

:

the former governor to testify

and made him look real dumb, which I love.

981

:

The Senate

committee cited on the side of the miners

982

:

stating that situation in West

Virginia was fraught with greed

983

:

and deplorable and unAmerican condition,

which these miners were.

984

:

It sounds like a win to me.

985

:

Things calm down in West Virginia,

but there was another fight in Colorado,

986

:

which you kind of briefly mentioned

in response to poor working conditions.

987

:

You know, the United,

988

:

the United Mine Workers of America

tried to reach out into Colorado,

989

:

but they were violently opposed,

by the coal companies.

990

:

And then the Baldwin Phelps

agents also helped in here,

991

:

which led to the Ludlow or Ludlow.

992

:

Ludlow,

ing to say Ludlow Massacre of:

993

:

where the Colorado National Guard troops

attacked a tent colony of striking miners

994

:

which killed 19 people,

including women and children.

995

:

And this would actually spark the Colorado

coal fired coal, Colorado coal fueled

996

:

war, where, I mean, it was essentially

a different version of the same story.

997

:

That's a different story.

998

:

Well, right.

999

:

We're we're focused on West Virginia

:

00:52:00,383 --> 00:52:04,321

here, back to the coal wars of West

Virginia, World War one, you're familiar.

:

00:52:04,354 --> 00:52:10,060

Well, the break out of the war, actually,

and you US involvement created

:

00:52:10,060 --> 00:52:13,263

quite the bargaining chip for the miners

who were finally being treated

:

00:52:13,263 --> 00:52:13,964

with respect.

:

00:52:13,964 --> 00:52:17,300

Miners were actually exempt from the draft

during World War One.

:

00:52:17,300 --> 00:52:20,103

They were paid properly.

And more importantly, they were busy.

:

00:52:20,103 --> 00:52:25,041

And while they were exempt, a lot of

miners did volunteer to go fight the war.

:

00:52:25,075 --> 00:52:28,812

But the war meant a massive uptick

in the need for coal, which was being used

:

00:52:28,812 --> 00:52:30,046

for pretty much everything.

:

00:52:30,046 --> 00:52:34,618

President Woodrow Wilson,

while being seen as not, favoring labor

:

00:52:34,618 --> 00:52:38,054

unions, actually supported the miners

and steel workers in these unions

:

00:52:38,054 --> 00:52:40,590

that were fundamental

to the American mission.

:

00:52:40,590 --> 00:52:41,191

Apparently.

:

00:52:41,191 --> 00:52:46,363

Now, after the war, however, the the

when the easiest thing to do to secure

:

00:52:46,363 --> 00:52:49,366

profits was to go back to paying them

less than what

:

00:52:49,666 --> 00:52:52,802

what they wanted to the coal companies

did that.

:

00:52:52,903 --> 00:52:56,806

The war ended, and coal companies

also had no fear

:

00:52:57,140 --> 00:53:00,510

to give people to oppose these unions,

which was that

:

00:53:00,510 --> 00:53:03,547

they were obviously going

to become communism.

:

00:53:03,547 --> 00:53:08,251

The communist agenda is going to overthrow

their government over the Red scare.

:

00:53:09,352 --> 00:53:12,222

It's happening

that that that was the move.

:

00:53:12,222 --> 00:53:14,090

Just Russia just fell.

:

00:53:14,090 --> 00:53:16,393

I mean, I don't think they call it

:

00:53:16,393 --> 00:53:18,795

Russia back there,

but that's what's happening over there.

:

00:53:18,795 --> 00:53:20,096

And this could happen here.

:

00:53:20,096 --> 00:53:20,697

The end of the war

:

00:53:20,697 --> 00:53:25,068

also saw a decrease in demand, a demand

that peaked during the war.

:

00:53:25,068 --> 00:53:27,737

Well after the war, naturally.

:

00:53:27,737 --> 00:53:30,073

And coal being one of the things

:

00:53:30,073 --> 00:53:33,810

that was very heavily

needed during the war drastically fell.

:

00:53:33,944 --> 00:53:37,814

Millions across the country actually went

on strike in the years following the war.

:

00:53:37,881 --> 00:53:39,749

Not just miners, but everybody.

:

00:53:39,749 --> 00:53:44,487

The economy slowed down, jobs

paid less than before or at all.

:

00:53:44,521 --> 00:53:44,854

Right.

:

00:53:44,854 --> 00:53:48,225

That scared the scared

the US government in the Red scare

:

00:53:48,225 --> 00:53:53,196

was beginning to spread, which worked

in total opposition of any union progress.

:

00:53:53,196 --> 00:53:56,566

As progress

slumped, union leaders tried new tactics,

:

00:53:56,566 --> 00:54:01,271

specifically newly appointed President

John Lewis and along with Frank Keeney

:

00:54:01,271 --> 00:54:05,342

and Fred Mooney, aimed to spread unions

all the way through West Virginia.

:

00:54:05,342 --> 00:54:08,245

There are some holdout,

even though the majority of West Virginia

:

00:54:08,245 --> 00:54:09,846

coal mines had been unionized,

:

00:54:09,846 --> 00:54:14,050

a few counties in the southern

bit of the state still abstained.

:

00:54:14,050 --> 00:54:17,287

Union activity pushed into the last major

bastion

:

00:54:17,287 --> 00:54:20,290

of holdouts,

Mingo and Logan counties, West Virginia.

:

00:54:20,557 --> 00:54:24,094

This movement prompted the mine operators

to send the Baldwin Felts agents

:

00:54:24,094 --> 00:54:29,432

to Matewan, a town in Mingo County,

to begin working against the Union.

:

00:54:29,432 --> 00:54:32,636

Now, Mingo

County has a little bit of a history, one

:

00:54:32,636 --> 00:54:36,573

connected to the former governor

of West Virginia, Doctor Hatfield.

:

00:54:36,573 --> 00:54:37,173

That's right.

:

00:54:37,173 --> 00:54:37,540

Yeah.

:

00:54:37,540 --> 00:54:40,810

This is also the location of the famous

Hatfield and McCoy skirmish.

:

00:54:40,810 --> 00:54:44,748

So you can imagine that people around here

don't really take kindly

:

00:54:45,015 --> 00:54:48,018

to the rough

and tumble ways of the detective agency

:

00:54:48,118 --> 00:54:51,888

and the coal operators

in writing and striking that.

:

00:54:51,888 --> 00:54:53,123

Yeah, you'd be correct.

:

00:54:53,123 --> 00:54:57,661

These are some people who are like where

we'll fight everybody right now.

:

00:54:58,795 --> 00:55:01,831

Now, I mentioned that these two counties

were not unionized,

:

00:55:01,831 --> 00:55:05,602

but that doesn't mean that there weren't

supporters of the union within them.

:

00:55:05,602 --> 00:55:08,071

Enter Mayor Campbell, Testament.

:

00:55:08,071 --> 00:55:11,508

Mayor Testament was very supportive

of worker rights in his support.

:

00:55:11,508 --> 00:55:14,411

He appointed a police chief

who aligned with this ideology.

:

00:55:14,411 --> 00:55:18,815

Testament was a business owner

voted in by miners, and because of that,

:

00:55:18,815 --> 00:55:23,386

he felt he was loyal to the miners

who had helped secure him as mayor.

:

00:55:23,420 --> 00:55:28,158

Testament brought in a kind of wild

candidate as, the chief of police,

:

00:55:28,158 --> 00:55:31,728

someone who was definitely going

to stand up for what he believes in.

:

00:55:31,728 --> 00:55:33,963

That man is Sid Hatfield.

:

00:55:33,963 --> 00:55:36,966

Yes. Another another half field.

:

00:55:37,567 --> 00:55:41,071

Another reference to the infamous Hatfield

and McCoy skirmish.

:

00:55:41,071 --> 00:55:41,371

Right.

:

00:55:41,371 --> 00:55:44,708

Not a direct Hatfield

like Doctor Hatfield earlier said, is

:

00:55:44,708 --> 00:55:49,813

the grandson of Lanza's half brother,

half Hatfield, half crazy, really?

:

00:55:49,813 --> 00:55:50,847

No, no,

:

00:55:51,948 --> 00:55:52,849

and I think he was.

:

00:55:52,849 --> 00:55:54,084

I think he was really crazy.

:

00:55:54,084 --> 00:55:57,087

Sid had one of those local reputations.

:

00:55:57,087 --> 00:56:01,458

Like, he's like a local myth, almost,

he is a hothead

:

00:56:01,558 --> 00:56:04,260

and one who had the shooting skills

to back it up.

:

00:56:04,260 --> 00:56:06,296

Is this who you want as your police chief?

:

00:56:06,296 --> 00:56:08,031

I would say normally. Probably not.

:

00:56:08,031 --> 00:56:11,935

But in these circumstances, seems like

it's probably probably the best choice.

