On this day in 1912, the Paint Creek Mine War began when West Virginia miners struck, demanding formal union recognition and fairer labor practices. The incident quickly escalated into one of the worst labor conflicts in U.S. history.

The event, also known as the Paint Creek-Cabin Creek Strike, centered on the area enclosed by two streams, Paint Creek and Cabin Creek. It is considered part of the "Coal Wars", a series of armed conflicts between workers and coal companies from the 1890s - 1930s in the United States.

The strike lasted for fourteen months, and over 5,000 workers participated. Notable labor organizer Mother Jones (shown) came to West Virginia to support the workers, organizing a secret march of 3,000 armed miners to the steps of the state capitol in Charleston to read a declaration of war to Governor William E. Glasscock.

The confrontation directly caused approximately fifty violent deaths from armed conflicts between miners and strike-breaking forces, as well as many more deaths indirectly caused by starvation and malnutrition among the striking miners. In terms of casualties, it was among the worst conflicts in American labor history.

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  • WhyEssEff [she/her]
    ·
    8 months ago

    antisemite who acts like a classic rock guy and gets mad at the antisemite of the week bit for just indicting random critics of Israel because they’re co-opting the genre

    • WhyEssEff [she/her]
      ·
      edit-2
      8 months ago

      “back in my day, you had to let fly a few k-slurs before you were even considered antisemitic, now all these posers are stealing valor for just criticizing Israel, it’s unfair to the real ones still out there!” yells-at-cloud

      • WhyEssEff [she/her]
        ·
        8 months ago

        born-in-le-wrong-generation hitlerian who complains about the quality of bigotry declining unlike the REAL bigotry of the old times