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It is we who plowed the prairies, built the cities where they trade Built the mines and built the workshops, endless miles of railroad laid Now we stand outcast and starving 'midst the wonders we have made But the union makes us strong!
Unions don't make you strong. Dont misconstrue collective barging with unions. They can help but they aren't the source of a worker's power. Never forget that.
it's also why there's so much money being poured into anti-gun policies. The greatest power a Union has is the ability to become a militia if certain lines are crossed.
It just goes to show why a) Corporations need to be scrutinized and held in check, b) Corporate money needs to stay out of politics, and c) unions are important. People really need to learn from history.
Collective bargaining is important, unions just help give a professional face to it so it doesn't look like an unruly mob, and in some cases also need to be scrutinized and held in check in case they're taking too big of a cut from the workers' paychecks to fund themselves and compromise too heavily in negotiations. Big yes to everything else.
A detail that's easy to overlook given Sid Hatfield's distinguished jawline is the fact that the man was at the oldest, 30 at the time of his death, though some sources say 28.
@@tuankhangcaonguyen5545 it's middle east, and yes, the US did do some good. It's because of the US that the brutal dictator Saddam Hussein was brought down. It's because of the US that (until recently) Afghanistan was free of Taliban rule
Sid Hatfield was dragged to court on a completely bogus case knowing that he would be disarmed by the rules of the courthouse. It was a setup from the beginning. If you go to court in Washington state or Arizona while armed, you have to declare your weapons before you get to the metal detectors. They give you a key to one of the lock boxes right there at the door where you can stash your personal artillery or whatever. I believe Nevada does the same but I'm not sure. The reason for these laws is because Hatfield is not the only person to have ever been hunted at the steps to a courthouse.
It was actually supposed to be transferred to Greenbrier county (where I am actually from) but for some reason it never was. When I found that out I knew his murder was a set up.
As a non American, it is videos like this that give you an insight into how the US has such a complicated history around government and law enforcement. Even gun control which would seem to be left over from the defence against the British. Seems to link into periods like this far more, where people need to protect themselves against their state leaders and government, just to get their basic rights.
It's one key reason why leftists, perhaps especially in America, oppose gun control. Marx even said that any and all attempts at disarming the workers must be thwarted, otherwise we have literally no power. We are subject to violence without hesitation, and that's with the knowledge that we're armed. If we weren't armed the violence against us would be greater by orders of magnitude.
Foreigners seem to not realize how much the second amendment has done for this country, just like the first. It's actually because of the second that the first still stands
Hey bud this ain't just in the past, do not see the end clip? Coal miners are getting diseases in the mining companies aren't doing anything to compensate or prevent
the 2nd Amendment is for protection against all enemies, foreign and domestic. It would come as no surprise that the gun control laws that restrict machineguns, require you to not have a criminal history to own a gun, and requires a license to distribute firearms came shortly after the events of blair mountain. Gun control has always been about oppressing people and preventing the organization of unions, it's just the first Gun control targeted slave revolts.
Could you imagine how many people would have died if the miners wernt armed? Guns are absolutely imperative to a free America. America is just an amalgamation of early 1900s European capitalism. Guns keep them in check. That's why the news pits the working class against each other in this country because we will band together to kick their doors in if they don't
@@Nigerian11 maybe true, maybe not. Wealth is very unequally distributed in the USA. But whether he's part of the have's or the have nots, we can all agree that even today unions are being squashed by the elites. Just look up today's story about Starbucks firing those that attempted to unionize.
Class war isn't some esoteric metaphor, it's our everyday reality. And only when we decide to fight back is it so plainly visible as it was at Blair mountain, but regardless it's still ongoing all the time.
@@Nigerian11 okay, yes America definitely is why my MEXICAN side of family is well of, definitely not luck or hard work nooo it's all because of America psh, and the side of my family who have been living in America are totally rich not poor at all, we can always afford bottled water and we definitely eat things besides ramen
@@Nigerian11 my great grandpa betted my Nana into slavery so she illegally fled to America, my other side of the family works pretty hard too it's just there not payed a lot despite there hard work
" They say in Harlan County There are no neutrals there. You'll either be a union man Or a thug for J. H. Blair. Which side are you on boys? Which side are you on? "
A very similar series of events played out in the gold mining town of Waihi, New Zealand in 1912. Fortunately there wasn’t nearly as much bloodshed, probably being a smaller country and population, but 10% of the country’s police force was sent to break the strike.
Holy crap how is this not talked about more in school?! It's like when I found out about the coup in Wilmington in my own state of North Carolina, how did we ever gloss over that?
Lol the US government teach it's slaves the power of Unions and civil disobedience like that'll ever happen, there's a reason you learn about MLK and not Malcolm X
Fun Fact: General Bandholtz has a statue in Budapest, Hungary for preventing the Romanian military authorities from removing artefacts from the Hungarian National Museum.