:

00:56:11,935 --> 00:56:15,171

Sid notoriously always carried around

two long revolvers.

:

00:56:15,171 --> 00:56:20,009

He like he was in like, the old West

and often acted as such by the time

:

00:56:20,009 --> 00:56:24,381

he was the police chief, he had gold

cap teeth and some of his upper set.

:

00:56:24,581 --> 00:56:26,683

FN also was given the name of Smile

:

00:56:26,683 --> 00:56:30,687

and Sid, which would come back around

to hard nosed, rough and tumble.

:

00:56:30,687 --> 00:56:33,089

Shoot him up

drinking love and fighting cowboy.

:

00:56:33,089 --> 00:56:34,090

Okay, right.

:

00:56:34,090 --> 00:56:36,393

Like he that's who he was.

:

00:56:36,393 --> 00:56:38,828

Perfect for the task at hand. Really,

if you ask me.

:

00:56:38,828 --> 00:56:42,665

He even, stopped drinking

when it when he realized

:

00:56:42,665 --> 00:56:45,668

it affected his ability to shoot properly.

:

00:56:45,668 --> 00:56:48,238

It is like like an antique holiday.

:

00:56:48,238 --> 00:56:50,473

Bizarro world, doc holiday, if you will.

:

00:56:50,473 --> 00:56:52,375

And he was a miner in his younger days.

:

00:56:52,375 --> 00:56:55,278

So obviously he was very pro minor pro

minor.

:

00:56:55,278 --> 00:56:55,912

Right.

:

00:56:55,912 --> 00:56:59,949

And he was only 26 when he was appointed

:

00:56:59,949 --> 00:57:03,486

police chief, which, you know, back

then, people age differently, I guess.

:

00:57:03,486 --> 00:57:08,558

But he's it is kind of crazy to me,

being almost 30 years old now

:

00:57:08,558 --> 00:57:10,360

and somebody four years

younger than me is like,

:

00:57:10,360 --> 00:57:13,229

I'm the shooting people

and I'm the chief of police.

:

00:57:13,229 --> 00:57:15,565

And we're going to

we're going to get these guys.

:

00:57:15,565 --> 00:57:20,003

The Baldwin felt the, the Baldwin felt.

:

00:57:20,003 --> 00:57:25,675

Detective agents have traveled to Matewan

now, planned their union blocking.

:

00:57:25,675 --> 00:57:29,646

They're going to put guns up

top local buildings, do a show for sure.

:

00:57:29,646 --> 00:57:31,147

Like, hey, we're going to

:

00:57:31,147 --> 00:57:34,951

we're going to really prevent these guys

from circulating their union stuff,

:

00:57:34,951 --> 00:57:39,055

which this is like some Gestapo

level behavior by the mine operators,

:

00:57:39,055 --> 00:57:40,356

which is super ironic

:

00:57:40,356 --> 00:57:44,527

because the Red scare is like running

rampant in America at this point.

:

00:57:44,527 --> 00:57:48,364

And Americans

fearful of unions and labor strikes

:

00:57:48,364 --> 00:57:51,768

as if they were going

to overthrow the country and communism.

:

00:57:51,768 --> 00:57:56,406

When the mine operators at these so-called

detectives were behaving

:

00:57:56,406 --> 00:58:01,044

exactly how like Stalin would be like,

you guys are doing a great job.

:

00:58:02,712 --> 00:58:03,646

His hilarious.

:

00:58:03,646 --> 00:58:06,683

Before and during the striking

:

00:58:06,683 --> 00:58:10,153

railroads near mine towns were manned

:

00:58:10,153 --> 00:58:13,623

by mine guards who were checking people

where they were going.

:

00:58:13,623 --> 00:58:15,992

A myron's family taking train. Why?

:

00:58:15,992 --> 00:58:17,627

Where are you going? What are you doing?

:

00:58:17,627 --> 00:58:19,229

What business you got going on?

:

00:58:19,229 --> 00:58:22,465

People coming in, find out who they are,

who they work for, what they want.

:

00:58:22,499 --> 00:58:24,801

They immediately

kicked families out of their homes,

:

00:58:24,801 --> 00:58:28,338

which they lived

while, working at the mines.

:

00:58:28,338 --> 00:58:30,607

Any whiff of a strike,

they kicked them out, right?

:

00:58:30,607 --> 00:58:34,010

They slashed tents and temporary housing,

which these people stayed

:

00:58:34,010 --> 00:58:36,579

after

they had been kicked out of these houses.

:

00:58:36,579 --> 00:58:40,049

They burned encampments,

fired guns into them via armored trains.

:

00:58:40,049 --> 00:58:41,451

And all these crazy things.

:

00:58:41,451 --> 00:58:44,354

And yet the people who just wanted

to be treated fairly

:

00:58:44,354 --> 00:58:47,557

for insanely dangerous

and genuinely hard work.

:

00:58:47,690 --> 00:58:49,492

These people are the social leeches.

:

00:58:49,492 --> 00:58:50,793

All right, all right.

:

00:58:50,793 --> 00:58:54,130

So the Baldwin fellows and mine

operators are in these towns

:

00:58:54,130 --> 00:58:56,733

trying to set up some union suppression

systems. Right.

:

00:58:56,733 --> 00:59:00,370

Men come through town, approach,

a man walking down the street.

:

00:59:00,370 --> 00:59:03,273

Hey, you own this building here?

He says he does.

:

00:59:03,273 --> 00:59:06,609

They ask if they can place

a sentry gun on there, and he says no.

:

00:59:06,609 --> 00:59:08,411

And they're like, don't you hate unions?

:

00:59:08,411 --> 00:59:11,314

And he's like, actually,

I'm mayor. That's my building.

:

00:59:11,314 --> 00:59:12,849

You can get lost. You.

:

00:59:14,117 --> 00:59:15,451

They tried to bribe him.

:

00:59:15,451 --> 00:59:17,453

Mayor Testament said, no thanks.

:

00:59:17,453 --> 00:59:19,489

I like the unions. You can leave.

:

00:59:19,489 --> 00:59:24,661

And they're like, well, we're serving

eviction notices for these guys.

:

00:59:24,661 --> 00:59:29,165

And he says, no, this is my jurisdiction.

:

00:59:29,165 --> 00:59:30,733

I'm the mayor of this town.

:

00:59:30,733 --> 00:59:32,702

That land is under my jurisdiction.

:

00:59:32,702 --> 00:59:36,172

You can't evict anybody

without my signature, essentially.

:

00:59:36,172 --> 00:59:38,041

So now they're in, like the stalemate.

:

00:59:38,041 --> 00:59:39,542

Those guys run off.

:

00:59:39,542 --> 00:59:42,579

He runs off to get an actual warrant

:

00:59:42,579 --> 00:59:45,915

drawn up so he can arrest these agents

while he's doing this.

:

00:59:45,915 --> 00:59:50,720

These, agents actually end up going in

and evicting these people anyway.

:

00:59:50,720 --> 00:59:56,359

th,:

or so of these agents are evicting people.

:

00:59:56,659 --> 01:00:00,730

Mayor Testament gets Chief

Hatfield gets their war ready to go,

:

01:00:00,730 --> 01:00:06,102

goes down, to find these agents

who are now chilling.

:

01:00:06,102 --> 01:00:10,073

By this point, they and they're waiting

under the awning of a hardware store,

:

01:00:10,106 --> 01:00:13,376

and they had already evicted

people in the rain.

:

01:00:13,710 --> 01:00:16,145

That's why they're under signing

and they're hanging out.

:

01:00:16,145 --> 01:00:19,148

And he comes up and he's like,

I got this warrant for you.

:

01:00:19,148 --> 01:00:20,917

And they said, well,

I got a warrant for you.

:

01:00:20,917 --> 01:00:22,485

And then nobody knows what happens.

:

01:00:22,485 --> 01:00:24,354

But shots rang out.

:

01:00:24,354 --> 01:00:26,289

Nobody knows who shot first.

:

01:00:26,289 --> 01:00:29,626

I still say on shot

first, but that's just me.

:

01:00:30,727 --> 01:00:32,161

Regardless, gunfire

:

01:00:32,161 --> 01:00:35,131

erupted, which no doubt delighted, said.

:

01:00:35,131 --> 01:00:36,699

I bet he was ecstatic.

:

01:00:36,699 --> 01:00:39,435

He's like, let's, let's go do.

:

01:00:39,435 --> 01:00:41,771

15 minutes later, seven detectives

:

01:00:41,771 --> 01:00:44,907

and two miners

and Mayor Testament are all dead.

:

01:00:44,941 --> 01:00:49,045

Of the seven detectives,

Albert and Lee Felts of the

:

01:00:49,412 --> 01:00:52,515

of the Felts, half of the Baldwin Felts

name.

