The West Virginia mine wars played an important part in U.S. history, but for decades were often left out of history classes. A new book aims to change that. It’s titled The Mine Wars: The Bloody Fight for Workers’ Rights in the West Virginia Coalfields, by Steve Watkins.
The mine wars occurred in the early 1900s as the United Mine Workers tried to unionize coal mines, and coal companies fought back — literally. The conflict culminated in the Battle of Blair Mountain, which was the largest armed insurrection in the US since the American Civil War.
After running across the new book in the library, Inside Appalachia host Mason Adams spoke with Watkins to learn more. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Adams: A lot of listeners will know about the mine wars, but for folks who may not be familiar, can you give a thumbnail of what the mine wars were?
Watkins: The mine wars, plural, really began in the 1910s with the Paint Creek Cabin Creek war — basically miners fighting for the right to unionize after years, decades of brutal repression, brutal in the extreme, I should point out… beatings, murders, disappearances, lost jobs, strikes in which children suffered malnutrition, [and] many died from opportunistic disease.
For the rest of this interview: https://wvpublic.org/book-brings-w-va-mine-wars-history-to-young-readers/