Remember, if the bosses had their way, you'd be chained to your workstation 24 hours a day 7 days a week. It's only because of people like the miners who fought for labor rights that we have any rights.
The minimum wage, weekends, workers comp, and so many other basics of modern life were paid for in blood. The blood of the workers who fought to make them happen.
no one is forcing you to work for a company like that. labor employment, like all other trades, are an economic transaction between two willing parties. Just like you don't have the right to stop your customer from walking away when you force them to pay a minimum price for your apple, if you are a farmer.
If you guys do another series about coal strikes, I'd like to see one about the 1989 Pittston strike where the company unsuccessfully tried to take away benefits from the miners. This series inspired me to research the 89 strike and ask my mom about stories she had since she took part.
I live in this area. Coal is everything. It sucks because everywhere you look, things are manipulated by coal. I don’t know of a single person who doesn’t know someone who works in the coal mines. If anyone thinks that coal is basically gone, it is not.
I grew up near Glasgow in an area where there was a lot of coal, so when you were digging up dirt to plant something you would just stumble on some coal
Definitely not gone and to the communities where coal mining still occurs it is central to the community. Unfortunately with that comes greater leverage for the coal companies because they know they're the only game in town and like to use their status as "job creators" to extract good will of the people. Alpha Natural Resources for instance which tried to give it's execs millions dollar bonuses by terminating benefits of retired miners even as they were going through bankruptcy.
They have taken untold millions that they never toiled to earn But without our brain and muscle not a single wheel can turn! We can break their haughty power, gain our freedom when we learn That the union makes us strong!
I watched the first part today and I couldn't wait for the next part but I didnat expect it to be today I knew about this very and important event in US worker history and ime glad you guys are giving it the attention it deserves
Thanks for making this video. We have brave men and women like the miners who fought at Blair Mountain to thank for our rights, moreso than any war. Solidarity forever.
“That rifle on the wall of the labourer's cottage or working class flat is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays there.” -George Orwell. Author, Socialist, and veteran of Catalonia in the Spanish Civil War.
@@gustavofring5674 A lot of socialists did. A lot of British labour party politicians did and later served in the 45-51 government, unsurprisingly they're the only government in british history to actually change anything about how the country was run in a socialist fashion. If you didn't know the NHS, free school meals, most council houses and nationalised industry were all done by these people. Heroes to the working class, the same working class that was later betrayed by careerist labour politicians and of course Conservatives.
@@gustavofring5674 yup. He was also turned off by stalinists because of what happened in that war, though he still kept many socialist ideals the rest of his life
No one needs a gun. You have the police and government. What are you going to do, start killing people because you don't get you way? That's terroristic talk.
I’m so happy to see y’all doing this series. As a southerner who has long watched an oppressed working class struggle here and being descended from coal miners in Tennessee it’s cool seeing someone talk about this stuff
"The working class and the employing class have nothing in common. There can be no peace so long as hunger and want are found among millions of the working people and the few, who make up the employing class, have all the good things of life." -Preamble to the Industrial Workers of the World Constitution
Last time I was here this early after I rung the bell, I think the ‘Palagra’ Episode made me realize I became more of a history nerd then a gaming nerd. LETSGO!!!!💕
When the union's inspiration through the worker's blood shall run There can be no power greater anywhere beneath the Sun Yet what force on Earth is weaker than the feeble strength of one? But the union makes us strong!
We all owe so much to the sacrifices of the workers of the past, both successful and unsuccessful. We must never forget, and we must measure our own actions to their standards, to continue to advance people's rights and not allow what they won with their blood to be taken away again.
Remember this wasn't the only bit of anti union vs union violence there was. The Pittsburgh rail strike of 1877 descended into violence that left 40 people dead and roving sporadic gun battles through the streets of Pittsburgh.
the miners lost - not because of the use of planes, or the backing of the state, or the attacks of assassins and hitmen - but because they didnt realise the power they truly held. leadership buckled when the national government threatened to get involved, cripling the movement and forcing new, inexperienced leaders to arise in their place. when the military arrived, the miners thought it beneficial to make concessions instead of continuing the struggle, giving them the short end of the stick. in reality, the organised working class is the most powerful force on earth. and we have a world to win!
@@hellomynameisjoao at least they would of died free instead of living as corporate slaves. Death is preferable to slavary. Those that rebelled in lousiana after the failed uprising in lousiana lead to every slaves head lining the roads to New Orleans. They knew what there fate would be and yet they still tried to free themselves.