:

01:00:52,515 --> 01:00:54,017

They're Thomas's brothers.

:

01:00:54,017 --> 01:00:58,154

Right after this, Sid is arrested,

taken on trial

:

01:00:58,154 --> 01:01:02,025

and they weren't able to prosecute him

because their trial, they couldn't find

:

01:01:02,025 --> 01:01:06,062

anybody who was impartial to him,

didn't know him in the area.

:

01:01:06,062 --> 01:01:10,633

And also, one of their lead witnesses

actually was working

:

01:01:10,633 --> 01:01:14,871

for the porcelain Felts detective Agency

is a very messy, messy thing.

:

01:01:14,871 --> 01:01:16,539

So that's not what you want.

:

01:01:16,539 --> 01:01:20,610

Sid Hatfield became this local

hero, even more so than he already was.

:

01:01:20,610 --> 01:01:23,446

So then they started to do

some propagandizing.

:

01:01:23,446 --> 01:01:27,717

They used the fact that Sid had been

very familiar with the mayor's wife.

:

01:01:27,717 --> 01:01:31,187

Both before

and after he died, and in response, Sid

:

01:01:31,187 --> 01:01:35,024

and the mayor's widow got married

like right after that.

:

01:01:35,525 --> 01:01:39,729

So, you know,

people think that this kind of points

:

01:01:39,729 --> 01:01:43,800

to some people, not everybody,

but some people think that this action

:

01:01:43,800 --> 01:01:47,670

actually points to the fact that maybe

Hatfield had actually killed the mayor.

:

01:01:47,670 --> 01:01:50,673

But this could also just be a rumor

that the agents

:

01:01:51,240 --> 01:01:55,011

decided to spread to, to, like,

kick down his legacy a little bit.

:

01:01:55,011 --> 01:01:59,182

And while these trials are going

on, you know, strikes were continuing

:

01:01:59,182 --> 01:02:00,883

in Mingo and Logan, Logan

:

01:02:00,883 --> 01:02:04,954

County agents and my guards continued

evicting people from their cabins.

:

01:02:04,954 --> 01:02:05,888

And while they did that,

:

01:02:05,888 --> 01:02:09,659

they also raided their tent cities,

which resulted in the deaths of a few.

:

01:02:09,659 --> 01:02:12,695

Following the main Matawan massacre,

:

01:02:12,695 --> 01:02:16,332

at least 26 miners

have been killed in raids similar to this.

:

01:02:16,332 --> 01:02:20,703

Some agents as well on August 1st,

:

:

01:02:20,703 --> 01:02:24,207

were actually,

being charged in a different case.

:

01:02:24,741 --> 01:02:28,911

They they had charged him

with demolition of mining equipment.

:

01:02:28,911 --> 01:02:32,682

He's apparently blowing stuff up,

and they got him in a different county

:

01:02:32,682 --> 01:02:33,783

than his home county.

:

01:02:33,783 --> 01:02:36,819

So he he arrives and many believe

:

01:02:36,986 --> 01:02:40,656

retrospectively that this was just

to get him out of his home county,

:

01:02:40,957 --> 01:02:44,427

get him away from his, you know, home

field advantage essentially.

:

01:02:44,427 --> 01:02:50,299

And the reason they think that is

because, well, when Hatfield

:

01:02:50,299 --> 01:02:53,302

in his deputy, Ed Chambers,

and their wives climbed

:

01:02:53,302 --> 01:02:56,305

the steps of the courthouse,

they were gunned down.

:

01:02:56,539 --> 01:02:58,908

He said, was killed instantly.

:

01:02:58,908 --> 01:03:00,209

He shot four times.

:

01:03:00,209 --> 01:03:04,614

Ed chambers fell down the steps,

and then an agent had walked up

:

01:03:04,614 --> 01:03:06,616

and shot him point

blank in the back of the head

:

01:03:06,616 --> 01:03:09,886

while his wife cried for them

not to do that.

:

01:03:09,886 --> 01:03:12,088

So that's that's pretty dark.

:

01:03:12,088 --> 01:03:16,926

It's one thing to get into, like a,

like a shootout with other armed people,

:

01:03:17,059 --> 01:03:21,297

but like, straight up assassinating

people like, this is actually, like,

:

01:03:21,297 --> 01:03:22,398

a little different.

:

01:03:22,398 --> 01:03:26,235

Could just be it could just be me

being a fan of the Hatfields in the story,

:

01:03:26,235 --> 01:03:26,702

I don't know.

:

01:03:27,703 --> 01:03:30,439

But these shots did more to inspire

that union,

:

01:03:30,439 --> 01:03:34,277

than any singular bullet

that Sid had fired.

:

01:03:34,277 --> 01:03:38,581

He was now a martyr to this cause,

and the brutality of the hit on him

:

01:03:38,581 --> 01:03:39,682

and chambers was one

:

01:03:39,682 --> 01:03:43,452

that would get the miners fighting harder

than they had fought previously.

:

01:03:43,452 --> 01:03:45,321

Their funeral, Hatfield and Chambers.

:

01:03:45,321 --> 01:03:48,558

His funeral had thousands in attendance

from miners all over

:

01:03:48,558 --> 01:03:51,327

the hills came to show their loyalty

and appreciation.

:

01:03:51,327 --> 01:03:55,164

Frank Keeney and Fred

Mooney were hard at work, raising word of,

:

01:03:55,264 --> 01:03:59,268

word of one of the largest, marches

they had done at this point.

:

01:03:59,268 --> 01:04:01,103

And Mother Jones was helping them.

:

01:04:01,103 --> 01:04:05,875

Six days following the retribution

shooting of Hatfield and his deputy

:

01:04:05,908 --> 01:04:09,512

at chambers,

Keeney and Company arranged a:

:

01:04:09,512 --> 01:04:12,849

strong march to the state capitol

and then a meeting with the governor,

:

01:04:12,882 --> 01:04:14,550

Governor Esther Morgan.

:

01:04:14,550 --> 01:04:17,320

In their meeting,

Governor weighed their, demands

:

01:04:17,320 --> 01:04:19,488

and told them

that he would respond to their demands.

:

01:04:19,488 --> 01:04:23,426

After thinking about them more, week

and half later, they got his answer,

:

01:04:23,426 --> 01:04:24,927

which they did not like.

:

01:04:24,927 --> 01:04:27,063

Full rejection,

citing the violence in Mingo

:

01:04:27,063 --> 01:04:30,366

and blaming it squarely on union

activists.

:

01:04:30,366 --> 01:04:30,733

Right.

:

01:04:30,733 --> 01:04:35,738

So soon a new march is being prepared

and Mother Jones not actually involved

:

01:04:35,738 --> 01:04:39,742

this time she, she said, no,

I don't, condone this thing.

:

01:04:39,842 --> 01:04:41,310

You you should not do this.

:

01:04:41,310 --> 01:04:45,281

Which kind of kind of weird

because she just literally

:

01:04:45,281 --> 01:04:48,284

just helped them

arrange this:

:

01:04:48,284 --> 01:04:52,321

And in this, like, famous instance,

Keene is speaking,

:

01:04:52,655 --> 01:04:56,058

and Mother Jones is like,

I have a telegram from President Harding

:

01:04:56,058 --> 01:04:59,862

which is says that the mine guards

are going to their band

:

01:04:59,862 --> 01:05:03,132

or whatever, and Keeney takes it

and it's like, this is fake.

:

01:05:03,833 --> 01:05:06,402

We're going in like Mother Jones.

:

01:05:06,402 --> 01:05:08,070

That's where she departs the story.

:

01:05:08,070 --> 01:05:11,173

So the kind of a sad ending to her, her

tale.

:

01:05:11,173 --> 01:05:14,310

She's kind of a rapscallion up until this.

:

01:05:14,610 --> 01:05:17,580

And then she kind of went full turncoat

a little bit.

:

01:05:17,647 --> 01:05:18,547

Now, people around her

:

01:05:18,547 --> 01:05:21,884

say that she was definitely not her

younger self at this point.

:

01:05:21,884 --> 01:05:23,719

She's just getting up there and years.

:

01:05:23,719 --> 01:05:26,322

And she literally fled West Virginia.

:

01:05:26,322 --> 01:05:28,291

Never came back. So unfortunate.

:

01:05:28,291 --> 01:05:32,762

But one day later, some 10,000 miners

marched in unison, many of them having

:

01:05:32,762 --> 01:05:36,599

fought in the First World

War, were led by a man

:

01:05:36,599 --> 01:05:39,635

who had been, instrumental

:

01:05:39,635 --> 01:05:43,839

in some of the early Union activities,

Bill Blizzard.

:

01:05:43,839 --> 01:05:45,942

He actually was

a veteran of these strikes.

