At the start of the twentieth century, a protracted and violent struggle between coal miners and their bosses gripped West Virginia. This was a struggle that often broke out into open warfare, involving company spies, bombs and the biggest armed uprising in the US since the Civil War.
We speak with Catherine Moore and others from the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum, as well as some West Virginia teachers who had just been on strike about the conflicts, and how they are remembered today.
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Learn more about the mine wars in these great books: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/all/west-virginia-mine-wars
Music used in these episodes is Which Side Are You On, by Florence Rees, performed by Tom Morello: The Night Watchman. Buy/stream it here: https://tommorellothenightwatchman.bandcamp.com/track/which-side-are-you-on
And Solidarity Forever by Ralph Chaplin, performed by David Rovics.
Full acknowledgements, show notes, photos, sources and more information on the webpage for this episode here: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e57-west-virginia-mine-wars-1902-1922/
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