The harsh realities of coal mining in the early 20th century
The harsh realities of coal mining in the early 20th century
Learn about the lives of coal miners in the early 20th century in this video.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Transcript
Coal mining today is a difficult and dangerous job, and it’s also one in decline. In 2018, the coal industry employed under 83,000 people. But there was a time, not so long ago, that the coal industry numbered ten times that many workers. In the early twentieth century hundreds of thousands of people worked the mines — and tens of thousands of people died there.
Life was very different for the people who helped power this country through the Industrial Revolution. At the time, motor cars were uncommon and so mine workers and their families lived close to the mines. Oppressive gender norms dictated roles within the families. Men and boys as young as nine went underground, and girls were barred from the mines. Instead, they were left to battle against the ever-present black dust that would dirty laundry as it dried and crust around people’s nostrils as they slept.
Women also tackled the financial struggles of the families, requiring economy and creativity in maintaining their homes and feeding their families. Even miners who had been on the job for years rarely made more than a few dollars each week — one 1902 account claimed a daily salary of $1.60 for a ten-hour shift. Today, that would be about $4.50 an hour.
It wasn’t uncommon for much of that money to be clawed back by the mining company, either. Money might be deducted for housing, for medical care, even for coal. Necessities from the company store might be deducted automatically as well — and sometimes the company might not react too well if you chose to shop somewhere other than the company store.
And then there was the mining itself. Few jobs outside the military have ever required workers to band together as miners did. They spent every day pushing heavy carts into the darkness, only their head lamps and the lamps of their fellows for light, often trudging through water until they came to a place where they could use dynamite and hand tools to break a vein of coal into heavy chunks and drag heavier carts back up. No one could claim it was an easy job, and the mining companies of the time did little to make it easier. Unionized mines like those in Ohio paid better and were usually safer, but in other places, like West Virginia, coal companies fought unionization and regulation bitterly, sometimes bringing in scab workers and kicking miners’ families out of company homes.
To make matters worse, companies frequently ignored or soft-pedaled what safety regulations there were, leaving workers to rely on each other against the dangers of mining. These dangers were profound. Natural gas was deadly, both because it could suffocate workers in a badly ventilated mine and because it could explode unexpectedly during blasting. But the worst danger was ceiling collapses, which often left miners trapped — occasionally rescued by their comrades, but far too often killed.
Over the years, there have been many improvements in the mining industry. Women now work alongside men, and, though still dangerous, the work isn’t as deadly as it used to be. In 1917, 2,696 coal mining deaths were recorded. In 2017, the number was 15. Despite that progress, though, mining is still very hard work. Out of the thousands of families who have worked in and around the mines, does your family have any connections to coal history?
Life was very different for the people who helped power this country through the Industrial Revolution. At the time, motor cars were uncommon and so mine workers and their families lived close to the mines. Oppressive gender norms dictated roles within the families. Men and boys as young as nine went underground, and girls were barred from the mines. Instead, they were left to battle against the ever-present black dust that would dirty laundry as it dried and crust around people’s nostrils as they slept.
Women also tackled the financial struggles of the families, requiring economy and creativity in maintaining their homes and feeding their families. Even miners who had been on the job for years rarely made more than a few dollars each week — one 1902 account claimed a daily salary of $1.60 for a ten-hour shift. Today, that would be about $4.50 an hour.
It wasn’t uncommon for much of that money to be clawed back by the mining company, either. Money might be deducted for housing, for medical care, even for coal. Necessities from the company store might be deducted automatically as well — and sometimes the company might not react too well if you chose to shop somewhere other than the company store.
And then there was the mining itself. Few jobs outside the military have ever required workers to band together as miners did. They spent every day pushing heavy carts into the darkness, only their head lamps and the lamps of their fellows for light, often trudging through water until they came to a place where they could use dynamite and hand tools to break a vein of coal into heavy chunks and drag heavier carts back up. No one could claim it was an easy job, and the mining companies of the time did little to make it easier. Unionized mines like those in Ohio paid better and were usually safer, but in other places, like West Virginia, coal companies fought unionization and regulation bitterly, sometimes bringing in scab workers and kicking miners’ families out of company homes.
To make matters worse, companies frequently ignored or soft-pedaled what safety regulations there were, leaving workers to rely on each other against the dangers of mining. These dangers were profound. Natural gas was deadly, both because it could suffocate workers in a badly ventilated mine and because it could explode unexpectedly during blasting. But the worst danger was ceiling collapses, which often left miners trapped — occasionally rescued by their comrades, but far too often killed.
Over the years, there have been many improvements in the mining industry. Women now work alongside men, and, though still dangerous, the work isn’t as deadly as it used to be. In 1917, 2,696 coal mining deaths were recorded. In 2017, the number was 15. Despite that progress, though, mining is still very hard work. Out of the thousands of families who have worked in and around the mines, does your family have any connections to coal history?