:

01:05:45,942 --> 01:05:47,910

He's he's been around for a while.

:

01:05:47,910 --> 01:05:49,578

This is:

:

01:05:49,578 --> 01:05:52,348

He's seen some things. He's

he knows what to do.

:

01:05:52,348 --> 01:05:56,118

All these guys are marching in unison,

wearing their other overalls.

:

01:05:56,118 --> 01:05:57,720

And they had the red bandanas.

:

01:05:57,720 --> 01:06:02,491

The red bandana being a really famous

marker for these marches is also,

:

01:06:02,491 --> 01:06:05,594

you know, a symbol of the movement,

the red neck bandana,

:

01:06:05,594 --> 01:06:08,431

right, that nobody knows

where it originates, for sure.

:

01:06:08,431 --> 01:06:13,269

But like miners, were using this

in many of the miners at this time

:

01:06:13,269 --> 01:06:16,906

were immigrants

and a lot of them from Scotland, Ireland,

:

01:06:16,906 --> 01:06:21,610

which also those people used red bandanas

to protest the Catholic Church

:

01:06:21,610 --> 01:06:24,613

and then in the first use

:

01:06:24,714 --> 01:06:28,451

of the red bandana

in the United States, is also tied to

:

01:06:28,517 --> 01:06:33,589

the first strikes in the United States,

ch is the railroad strikes of:

:

01:06:33,589 --> 01:06:36,459

Are all of those connected?

Probably. Maybe. I don't know,

:

01:06:37,426 --> 01:06:38,627

but there's.

:

01:06:38,627 --> 01:06:40,763

Yeah. And it would make sense. Right.

:

01:06:40,763 --> 01:06:45,801

So the battalion of 10,000 headed up by a

bill Blizzard made made their way,

:

01:06:47,069 --> 01:06:49,472

made their way across these, counties.

:

01:06:49,472 --> 01:06:51,540

Meanwhile, Logan County Sheriff Don

Schaefer

:

01:06:51,540 --> 01:06:55,378

and built up defenses of machine

guns, rifles, even airplanes.

:

01:06:55,378 --> 01:06:55,745

That's right.

:

01:06:55,745 --> 01:06:58,748

We're going to have some Red Baron action

in the skies.

:

01:06:59,181 --> 01:07:02,151

,:

:

01:07:02,151 --> 01:07:05,654

men on Blair Mountain, which was,

you know, they had the high ground right?

:

01:07:05,955 --> 01:07:11,160

So for the first time since the Civil War,

armed civilians fighting armed civilians

:

01:07:11,727 --> 01:07:15,131

in this like, massive insurrection,

these men approached.

:

01:07:15,131 --> 01:07:17,800

But President Harding was like, all right,

:

01:07:17,800 --> 01:07:19,935

I think we're getting a little too crazy.

:

01:07:19,935 --> 01:07:23,472

This is this is, I'll bring

I'll bring the army down there.

:

01:07:23,472 --> 01:07:24,407

Don't make me do it.

:

01:07:24,407 --> 01:07:25,541

And might not.

:

01:07:25,541 --> 01:07:28,577

Operators,

I guess, probably were excited about this

:

01:07:28,577 --> 01:07:31,514

because a lot of these miners were former

military.

:

01:07:31,514 --> 01:07:33,883

So, like,

they're not going to shoot troops.

:

01:07:33,883 --> 01:07:37,553

They're they're fighting the companies,

not these soldiers.

:

01:07:37,553 --> 01:07:38,621

That's not the goal. Right?

:

01:07:38,621 --> 01:07:41,524

So when they found that out,

they left there.

:

01:07:41,524 --> 01:07:42,992

They did a turn around Tuesday.

:

01:07:42,992 --> 01:07:44,560

They were like, nope, nope.

:

01:07:44,560 --> 01:07:45,361

We're not doing it.

:

01:07:45,361 --> 01:07:51,300

But reports of raids on some tent camps

and some exaggerated claims of what

:

01:07:51,300 --> 01:07:55,404

was actually going on in these tent camps

actually fanned the flames of the war.

:

01:07:55,404 --> 01:07:59,175

And on August 19th,

the Battle of Blair Mountain had begun,

:

01:07:59,475 --> 01:08:02,478

which is an all right, no, no wages.

:

01:08:02,978 --> 01:08:07,349

Gun battles broke out, miners

commandeered trains to reach the sights,

:

01:08:07,650 --> 01:08:11,487

the high position and the entrenched

forces made a solid defensive

:

01:08:11,587 --> 01:08:12,822

spot for the agents.

:

01:08:12,822 --> 01:08:18,027

Gunfire rained down machine guns,

rifles, snipers all around the biplanes

:

01:08:18,027 --> 01:08:22,131

that Schaefer had hired out soared

above the battlefield, dropping pamphlets,

:

01:08:22,131 --> 01:08:23,766

which is what

they were supposed to be dropping,

:

01:08:23,766 --> 01:08:25,634

but also they made pipe bombs

:

01:08:25,634 --> 01:08:27,870

and they were dropping

pipe bombs on these miners.

:

01:08:27,870 --> 01:08:32,842

So they're actively just like doing bomb

campaigns, which is crazy to me.

:

01:08:32,875 --> 01:08:36,212

Did any miners get hit?

:

01:08:36,245 --> 01:08:39,782

Most of the sources

I say say, I read, say no.

:

01:08:39,782 --> 01:08:42,651

But you know, who knows?

Just the fact that they attempted it.

:

01:08:42,651 --> 01:08:44,153

I think it's pretty crazy.

:

01:08:44,153 --> 01:08:48,023

As the situation grew in fear

of the larger escalation ramped up,

:

01:08:48,023 --> 01:08:49,859

President Harding had to step in.

:

01:08:49,859 --> 01:08:53,295

At this point, National Guard of West

Virginia was sent in

:

01:08:53,996 --> 01:08:58,067

over 3 or 4 days of actual fighting

and started to die down when they arrived.

:

01:08:58,067 --> 01:09:02,104

As stated, many of the miners

being veterans themselves and the union

:

01:09:02,104 --> 01:09:05,908

not wanting to fight the government, just

the companies was kind of a main thing.

:

01:09:05,908 --> 01:09:07,143

Everyone and a seen it

:

01:09:07,143 --> 01:09:09,645

that this was a point at which it had gone

a little too far.

:

01:09:09,645 --> 01:09:11,814

Bill Blizzard

ordered the men to return home,

:

01:09:11,814 --> 01:09:15,684

and by the end of the battle,

between 50 and 100 miners had been killed.

:

01:09:15,851 --> 01:09:19,021

30 agents were also killed,

along with four soldiers.

:

01:09:19,021 --> 01:09:22,791

So, over the next four years,

thousands of miners

:

01:09:22,791 --> 01:09:27,229

were tried for treason, murder,

conspiracy, commit murder, and,

:

01:09:27,263 --> 01:09:30,633

you know, things along those reasons,

the charge, the charges of treason.

:

01:09:30,633 --> 01:09:33,736

A lot of those got thrown out because,

it was argued

:

01:09:33,736 --> 01:09:38,073

that they were fighting

the coal companies, not the government.

:

01:09:38,073 --> 01:09:39,842

Like they're not trying

to overthrow the government.

:

01:09:39,842 --> 01:09:42,344

They were fighting literally

just the private companies.

:

01:09:42,344 --> 01:09:44,813

So a number of them were dropped.

:

01:09:44,813 --> 01:09:47,917

But a lot of murders, murder charges

and conspiracy

:

01:09:47,917 --> 01:09:51,887

to commit murder did stick,

I think about 400 or so of them.

:

01:09:51,887 --> 01:09:54,156

Meanwhile,

the coal companies had some ideas on

:

01:09:54,156 --> 01:09:56,158

how to move forward in the fall

out of this.

:

01:09:56,158 --> 01:10:00,129

There's they move for all the same summer

propaganda tactics.

:

01:10:00,129 --> 01:10:00,496

They,

:

01:10:01,497 --> 01:10:02,765

their, their battle was

:

01:10:02,765 --> 01:10:06,802

over on the actual battlefield,

but they felt that, you know, to continue

:

01:10:06,802 --> 01:10:11,207

they had to repair their reputation,

which had taken a lot of hits,

:

01:10:11,207 --> 01:10:15,110

and they couldn't

afford to really have any more hits taken.

:

01:10:15,110 --> 01:10:16,579

So they were proactive about it.

:

01:10:16,579 --> 01:10:19,782

They lobbied school boards, hired

Ghost Company to spread pro coal,

:

01:10:19,782 --> 01:10:24,019

anti-union propaganda to the schools

of West Virginia, and succeeded

:

01:10:24,086 --> 01:10:25,287

thanks to the coal companies.

:

01:10:25,287 --> 01:10:28,891

Anything negative about their reputation

was not being placed inside schools.

