COAL MINING in Indian Territory (Oklahoma)

1. COAL MINING in Indian Territory (Oklahoma) Prepared by Ann Kennedy, NBCT OKAGE Teacher Consultant http://www.ok.gov/oiac/documents/2011.FINAL.WEB.pdf

2. Labor Omnia Vincit • Oklahoma's state motto is Labor Omnia Vincit. That means "Labor Conquers All Things."(also rendered as "Hard work conquers all", a reference to the early pioneers). http://digital.library.okstate.edu/chronicles/v020/v020p178.html

3. Quick Fact Check • Oklahoma’s motto is a) Veni, vidi, vici (I came, I saw, I conquered) b) Carpe diem (seize the day) c) Labor omniavincit(labor conquers all things)

4. Commercial mining began in Indian Territory (I.T.) in 1873. Since then more than 200 million tons of coal have come out of Oklahoma mines. http://www.ok.gov/oiac/documents/2011.FINAL.WEB.pdf

5. Oklahoma’s Coal Belt Oklahoma lies in the Western Region of the Interior Coal Province of the central U.S. Most, if not all, of the coal produced in the state has been mined from a 14,500-sq.-mile area extending from Kansas through northeastern Oklahoma and eastward through central Oklahoma to Arkansas. http://www.ok.gov/mines/Coal_Program/Oklahoma_Coal/

6. J.J. McAlester – “founder” of the Oklahoma coal industry McAlester married Rebecca Burney, a Chickasaw woman. This gave him full citizenship rights to make claims to coal deposits. The discovery of coal led the operators of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas railway (Katy) to lay track in the area. This brought prosperity to the region and made McAlester a wealthy man, too! http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/M/MC003.html

7. Coal Mining Dangers in Oklahoma Historians consider mining in Indian Territory (I.T.) to have been the most dangerous in the country. There were ten major coalmining accidents that killed 187 men, but at least five men had to die for an accident to be called a “major disaster.” http://www.miningartifacts.org/Oklahoma-Mines.html

8. What was dangerous about coalmining? Miners could die from rock falls, coal dust explosions, noxious gases and explosions called “windy shots,” which could travel and kill miners long distances from the initial blasts.

9. DISASTER: mine owners emphasize profits over safety • 1887 - 18 miners killed in Savanna • 1892 - 100 men killed and nearly 200 injured in an explosion in Krebs • 1910 - ten miners killed from noxious gasses • 1912 - 73 men killed in McCurtain from a 50-foot tongue of fire • More than 200 killed in accidents in Oklahoma in the 1920s

10. The Knights of Labor, the first union organized in Indian Territory, 1882 – their goal was to negotiate first and strike as a last resort. http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/C/CO005.html

11. Peter Hanraty: Union leader, mine inspector, and member of the Oklahoma Constitutional Convention Striking in Indian Territory Hanraty was working in coal mines at the age of 9! He understood the value of hard work and recognized the danger of the coal mines. http://explorepahistory.com/displayimage.php?imgId=1-2-1070 http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/H/HA018.html

12. STRIKE!March 10, 1894 • Peter Hanraty led a strike of 1000+ against the Indian Territory Coal Company. Why? • The company reduced wages 25% • Dangerous work conditions in the Lehigh and Coalgate mines

13. Lehigh Number Eight Coal Mine http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/c/co001.html http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~okcoal/place/lehigh/pa000502.htm

14. The strike affected the entire community. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~okcoal/place/lehigh/pa000504.htm

15. Coalgate, OK1889 http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/c/co001.html

16. The 1894 coal miner strike failed.WHY? • The strikers were demoralized by resistance from the Choctaw government and the U.S. government. • The U.S. government sent federal troops from Ft. Reno to halt the strike. • Many miners were apprehended and expelled from I.T. because they lacked permits to work there. • The union did not have a strike fund. Consequently, after two months they ran out of money. • The strikers were forced back to work out of economic desperation. • In the end, nothing was gained.

17. Choctaw Chief WILSON NATHANIEL JONES (ca. 1827-1901) opposed the strike. Along with Indian Agent Dew Wisdom, Jones asked for federal troops to help end the strike. Troops were sent from Ft. Reno. Fort Reno http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/f/fo037.html

18. The Ft. Smith Conference (1899) and rejection of the “Big Four” Choctaw Coal Company Atoka Mining Company Kansas and Texas Coal Company Osage Coal And Mining Company http://cigarboxlabels.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=95001

19. http://engage.washington.edu/site/MessageViewer?em_id=127862.0http://engage.washington.edu/site/MessageViewer?em_id=127862.0 http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/O/OS003.html

20. Scabs: African Americans were imported from Alabama and West Virginia to be strike breakers. Results: Threats, harassment, intimidation Jim Crow Laws Racial tension was high in this era of “Jim Crow,” but no violence occurred between strikers and strike breakers. http://www.umwa.org/index.php?q=content/diversity-umwa

21. http://digital.library.okstate.edu/chronicles/v020/v020p178.htmlhttp://digital.library.okstate.edu/chronicles/v020/v020p178.html

22. Discussion • Oklahoma’s motto is “labor omniavincit.” Based upon what you have learned about role of coalmining in our state, do you think this motto is an accurate description of the people of Oklahoma? Why or why not?