Preferred Name

Thomas

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

ORCID

https://orcid.org/0009-0007-7836-0638

Date of Graduation

5-11-2023

Semester of Graduation

Spring

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Department of History

Advisor(s)

Kevin Borg

Evan Friss

Fawn-Amber Montoya

Abstract

The West Virginia Coal Mine Wars of 1912-1913 and 1920-1921 are most strongly associated with the use of government and military force against organized labor. A deeper examination of the contemporary newspapers in the state, associated with the Republican Party reveals the attitudes of the party toward labor. Looking at how these editors reacted to the key events of the mine wars reveals that the Republican Party of the time supported two principles: free enterprise and rule of law. This study shows how the importance of these key principles caused the editors loyal to the party to shift the blame for these strikes from the laborers to the coal companies.

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