:

01:10:28,891 --> 01:10:33,762

They actually, you know, played

to the McCarthy era, Red scare panic

:

01:10:33,762 --> 01:10:37,800

that they, you know, were like,

hey, if young people see that,

:

01:10:37,800 --> 01:10:40,369

this is like,

think of what could happen in this country

:

01:10:40,369 --> 01:10:42,972

as people know what can happen,

you know, this kind of thing.

:

01:10:42,972 --> 01:10:44,640

So the idea of workers

:

01:10:44,640 --> 01:10:48,510

wanting rights being a cautionary tale

for the spread of communism

:

01:10:48,510 --> 01:10:53,349

is some black magic propaganda which pits

blue collar workers against one another.

:

01:10:53,349 --> 01:10:54,617

It's very crazy to me.

:

01:10:54,617 --> 01:10:58,721

Over the next few years they would work

hard at getting, textbooks made.

:

01:10:58,721 --> 01:11:00,956

They actually had textbooks made for

:

01:11:01,890 --> 01:11:03,225

West Virginia, which were

:

01:11:03,225 --> 01:11:07,263

instituted in:

used for like 40 years, which is crazy.

:

01:11:07,263 --> 01:11:10,165

No mention of Blair Mountain, Sid

Hatfield, Mother Jones.

:

01:11:10,165 --> 01:11:10,966

Nuff why?

:

01:11:10,966 --> 01:11:13,969

Because I made it all. No, no, no,

:

01:11:14,036 --> 01:11:15,237

that would be crazy, right?

:

01:11:15,237 --> 01:11:18,974

Regardless, they were successful

:

01:11:18,974 --> 01:11:22,311

in spreading these revamped versions

of their history during this time.

:

01:11:22,311 --> 01:11:25,681

While the unions floundered

in the aftermath, nationally,

:

01:11:25,681 --> 01:11:29,718

coal mines dwindled even further

and further away from World War One.

:

01:11:29,718 --> 01:11:31,920

The worse it got as demand fell.

:

01:11:31,920 --> 01:11:35,524

There's also an increase in electricity

sweeping the nation as well.

:

01:11:35,524 --> 01:11:37,760

It's growing interest in utilizing oil.

:

01:11:37,760 --> 01:11:41,730

Coal was still being used,

but it now held a so much smaller share

:

01:11:41,730 --> 01:11:45,434

than it was used to,

and so many mines were not as necessary.

:

01:11:45,434 --> 01:11:48,570

While unions and other states

were able to secure stable

:

01:11:48,570 --> 01:11:51,640

wages for their miners,

West Virginia battled on.

:

01:11:51,640 --> 01:11:53,142

Their struggle would continue.

:

01:11:53,142 --> 01:11:54,977

And then when the stock market crashed

:

01:11:54,977 --> 01:11:58,747

in:

that made things even worse.

:

01:11:58,747 --> 01:12:02,051

Just seven years after the Battle of Blair

Mountain, coal miners all over,

:

01:12:02,084 --> 01:12:04,687

but especially in West Virginia, struggled

to find work.

:

01:12:04,687 --> 01:12:06,088

Places like Colorado,

:

01:12:06,088 --> 01:12:10,326

also still had massive strikes going on,

which didn't help matters.

:

01:12:10,326 --> 01:12:11,794

Still, fighting persisted.

:

01:12:11,794 --> 01:12:16,065

Frank Keeney tried to organize more miners

gathering around 25,000 this time

:

01:12:16,065 --> 01:12:19,735

but still unable to gain any progress,

and then soon fade

:

01:12:19,735 --> 01:12:23,605

from union activism as he tried to failed

too many times, I'm assuming.

:

01:12:23,605 --> 01:12:27,009

In fact, it wasn't until a senator

from Nebraska, you're welcome

:

01:12:27,242 --> 01:12:30,112

who sponsored a bill to make people,

:

01:12:30,112 --> 01:12:33,916

free to unionize, specifically

the full freedom of association,

:

01:12:34,083 --> 01:12:36,151

which was not to be infringed

by employers.

:

01:12:36,151 --> 01:12:41,056

George Norris had, you know, experienced

this plight of the miners

:

01:12:41,056 --> 01:12:44,126

while traveling in the East

with Fiorello LaGuardia.

:

01:12:44,126 --> 01:12:45,728

And they co-sponsored this bill.

:

01:12:45,728 --> 01:12:46,562

And passage

:

01:12:46,562 --> 01:12:50,766

seemed to reflect the public perception

of the unions and coal miners as well.

:

01:12:50,833 --> 01:12:52,668

A second name, LaGuardia, is actually

:

01:12:52,668 --> 01:12:56,472

the name of a major airport in New York,

which he helped get made.

:

01:12:56,472 --> 01:12:58,640

So that's kind of a little fun

fact here for you.

:

01:12:58,640 --> 01:13:02,244

This act actually had little immediate

impact, as the unions had exhausted

:

01:13:02,244 --> 01:13:05,280

many of their funds over the past decade

fighting the good fight,

:

01:13:05,280 --> 01:13:09,551

and could not really seize this new

opportunity given to them by this new act.

:

01:13:09,551 --> 01:13:13,689

As soon enough, Franklin Delano Roosevelt

would take office and begin his campaign

:

01:13:13,689 --> 01:13:17,126

trying to lift the economy back up

from the depths of the Great Depression.

:

01:13:17,493 --> 01:13:20,162

And part of this was getting Americans

back to work.

:

01:13:20,162 --> 01:13:22,564

Passages of acts like the Recovery Act

:

01:13:22,564 --> 01:13:25,567

pave the way for workers

to be treated fairly and with respect,

:

01:13:25,567 --> 01:13:30,038

and also for corporations pay play fairly

in terms of their prices and wages.

:

01:13:30,038 --> 01:13:31,173

Things began to change.

:

01:13:31,173 --> 01:13:33,776

The unions were no longer

fought against, were federally

:

01:13:33,776 --> 01:13:36,178

allowed to function,

and they did exactly that.

:

01:13:36,178 --> 01:13:37,513

They would fight for the things

:

01:13:37,513 --> 01:13:41,283

that had been tried to fight for,

for like decades before,

:

01:13:41,550 --> 01:13:44,820

and even improved many things

like safety measures, shorter workweeks

:

01:13:44,820 --> 01:13:48,090

and other benefits which were instrumental

in improving morale.

:

01:13:48,090 --> 01:13:51,960

Private security agencies like the Baldwin

felt agencies were no longer able

:

01:13:51,960 --> 01:13:55,230

to be employed against people simply

trying to unionize.

:

01:13:55,230 --> 01:14:00,469

In the decades after coal wars,

coal mines faced new problems in the coal

:

01:14:00,469 --> 01:14:01,570

industry, had grappled

:

01:14:01,570 --> 01:14:06,008

with persistent safety hazards

and troubling record of fatalities.

:

01:14:06,008 --> 01:14:08,944

Despite these advancements of technology

and regulations,

:

01:14:08,944 --> 01:14:11,947

catastrophic explosions, roof collapses,

chronic health,

:

01:14:12,114 --> 01:14:15,984

health issues like black lung disease

have continued to plague miners.

:

01:14:15,984 --> 01:14:18,487

Many of these dangerous stemmed

from inadequate safety

:

01:14:18,487 --> 01:14:21,623

measures, outdated infrastructure

and insufficient oversight,

:

01:14:21,623 --> 01:14:24,927

while legislation

such as the Federal Coal Mining,

:

01:14:24,927 --> 01:14:29,231

Health and Safety Act of:

sought to improve conditions, enforcement

:

01:14:29,231 --> 01:14:33,168

has often been inconsistent,

allowing unsafe practices to persist.

:

01:14:33,268 --> 01:14:37,573

The resistance of coal out of the coal

industry to stricter regulation.

:

01:14:37,573 --> 01:14:41,343

Termite concerns of increased

operational costs further exacerbated

:

01:14:41,343 --> 01:14:42,711

these safety challenges.

:

01:14:42,711 --> 01:14:46,915

The weakening of labor

unions, particularly the United Mine

:

01:14:46,915 --> 01:14:49,017

Workers of America,

the one we've been talking about

:

01:14:49,017 --> 01:14:52,621

has also contributed

to deterioration of working conditions.

:

01:14:52,621 --> 01:14:56,225

As union power waned, miners

lost a vital advocate for safe,

:

01:14:56,492 --> 01:14:59,728

safer workplaces, leading to environment

where companies increase,

:

01:14:59,761 --> 01:15:03,432

where companies increasingly

prioritized profits over safety.

:

01:15:03,432 --> 01:15:07,402

And this erosion of union influence

coincided with a broader decline

:

01:15:07,603 --> 01:15:11,139

in the coal industry,

as economic pressures and competition

:

01:15:11,139 --> 01:15:14,343

from other energy sources

led to the closure of many mines.

