Bituminous coal miners' strike of 1894 facts for kids

The Bituminous Coal Miners' Strike was a big strike by coal miners in the United States. It started on April 21, 1894, and lasted about eight weeks. The miners were trying to get better wages, but the strike was not successful.

Why the Miners Went on Strike

In 1893, the United States faced a serious economic crisis. This period was known as the panic of 1893. It made life very hard for many people.

The coal mining industry was hit especially hard. Mine owners started cutting how much they paid their workers. Wages were cut once in 1893 and again in early 1894.

Miners were earning much less money. They found it very difficult to support their families.

The United Mine Workers Union

The United Mine Workers (UMW) was a union for coal miners. A union is a group of workers who join together to protect their rights.

By the spring of 1894, the UMW decided to act. They called for a general strike across the country. This meant that all miners who were part of the union would stop working.

Their main demand was simple: they wanted their wages to go back to what they were before the cuts, specifically to the level of May 1, 1893.

The Strike Begins

The strike started on April 21, 1894. Many miners joined in. It was a big success at first.

More than 180,000 miners stopped working. They were in states like Colorado, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

In Illinois, for example, over 25,000 miners went on strike. Only a small number kept working. The average miner in Illinois was out of work for 72 days.

Owners Refuse Demands

However, the mine owners did not want to raise wages. Some owners made small changes. But most of them refused to give the miners what they wanted.

The owners said they could not afford to pay more. The economic crisis made it hard for their businesses too.

Violence During the Strike

As the strike continued, things became tense. Sometimes, there was violence between the striking miners and the mine owners' guards. There were also fights between striking miners and those who continued to work.

Incidents of Violence

On May 23, near Uniontown, Pennsylvania, a sad event happened. Guards attacked a group of 1,500 striking miners. The guards were armed with guns. Five miners were killed, and eight were hurt.

In LaSalle, Illinois, on May 24 and 25, there was a shootout. Striking miners fought with sheriff's deputies. The deputies ran out of bullets and had to leave. Most of them were injured.

The situation in LaSalle stayed difficult. Later, a group of armed men was formed to face about 2,000 miners.

On June 13, in McLainesville, Ohio, miners clashed with the United States National Guard. The National Guard is a military force that helps keep order. The miners used stones and clubs in the fight.

In Iowa, the National Guard was called in. They protected miners who had not joined the strike.

The Strike Ends

The economic crisis continued to get worse. This made it very hard for the miners to keep striking. They were not earning money and could not afford to stay out of work.

By late June, most of the miners had to go back to their jobs. The strike had ended without achieving its main goal.

Impact on the Union

The strike had a very negative effect on the United Mine Workers union. It almost destroyed the union.

A year after the strike, the union's leader said, "The National is busted." The union stopped printing its newspaper. It also stopped paying its dues to the American Federation of Labor (AFL), which was a larger union group.

It took a long time for the United Mine Workers to recover. It was not until about 25 years later that John L. Lewis helped the union become strong and successful again.