Radical Coal Miners in Northeastern Pennsylvania

1. Radical Coal Minersin Northeastern Pennsylvania ANTHRACITE REDS

2. Radical Coal Miners

3. Pennsylvania Anthracite

4. Radical Tradition in the Anthracite • Molly Maguires , secret organization of Irish-Americans in the anthracite mining districts of Pennsylvania. • Its name came from a woman who led an extralegal, antilandlord organization in Ireland during the 1840s, and its membership was drawn from the Ancient Order of Hibernians, an Irish-American fraternal society.

5. Molly Maguires • The movement arose to combat the oppressive industrial and living conditions. • Since the police and the forces for law and order were entirely controlled by the mine owners, the Molly Maguires often resorted to intimidating or murdering the police. • For several years, especially from c.1865 to 1875, the Molly Maguires dominated the mining industry of NE Pennsylvania.

6. New Immigrants: 1880-1920 • Major immigrant groups to the US and NE Penn. • Italians • Jews • Slavs

7. Voyage of the Immigrant Miners Ellis Island

8. Voyage of the Immigrant Miners American businessmen welcomed the new immigrants…LABOR What does the Statue say?

9. On to the Penn. Anthracite

10. Anthracite Immigrant Miners

11. Huber Breaker • The Huber Breaker is a monumental steel structure designed to process and sort coal that was distributed throughout the US and the parts of the world seeking high-quality anthracite coal. Thirty-one remaining buildings and structures still exist on the site dating from 1939 to 1966.

12. Slovak immigrant mine workers inside mine, St. Clair, PA (circa 1924). Extreme right: John Slopovsky Sr. Born in Czechoslovakia (then Austria-Hungary), Dec. 1903. Emigrated 1912. Others unidentified.

13. Anthracite Slovak Miners

14. Immigrants bring Radical Politics to the New World with them • Ferdinando Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were two Italian-born American laborers and anarchists, who were tried, convicted and executed via electrocution on August 23, 1927 in Massachusetts for the 1920 armed robbery and murder of two payroll clerks. • Today, their execution is considered by some to be a miscarriage of justice.

15. Some Anthracite Immigrant miners were Socialists • Thousands of anthracite miners voted for Socialists like Eugene Debs and Norman Thomas.

16. Anthracite Miners take in the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia Immigrant miners in NE Penn. takes sides: some supported the Revolution and Bolshevism; most opposed it.

17. American Communist Movement began in 1919 • Communist Labor Party • Led by John Reed

18. Radical Anthracite Miners: 1920s Warren Calvin Herbert Harding Coolidge Hoover

19. Miners live through Social Chages of 1920s • Culture Wars of the 1920s A. Protestant Fundamentalism [Scopes Trial] B. Prohibition/Gangsterism C. New Woman: Flapper D. Automobile: Henry Ford E. Sports, Radio, and Movies F. Xenophobia: Cut off of Immigration

20. Miners live thru Racism of 1920s • Klan of 20s was a national organization • Klan was strongest in Midwest/Indiana and had 3-5 millions • Klan agenda: A. anti-black B. anti-Jewish C. anti-immigrant • Ku Klux Klan rally in 1923

21. Communist Miners and Depression Radical immigrant miners supported Soviet leaders. Lenin/Stalin Third Period Communism [Radical Program] A. Organize the Unemployed B. Fight white racism and for civil rights C. Form separate Communist Unions in all industries [dual unionism]

22. Communist Dual Union: NMU • AFL miners union was the United Mine Workers of America or the UMW led by John L. Lewis • The Communist dual union was the National Miners Union

23. Anthracite: District 3 of Workers Party

24. Unemployment in 1930s Unemployment was the chief evil of the Great Depression

25. The Face of the Unemployed

26. Steve Nelson: Communist Steve Nelson was the Communist Party’s Organizer the Pennsylvania Anthracite During much of the 1930s. • Nelson in Spanish Civil War