:

01:15:14,343 --> 01:15:18,480

These closures, while economically

devastating to mine mining communities,

:

01:15:18,480 --> 01:15:21,517

also introduced new safety risks as aging,

poorly

:

01:15:21,517 --> 01:15:24,520

maintained mines

became increasingly hazardous.

:

01:15:24,520 --> 01:15:27,890

Compounding these issues,

the environmental and health impacts of

:

01:15:27,890 --> 01:15:31,760

coal mining have extended beyond the mines

themselves, affecting surrounding the

:

01:15:32,127 --> 01:15:36,198

surrounding communities with contaminating

water supplies and air pollution.

:

01:15:36,198 --> 01:15:40,669

The shift towards cleaner energy

has, further strained the industry, as

:

01:15:40,669 --> 01:15:45,274

companies struggle with the challenges

of maintaining safety in declining market.

:

01:15:45,307 --> 01:15:48,377

You know, how are you going to pay for

safety retrofitting

:

01:15:48,510 --> 01:15:51,580

when the money isn't there, as it was?

:

01:15:51,580 --> 01:15:52,781

There used to be?

:

01:15:52,781 --> 01:15:56,485

Public awareness of these dangers

has grown, leading to legal actions

:

01:15:56,485 --> 01:15:57,920

against negligent companies.

:

01:15:57,920 --> 01:16:00,956

But significant safety concerns

remain, highlighting

:

01:16:00,956 --> 01:16:04,993

the enduring risks faced

by those who work in the coal industry.

:

01:16:05,027 --> 01:16:08,797

From:

the United States has been responsible

:

01:16:08,797 --> 01:16:14,002

for more than 100,000 deaths, reportedly,

which, you know, doesn't look great.

:

01:16:14,636 --> 01:16:18,273

In the:

were particularly high,

:

01:16:18,273 --> 01:16:21,743

with thousands of miners

miners losing their lives each year.

:

01:16:21,743 --> 01:16:24,313

Over:

:

01:16:24,313 --> 01:16:28,350

Situation gained improve in the 60s

and 70s, especially after the passage

:

01:16:28,350 --> 01:16:33,555

of the federal Coal Mine Health and Safety

Act of:

:

01:16:33,555 --> 01:16:36,858

like a decrease in fatalities

due to several hundred per year.

:

01:16:36,925 --> 01:16:39,928

The trend of declining deaths

continued into the:

:

01:16:39,928 --> 01:16:41,730

and 90s, with annual fatalities

:

01:16:41,730 --> 01:16:45,601

dropping to double digits,

averaging around 50 to 100 per year.

:

01:16:45,601 --> 01:16:49,371

More recent years, fatalities

have further decreased or decreased,

:

01:16:49,371 --> 01:16:54,076

not disgraced, with numbers generally

in the teens or single digits each year,

:

01:16:54,142 --> 01:16:59,548

in:

at five and 2020.

:

01:16:59,548 --> 01:17:00,682

Now, deep in coal country,

:

01:17:00,682 --> 01:17:03,352

there's a strenuous relationship

to the coal companies.

:

01:17:03,352 --> 01:17:04,386

Still to this day.

:

01:17:04,386 --> 01:17:07,155

In research for this episode,

I watched a few documentaries,

:

01:17:07,155 --> 01:17:09,725

on both the coal wars

and the coal industry,

:

01:17:09,725 --> 01:17:13,862

and it's pretty hard to wrap my mind

around, like just being in that.

:

01:17:13,862 --> 01:17:15,330

I can't quite put myself

:

01:17:15,330 --> 01:17:17,399

in these people shoes,

but I can definitely understand

:

01:17:17,399 --> 01:17:19,234

some of the anger

that they might have had.

:

01:17:19,234 --> 01:17:21,169

And when I watched,

they discuss the mining companies

:

01:17:21,169 --> 01:17:24,272

that basically employed

some reverse psychology to the miners

:

01:17:24,506 --> 01:17:26,608

and were doing things

like calling workers members

:

01:17:26,608 --> 01:17:29,845

if they toed the line and did best

they could for the company, and people

:

01:17:29,845 --> 01:17:32,914

who just showed up for paychecks

were referred to as employees.

:

01:17:32,914 --> 01:17:36,518

Creating this difference

of like them us versus them mentality.

:

01:17:36,518 --> 01:17:36,818

Right.

:

01:17:36,818 --> 01:17:39,621

In that same documentary

called blood on the mountain,

:

01:17:39,621 --> 01:17:43,659

there were scenes of families,

of workers of these, like members

:

01:17:43,725 --> 01:17:46,461

who were at like a company picnic,

and they were putting on

:

01:17:46,461 --> 01:17:49,698

like this performance to demonstrate

how much they love the company.

:

01:17:49,698 --> 01:17:53,402

And it just felt odd to me,

especially like knowing the history now.

:

01:17:53,402 --> 01:17:56,538

They were trying like,

too hard to be desired by the company.

:

01:17:57,372 --> 01:18:00,375

They're just like, well,

we just love being members.

:

01:18:00,542 --> 01:18:02,411

We just love being members of this

great company.

:

01:18:02,411 --> 01:18:05,280

It's like,

all right, who are you saying this for?

:

01:18:05,280 --> 01:18:08,784

Another fantastic documentary

about the hold that the coal companies had

:

01:18:08,784 --> 01:18:12,654

on the region was called King Coal,

which were really, really

:

01:18:12,688 --> 01:18:15,090

it showed this arduous relationship

:

01:18:15,090 --> 01:18:18,226

between the communities

and the coal operators, the coal mines.

:

01:18:18,226 --> 01:18:20,128

To this day,

these stories are not as widely

:

01:18:20,128 --> 01:18:23,899

known as they should be, in my opinion,

and and not even, like, heard about them.

:

01:18:23,899 --> 01:18:25,600

And if I did, I didn't remember.

:

01:18:25,600 --> 01:18:28,437

But you'd think I would have

considering this story.

:

01:18:28,437 --> 01:18:29,271

This story had it all.

:

01:18:29,271 --> 01:18:33,141

Betrayal, gun battles, armored trains,

airplanes, dropping bombs on people.

:

01:18:33,141 --> 01:18:37,112

Some things I want to, take away from

this is that these people who they just

:

01:18:37,112 --> 01:18:40,282

wanted to be treated with the respect

that their profession should have been.

:

01:18:40,282 --> 01:18:44,186

It blows my mind when people like

this are like, told how important your

:

01:18:44,586 --> 01:18:45,420

your job is.

:

01:18:45,420 --> 01:18:46,922

This is the most important job.

:

01:18:46,922 --> 01:18:48,757

You're doing all this for all these people

:

01:18:48,757 --> 01:18:51,593

and they're and like how much they provide

for everyone else.

:

01:18:51,593 --> 01:18:55,931

And then they're treated worse than

the machines they use to do their job.

:

01:18:56,531 --> 01:19:01,703

I think it's important to remember key

figures in efforts like of these miners,

:

01:19:01,703 --> 01:19:06,274

like their families, who like all, smiled

and said, Hatfield, Frank Keeney,

:

01:19:06,274 --> 01:19:10,378

Fred Mooney, John Lewis, mother Jones

for the most part, all these people

:

01:19:10,712 --> 01:19:15,083

and so many more, you know, spoke out,

acted on behalf of those who were like,

:

01:19:15,083 --> 01:19:16,218

needed that extra help.

:

01:19:16,218 --> 01:19:20,021

Like, obviously a lot of them

were too scared to lose their livelihoods.

:

01:19:20,021 --> 01:19:23,458

People who may have been evicted, thrown

in the rain end up hungry.

:

01:19:23,458 --> 01:19:27,262

These people risked everything

to be treated like equals, and many

:

01:19:27,262 --> 01:19:31,666

never even saw that like that

day ever happened, which is unfortunate.

:

01:19:31,666 --> 01:19:34,669

In the end,

the coal companies won, I think.

:

01:19:34,936 --> 01:19:36,104

Unfortunately. Right.

:

01:19:36,104 --> 01:19:39,508

Even to this day, companies

all around are making insane profits

:

01:19:39,508 --> 01:19:43,178

off the backs of people who are underpaid,

overworked, and left with no choice

:

01:19:43,178 --> 01:19:44,346

but to keep working.

:

01:19:44,346 --> 01:19:45,547

This episode makes me think

:

01:19:45,547 --> 01:19:49,584

how companies use like part time workers

for example, to their advantage.

:

01:19:49,584 --> 01:19:53,355

Specifically, like in retail,

so many retail businesses are propped up

:

01:19:53,355 --> 01:19:55,924

by these part time workers who received

no benefits,

:

01:19:55,924 --> 01:19:58,026

making less than their full time

equivalents.

