1871 Strike in Mahanoy City: Non-Union Miners Face Hostile Crowd

1871 Strike in Mahanoy City: Non-Union Miners Face Hostile Crowd

In the early 1870s, the anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania were aflame with the enthusiasm of the industrial laboring class learning to utilize its collective power. One of the first successful labor unions in America – the Workingmen’s Benevolent Association (WBA) – had gained a foothold in the mining towns and villages of the region. Mineworkers at Mauch Chunk, circa 1870 (Getty Museum) One of the region’s where this early union had a stro…