Yeah, one of the reasons socialism is important to any workers movement is because it insists that the fight for workers rights is never done until both the state and business we have ties to are owned by us, demobilizing in the face of threats is rarely the right answer
Many wouldn’t consider this a loss but a Pyrrhic victory as while many lost their lives and coal unions suffered in numbers, awareness of the battle and message of workers rights spread across the nation. It has been said to inspire many other unions who eventually did get big victories and the fact we are talking about it today shows that their message still lives on
Except the guns they had did them no good. The army has better guns, won the fight and the workers were punished for the armed uprising. Paradoxically their situation would have been better had they not had guns.
@@thomasjetzer2823 actually it wasn’t a fact that the guns where “better” but it’s literally there job as soldiers to know how to fight, miners well… mine….
Corporations are not your friend and do not care about you. This is not an inflammatory statement. This is fact. Anyone who works any part of retail or food service (customer service, warehouse, janitorial, etc) can back me up on this. Especially during the pandemic when corporate office decided they wanted workers to work harder and longer in conditions more likely to get covid, sometimes without even adequate protection, with little to no pay compensation for the increased risk. The method of starting a union is also obfuscated and unclear
When I worked for Advance Auto Parts I wanted to start a union for our workers. Yes, you read right, auto parts workers don't have a union. I could not find a government site telling how to start a union and the nearest union for retail workers of any kind was in another state, and when I contacted them about it, I was met with chilly reception.
Man, I wish this one was more than just two episodes. This is crazy stuff. Thank you for the video. Stay well out there everybody, and God bless you, friends. ✝️ :)
Though Nebula I got to see the video early, but I came here to finish the ending as I was experiencing some technician issues -- intermittent skipping. Otherwise, great video! More Americans *need* to know about the blood split trying to effect meaningful Labor Rights.
@@adambishop7699 Nobody's. I chose to stay neutral because I did not want to have anything to do regarding both sides. If I fight the ocean, eventually I will drown.
This happened just 1 hours ago away from where I grew up, Ashland KY. I live in Sacramento, CA now. But I always get excited when I see the area where I come from talked about by bigger accounts and news media since you don’t hear about it that often, in fact, pretty rarely.
Man it is a good thing major corporations don't have that power anymore. Imagine what they could have done in today's time? They might have every mom and pop shop closed due to an emergency, but get a special exemption from the government to remain open. That would be wild right?
Chaveri, you need to do a video on the battle of Athens in Tennessee. There were several cases of American revolts since the Civil War and they all need to be remembered. Athens Tennessee was screwing over the people and veterans and the veterans returned the favor.
Imagine bringing an armed bomb to court and being like " your honor it was self defense, they were trying to throw THIS at me!" As you slap it on the table
I really dont see how hiring and maintaining a private army, paying for bombing airraids, numerous bribes, assasins and all other forms of containment - on top of having their mining operations come to a complete halt for however long this lasted - is somehow more profitable than raising the miners' salaries.
Which side are you on? Which side are you on? Don't scab for the Bosses Don't listen to their lies Us poor folks haven't got a chance Unless we organise!
And remain to this day, with all the insidious subtlety of a sub minimum wage while ceos rake in more money than they can literally *lose* in a lifetime.
The struggle remind me of the conflict between the Saltpeter companies and their miners in northern Chile during the 1890s to the 1920s. The miners were paid not in cash, but in coupons that they could use to buy stuff in the company owned stores at the mining towns. Strikes and such usually ended in the army been called in and it didn't end as peacefully as when the federal troops got involved here. The main example is the Santa Maria School Massacre, where a large group of miners and their families gathered in said school on the city of Valparaiso. Army showed up and placing machineguns in front of the school, ordered the strikers to go back to the mining towns. They all refused. Of note is that there weren't only chilean miners, but inmigrants too, including of neighbouring nations Peru and Bolivia. The bolivian consul in the city actually asked his compatriots to go back uo because he knew the army would shoot. The response was "With the chileans we lived, with the chileans we will die". Die they did, since the shooting that followed ended up with over 2000 dead workers, the strike dispersed and the survivors rounded up and sent to the mines again. It crushed unions for decades. The general in charge got a medal for "keeping the peace". Worse is that 2 decades later the industry colapsed anyways, due to the double hit that was artificial saltpeter and the Crash of 29
@@jakekaywell5972 ok but the Union should not have the right to stay in the property of the of the business men if he doesn't want it . I don't have any problem with people joining Unions
@@rrrr-xj6ll The capital owner is forced to negotiate since he can't access his means of production. Saying the union shouldn't do this is like removing a fish from water.
It’s not the “Matewan massacre” it’s the Battle of Matewan. The side that was “massacred” was well-armed and instigated the battle. It was a skirmish, or battle that the workers won, so the corporate media dubbed it as a “massacre” but it was nothing of the sort.