:

01:19:58,026 --> 01:20:01,263

There are more part time employees

to cover their time slots

:

01:20:01,263 --> 01:20:03,632

that would otherwise

be taken by a full time employee.

:

01:20:03,632 --> 01:20:09,538

These yeah, you're hiring more people, but

you're you're creating higher turnover.

:

01:20:09,538 --> 01:20:13,809

Maze needs like don't care about that

because they don't have to improve

:

01:20:13,809 --> 01:20:15,644

any working conditions or expectations.

:

01:20:15,644 --> 01:20:19,247

If they just replace these part time

employees over and over and over.

:

01:20:19,247 --> 01:20:19,648

Right.

:

01:20:19,648 --> 01:20:24,052

And also, if you're not paying benefits

and you're paying part time wages,

:

01:20:24,052 --> 01:20:26,021

you can afford these things, right?

:

01:20:26,021 --> 01:20:29,791

It makes me think about places like

Amazon, how they'd rather like pay fines

:

01:20:29,791 --> 01:20:33,995

to cut corners than to change things,

improve their workers quality of life.

:

01:20:33,995 --> 01:20:38,133

How so often companies will do

whatever they can to make the most money.

:

01:20:38,133 --> 01:20:39,067

And going back

:

01:20:39,067 --> 01:20:42,437

to the beginning of the Cold Wars,

we see that the quickest way for companies

:

01:20:42,437 --> 01:20:47,342

to make profit is to cut wages, benefits,

hours and so on at the workers expense.

:

01:20:47,342 --> 01:20:49,578

Did this

episode make me full on communist?

:

01:20:49,578 --> 01:20:52,581

No. Not really. No, I don't.

:

01:20:52,747 --> 01:20:55,917

I think that advocating

for the rights of people making companies

:

01:20:55,917 --> 01:20:59,354

millions and billions of dollars

just seems like common sense to me.

:

01:20:59,354 --> 01:21:02,791

I don't know, I, I think that there's

so many ways for people

:

01:21:02,791 --> 01:21:06,695

to be treated fairly that don't end up

in overthrowing the regime.

:

01:21:06,695 --> 01:21:08,263

Right. But what do I though?

:

01:21:08,263 --> 01:21:09,664

I did mention that I wanted to talk about

:

01:21:09,664 --> 01:21:13,501

another song that came to mind immediately

in this, episode.

:

01:21:13,501 --> 01:21:17,472

Right at the beginning, the song is,

called Brave Awakening by Terry Reed,

:

01:21:17,639 --> 01:21:21,810

the English singer, comparable to someone

like Robert Plant of LED Zeppelin.

:

01:21:22,110 --> 01:21:23,912

Wow. Levi is a crazy person.

:

01:21:23,912 --> 01:21:24,813

What makes you say that?

:

01:21:24,813 --> 01:21:27,883

Well, according to rock lore,

Jimmy Page actually

:

01:21:27,883 --> 01:21:31,186

wanted him to join LED Zeppelin,

so that's pretty cool.

:

01:21:31,219 --> 01:21:32,554

The song itself portrays

:

01:21:32,554 --> 01:21:35,690

the life of the coal miners

while coal mines begin to shut down,

:

01:21:35,690 --> 01:21:38,994

seemingly because of low

demand and economic turmoil,

:

01:21:38,994 --> 01:21:42,931

maybe changing of the demand

of which energy source they're using.

:

01:21:42,931 --> 01:21:43,298

Right?

:

01:21:43,298 --> 01:21:44,833

I wanted to leave the song to the end

:

01:21:44,833 --> 01:21:46,801

because I wanted to play

just a little bit of it,

:

01:21:46,801 --> 01:21:49,237

just so you can hear

the intensity of the vocals,

:

01:21:49,237 --> 01:21:53,041

and hopefully it leaves you thinking about

the anguish of the miners in the story,

:

01:21:53,041 --> 01:21:56,311

that this song was written

from the perspective of someone in the UK,

:

01:21:56,311 --> 01:22:00,348

not the US, but I feel like It's worth

Sharing is still very similar.

:

01:22:00,348 --> 01:22:03,151

The song opens with the singer

speaking to their mother,

:

01:22:03,151 --> 01:22:06,521

singing for the young men

who are fearing for the young men

:

01:22:06,521 --> 01:22:09,891

who don't have much left

as the mines are closing down, mentioning

:

01:22:09,891 --> 01:22:13,862

that there's no more coal to go down to,

the companies are

:

01:22:14,062 --> 01:22:17,999

lessening, children are no longer

playing outside or gathering.

:

01:22:18,033 --> 01:22:19,067

The speaker says they fear

:

01:22:19,067 --> 01:22:22,871

for the young men traveling to the town

where their money is bound to.

:

01:22:22,938 --> 01:22:27,475

That doubt is unable to lessen the reasons

to send them down to the mines

:

01:22:27,475 --> 01:22:28,376

for more work.

:

01:22:28,376 --> 01:22:31,880

And the next bit is where

I want to play from show.

:

01:22:32,047 --> 01:22:35,083

Here it is

The Brave Awakening by Terry Reed.

:

01:22:35,116 --> 01:22:36,051

Other.

:

01:22:38,820 --> 01:22:41,823

I mean for the land you

:

01:22:43,091 --> 01:22:45,026

to fall in.

:

01:22:45,026 --> 01:22:48,029

No one goes down.

:

01:22:52,000 --> 01:22:54,202

Facing some land.

:

01:22:54,202 --> 01:23:00,041

Oh boy, I might be found to. Hey.

:

01:23:02,544 --> 01:23:03,778

All right, so you catch that?

:

01:23:03,778 --> 01:23:06,982

As, fathers are stating

that the face of a mine

:

01:23:06,982 --> 01:23:10,285

where no boy of mine

is going to be bound to anymore, right?

:

01:23:10,285 --> 01:23:13,355

This is like

speaking on some generational trauma,

:

01:23:13,521 --> 01:23:17,659

like actually preventing the child from,

like, you're not going to work there.

:

01:23:17,659 --> 01:23:19,461

Luckily for you, mines closed.

:

01:23:19,461 --> 01:23:23,264

But also, I don't want you to

because I don't want you to be bound

:

01:23:23,264 --> 01:23:24,599

to that anymore. Right.

:

01:23:24,599 --> 01:23:28,737

These men who don't wish this fate

for their children

:

01:23:28,870 --> 01:23:31,873

continuing on.

:

01:23:32,507 --> 01:23:35,910

You just a

:

01:23:35,910 --> 01:23:38,913

brave new awakening.

:

01:23:39,914 --> 01:23:42,584

You have to no more.

:

01:23:42,584 --> 01:23:45,587

Go back down.

:

01:23:47,689 --> 01:23:49,758

All right, so you know the.

:

01:23:49,758 --> 01:23:51,693

This is the brave new awakening.

:

01:23:51,693 --> 01:23:54,996

The future has no more to go back down

to, right?

:

01:23:54,996 --> 01:23:56,364

Nothing for these men. They're

:

01:23:57,932 --> 01:24:00,702

vows of this earth.

:

01:24:00,702 --> 01:24:04,239

Let's take you here.

:

01:24:04,272 --> 01:24:09,878

We've been up here. Oh.

:

01:24:10,779 --> 01:24:13,782

Oh, no.

:

01:24:19,821 --> 01:24:20,388

Finally.

:

01:24:20,388 --> 01:24:23,391

You know

:

01:24:23,625 --> 01:24:28,229

how you try,

:

01:24:32,967 --> 01:24:35,870

All right,

so that part, the bowels of earth,

:

01:24:35,870 --> 01:24:38,940

that will take you away from home

and more.

:

01:24:38,940 --> 01:24:39,274

That's.

:

01:24:39,274 --> 01:24:43,812

That's the part where he's, like, singing

out, take you away from home and more.

:

01:24:43,812 --> 01:24:46,281

And then he's just kind of,

like, riffing on that part.

:

01:24:46,281 --> 01:24:50,318

Like just the anguish he puts in his voice

right there just always gets me right.

:

01:24:50,318 --> 01:24:52,487

Like that.

:

01:24:52,487 --> 01:24:59,994

It never has gone up.

:

01:25:00,728 --> 01:25:03,865

No no no no no. I'm

:

01:25:04,866 --> 01:25:06,167

very powerful, very like.

:

01:25:06,167 --> 01:25:10,171

And you know, like this is had to have

been how some of these men felt, right.

:

01:25:10,171 --> 01:25:13,241

They, they, they felt stuck in the spot.

:

01:25:13,241 --> 01:25:16,177

They couldn't do anything

other than continue to work.

:

01:25:16,177 --> 01:25:17,912

They didn't have very many opportunities.

