Coal miners and the American republic: trade union ideology in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania, 1875-1902

Thesis/Dissertation · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1984

OSTI ID:5828736

Hirsch, M G

This thesis examines and attempts to explain the changing ideology of coal miners' unionism in the late nineteenth century. In the 1870s and '80s, miners adhered to a republican critique of industrial society, one which questioned the legitimacy of corporate enterprise, concentrated wealth and power, and wage-labor dependency. By 1900, however, miners accepted the prevailing social order and focused their aspirations upon narrower, job-related goals. Personal papers, state and federal investigations, and newspapers are used to examine the process of change. Chapter I defines the origins of the miners' persistent quest to organize unions. Chapters II and III show how corporate behavior during strikes violated the miners' faith in the Great Republic. Chapter IV examines the ideology of the Knights of Labor. Chapter V explains why the miners' critique of industrial America decined in the 1890s, and argues that two factors, the ethnic recomposition of the labor force and the miners' heritage of defeat on the industrial battlefield, accounted for the outcome. Chapter VI focuses upon the ideology of the United Mine Workers of America and explains how the union established a permanent foothold in the industry.

• OSTI ID: 5828736
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
015000 -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Economic
Industrial
& Business Aspects
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
294001* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Coal
ANTHRACITE
BLACK COAL
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
COAL
COAL INDUSTRY
ENERGY SOURCES
FEDERAL REGION III
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HISTORICAL ASPECTS
INDUSTRY
LABOR RELATIONS
MATERIALS
NORTH AMERICA
PENNSYLVANIA
USA