The Shame That Is Kentucky's: The Story of the Harlan Mine War
- Ephemera
- Chicago: General Defense Committee [Industrial Workers of the World / I.W.W. / IWW], 1932
Chicago: General Defense Committee [Industrial Workers of the World / I.W.W. / IWW], 1932. Ephemera. Very Good. 27pp. Slim octavo [22 cm] Saddle-stitched illustrated wraps. Front cover art very likely by Ralph Chaplin (author of "Wobbly: The Rough-and-Tumble Story of an American Radical"). Small illustration on the rear cover by "Bingo" [a Ralph Chaplin pseudonym]. Toned, and with a light moisture stain in the top right corner of the front wrap, and a 1/4" closed tear to the fore-edge of the rear wrap. Else in very good or better condition. "The fight of these courageous mountaineer coal miners is the fight of all of us who are opposed to the use by the Coal Barons of the rack and the thumbscrew in dealing with men who work. The miners are headed toward the electric chair by the economic masters of the Cumberland Coal Fields. Two of them have already been convicted on framed up charges of conspiracy to murder a coal company gun thug. Forty more remain to be tried." - The General Defense Committee
The General Defense Committee is an organization that strives to "defend and support the entire working class, divided and under attack by those who wage class war against us. We therefore promote, through organization, action, and outreach, a mass, non-sectarian defense of the class, in order to build a self-organized working class that treats differences as strengths and opportunities to live in solidarity. Community Self Defense means we intend to build our revolutionary community precisely by defending it and the earth on which we live."
Coal mining was fundamental to the Appalachian area for close to 150 years, forming much of its economic backbone. The struggle against starvation wages and for better working conditions escalated during the winter of 1930-31, resulting in one of the most intense labor disputes in American history - the Harlan County Coal War. By early 1931, nearly 6000 coal miners were on strike. This pamphlet rails against the injunctions, yellow-dog contracts, evictions, and gun thugs who strove to take away the miners' rights to free assemblage, free speech, and picketing. The mines of Harlan County played a significant role in the history of grassroots labor militancy.
The General Defense Committee is an organization that strives to "defend and support the entire working class, divided and under attack by those who wage class war against us. We therefore promote, through organization, action, and outreach, a mass, non-sectarian defense of the class, in order to build a self-organized working class that treats differences as strengths and opportunities to live in solidarity. Community Self Defense means we intend to build our revolutionary community precisely by defending it and the earth on which we live."
Coal mining was fundamental to the Appalachian area for close to 150 years, forming much of its economic backbone. The struggle against starvation wages and for better working conditions escalated during the winter of 1930-31, resulting in one of the most intense labor disputes in American history - the Harlan County Coal War. By early 1931, nearly 6000 coal miners were on strike. This pamphlet rails against the injunctions, yellow-dog contracts, evictions, and gun thugs who strove to take away the miners' rights to free assemblage, free speech, and picketing. The mines of Harlan County played a significant role in the history of grassroots labor militancy.