:

01:25:17,912 --> 01:25:20,748

A lot of them tricked, essentially

:

01:25:20,748 --> 01:25:24,352

a lot of immigrants

coming to this country for a new life.

:

01:25:24,352 --> 01:25:27,789

They're like, I don't have any pennies

to my name, right?

:

01:25:27,822 --> 01:25:29,190

I'm going to America.

:

01:25:29,190 --> 01:25:31,693

And they're like,

hey, come work at the mines.

:

01:25:31,693 --> 01:25:33,661

Like, you look like a hard worker.

:

01:25:33,661 --> 01:25:34,662

Come on down.

:

01:25:34,662 --> 01:25:36,998

We'll set you up with a cab

and we'll give you some money.

:

01:25:36,998 --> 01:25:40,502

We'll give you some,

this and that, and then, you know,

:

01:25:40,802 --> 01:25:45,273

and then they just, like, incur this,

like, serfdom debt almost.

:

01:25:45,273 --> 01:25:47,075

It's crazy. And like.

:

01:25:47,075 --> 01:25:50,311

And these people, you know,

had this responsibility to their family.

:

01:25:50,311 --> 01:25:53,281

They wanted to do what they could

to feed their children and wives and.

:

01:25:53,314 --> 01:25:55,049

Yeah, anyway, that's it.

:

01:25:55,049 --> 01:25:59,954

That's that's the end of this long

and weaving tale of workers and the fights

:

01:25:59,954 --> 01:26:04,559

they fought, just to be seen as regular,

valuable people for the job.

:

01:26:04,559 --> 01:26:07,729

They're really doing no real conclusions

:

01:26:07,729 --> 01:26:11,132

to draw from this, no modern day parallels

that we can glean out of this one.

:

01:26:11,299 --> 01:26:14,102

Now, nowhere is this a cautionary tale.

:

01:26:14,102 --> 01:26:17,372

I'm blown away

how prevalent this story is from

:

01:26:17,605 --> 01:26:20,542

now being over 100 years old today.

:

01:26:20,542 --> 01:26:21,976

And, that's.

:

01:26:21,976 --> 01:26:24,479

Yeah, I'm really excited to hear

what you guys all think.

:

01:26:24,479 --> 01:26:29,217

Please remember, like I said, drop

in comments on YouTube, Facebook,

:

01:26:29,217 --> 01:26:30,018

in the group.

:

01:26:30,018 --> 01:26:34,389

I would love to know what you thought

about the episode, what to your takes are

:

01:26:34,422 --> 01:26:36,324

did you like the songs I recommended?

:

01:26:37,325 --> 01:26:38,359

Did you like hearing it?

:

01:26:38,359 --> 01:26:40,195

Did you hear it at all?

:

01:26:40,195 --> 01:26:42,163

I don't know how

this is actually going to work.

:

01:26:42,163 --> 01:26:47,068

If it, I'm a little nervous

that it'll get cut for some reason,

:

01:26:47,068 --> 01:26:48,036

but I feel like I.

:

01:26:48,036 --> 01:26:51,873

I did the thing that like the reaction

people on Facebook or on YouTube do.

:

01:26:51,873 --> 01:26:53,374

So I feel like it's probably right.

:

01:26:53,374 --> 01:26:56,211

But I know this one's

kind of been a longer one.

:

01:26:56,211 --> 01:26:59,147

I think this is probably

that wrap it up a little bit, but

:

01:26:59,147 --> 01:27:02,483

I also think it was,

one of the better episodes I've done.

:

01:27:02,483 --> 01:27:06,120

I want to urge everybody to watch

those documentaries that I mentioned,

:

01:27:06,254 --> 01:27:09,557

King Cole and Blood on the mountain,

and there's a bunch more.

:

01:27:10,225 --> 01:27:14,295

If you want to hear more about this topic,

those are some good recommendations.

:

01:27:14,295 --> 01:27:17,098

Also, go listen to the podcast

Behind The Bachelors.

:

01:27:17,098 --> 01:27:20,168

They did a really good two parter

on this topic.

:

01:27:20,168 --> 01:27:23,972

I think it's called the Second Civil

America, Second Civil War or something

:

01:27:23,972 --> 01:27:25,907

like that. Part one and two.

:

01:27:25,907 --> 01:27:26,574

Excellent.

:

01:27:26,574 --> 01:27:27,709

Two parter.

:

01:27:27,709 --> 01:27:30,411

And then, what else?

:

01:27:30,411 --> 01:27:33,414

Oh, there's,

the West Virginia mine Wars Museum.

:

01:27:33,414 --> 01:27:35,617

They had a bunch of information

that I use.

:

01:27:35,617 --> 01:27:39,454

There's a lot of really good research

points, a lot of good links in there

:

01:27:39,454 --> 01:27:41,089

that I used in this episode.

:

01:27:41,089 --> 01:27:44,225

And is actually one of the people

that helped found it.

:

01:27:44,359 --> 01:27:47,762

Is a great grandson of Frank Keeney,

:

01:27:48,029 --> 01:27:51,032

Doctor Charles Keeney,

which I think is awesome.

:

01:27:51,199 --> 01:27:55,770

But he's continuing this legacy,

sharing the story wall, you know,

:

01:27:55,770 --> 01:27:59,307

some textbooks, some history classes

:

01:27:59,307 --> 01:28:03,311

don't share this thing,

which is wild to me.

:

01:28:03,311 --> 01:28:06,314

So he's he's doing

they're doing well, not just him.

:

01:28:06,414 --> 01:28:09,284

Everybody at

the museum is doing their part

:

01:28:09,284 --> 01:28:12,487

to keep this history alive,

which is very important.

:

01:28:12,687 --> 01:28:14,922

And then don't forget

to check out our friends.

:

01:28:14,922 --> 01:28:18,559

The real creature feature,

the Makeup emporium, the Dark Windows

:

01:28:18,559 --> 01:28:24,799

Podcast with the two Kevins, and then West

of Nowhere with, with a K and,

:

01:28:26,067 --> 01:28:27,302

three other show.

:

01:28:27,302 --> 01:28:29,737

If you made it this far, obviously.

:

01:28:29,737 --> 01:28:31,773

Please review us wherever possible.

:

01:28:31,773 --> 01:28:34,942

Like subscribe on the YouTube,

follow on Facebook,

:

01:28:34,942 --> 01:28:38,346

join the group, share history

memes, talk about the episode.

:

01:28:38,346 --> 01:28:40,682

Check out the merch

which is in the description.

:

01:28:40,682 --> 01:28:42,317

All the links are in the description.

:

01:28:42,317 --> 01:28:47,422

And thank you to everybody for your time

and we will do it again real soon. Bye.

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About the Podcast

The Remedial Scholar
A weekly dive into forgotten topics or underrepresented subjects. Anything historical and everything interesting.
Welcome to The Remedial Scholar, a captivating podcast that takes you on an extraordinary journey through history. Join me, Levi, your knowledgeable host, as I guide you through the vast realms of the past, unraveling captivating stories and shedding light on underrepresented historical subjects.

In this podcast, we embark on an adventure through time, offering you a unique perspective on the world's fascinating chronology. From ancient civilizations to modern revolutions, we delve into a wide range of topics that fall under the historical umbrella. However, our focus lies on those subjects that often go unnoticed or deserve a fresh approach.

Prepare to have your curiosity ignited as we dig deep into the annals of history, unearthing forgotten tales, and shedding new light on familiar narratives. Whether you're an avid history buff or someone with a budding interest in the past, The Remedial Scholar caters to all levels of historical knowledge. Our aim is to make history accessible and captivating, presenting it in a digestible format that will leave you craving more.

About your host

Profile picture for Levi Harrison

Levi Harrison

I was born and raised in a small town in Nebraska. Throughout my adolescence, I spent my time with family and friends, and I also pursued my love for art. This passion stayed with me even after I graduated from high school in 2012 and enlisted in the United States Navy, just two months later.

During my four-year service in the Navy, I worked as an aviation structural mechanic, mainly dealing with F/A-18s. My duty stations were in Fallon, Nevada, and Whidbey Island, Washington. In 2015, I embarked on a deployment aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt to support Operation Inherent Resolve, countering ISIS forces in the Persian Gulf.

After my deployment, I decided to conclude my enlistment and returned to Nebraska. I initially pursued a degree in History Education at the University of Nebraska at Kearney before shifting my focus to Art Education. However, I eventually paused my studies to pursue a full-time job opportunity.

When the global pandemic hit in 2020, I made the decision to move closer to my older brother and his children. Now, I'm back in school, studying Graphic Design. My passion for art and history has always been apparent, as evidenced by my choice of majors when I left the military. These passions continue to drive me to learn and create constantly.

It was this fervor that inspired me to launch "The Remedial Scholar," an endeavor through which I aim to share historical knowledge with others who share the same passion for learning and creating.