As a West Virginian, this hits home. Our state is impoverished and has essentially been ruined as a result of coal companies. Reason being is that the overemphasis on coal still being what WV is all about, and nothing more. No better paying or large businesses really ever take root here save for some retail. Industrial, manufacturing, etc. is very scarce, and obviously we don’t really have the right land for agriculture. I love my home state and miss it dearly, as I’m in the military, and I can’t wait to get back there and help it as much as I can.
[Verse 1] Stand up, all victims of oppression For the tyrants fear your might! Don't cling so hard to your possessions For you have nothing if you have no rights! Let racist ignorance be ended For respect makes the empires fall! Freedom is merely privilege extended Unless enjoyed by one and all [Chorus] So come brothers and sisters For the struggle carries on The Internationale Unites the world in song So comrades, come rally For this is the time and place! The international ideal Unites the human race [Verse 2] Let no one build walls to divide us Walls of hatred nor walls of stone Come greet the dawn and stand beside us We'll live together or we'll die alone In our world poisoned by exploitation Those who have taken, now they must give! And end the vanity of nations We've but one Earth on which to live [Chorus] So come brothers and sisters For the struggle carries on The Internationale Unites the world in song So comrades, come rally For this is the time and place! The international ideal Unites the human race [Verse 3] And so begins the final drama In the streets and in the fields We stand unbowed before their armour We defy their guns and shields! When we fight, provoked by their aggression Let us be inspired by life and love For though they offer us concessions Change will not come from above! You might also like I Dreamed I Saw Phil Ochs Last Night Billy Bragg California Stars Billy Bragg and Wilco Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) Kate Bush [Chorus] So come brothers and sisters For the struggle carries on The Internationale Unites the world in song So comrades, come rally For this is the time and place! The international ideal Unites the human race
Since this part of history isn't spoken often. Can you do a series on the history of Slavery in the US between the American Revolution and the US Civil War?
After all the unions have always been demonize by the state as those "dangerous communists" but hopefully with this type of videos people will see why we are who we are.
I was born and raised in PA’s coal country, we heard about blair and plenty of other incidents between miners and the companies, and in my home county we had the Molly McGuires who hung from the gallows without proper evidence to charge them
As a relative of Don Chafin, I feel happy to have a part of history like that in my family but a bit torn over the fact he was on the wrong side of the conflict
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Meh
Yes but how do we go to the nebula star cluster
I'd love I'd love to get nebula but my dad
probably wouldn't wouldn't let us get it
This is why the state is more dangerous than evil corporations.
Great show lads. I hope you do a broader and deeper dive into US Labor History. All American History is labor history, and we forget that.
It is we who plowed the prairies, built the cities where they trade
Built the mines and built the workshops, endless miles of railroad laid
Now we stand outcast and starving 'midst the wonders we have made
But the union makes us strong!
Solidarity forever!
The union makes us strong
Sad but true 😭
BUT THE BANKS ARE MADE OF MARBLE, WITH A GUARD AT EVERY DOOR
AND THE VAULTS ARE STUFFED WITH SILVER, THAT THE WORKER SWEATTED FOR
Unions don't make you strong. Dont misconstrue collective barging with unions. They can help but they aren't the source of a worker's power. Never forget that.
If unions were ineffective, corporations wouldn't be trying to prevent them.
So long as membership is optional I don't care
@@spartanx9293
That's cool. Even nonunion members benefit from unions. 👍
it's also why there's so much money being poured into anti-gun policies. The greatest power a Union has is the ability to become a militia if certain lines are crossed.
@@DSirenThat’s the truth
@@DSirenyeah. The reason automatic weapons were banned was so that the Workers, and the Leftists in general, could stage an uprising.
Rest in peace to the miners. Their country betrayed them.
Wouldnt be the first time sadly if you are aware of labor history…..
This is why Unions are important.
@@twenty-fifth420 only some unions
They were never on the same side. Their country and government never even began to think of anything other than the potential loss of profits.
The capitalists murdered them.
@@evilwithatwist4184 Oh right, forgot about the Police Union.
But most unions, not some. Probably like, 90% of them.
It just goes to show why a) Corporations need to be scrutinized and held in check, b) Corporate money needs to stay out of politics, and c) unions are important. People really need to learn from history.
Collective bargaining is important, unions just help give a professional face to it so it doesn't look like an unruly mob, and in some cases also need to be scrutinized and held in check in case they're taking too big of a cut from the workers' paychecks to fund themselves and compromise too heavily in negotiations. Big yes to everything else.
Corporations need to be nationalised more like and all that corporate money put into good public use, but what you said is a good starting point!
Unfortunately, most people prefer mythology to history.
We need something like the Tillman act put back into law. That'll block corporations from donating to politicians or parties.
No man I'd rather focus on... *checks notes*... alienating LGBTQ people and millenials for existing
I love that one wife beat an assassin with an umbrella.
She was braver than any scab or strikebreaker to ever walk this earth.
She deserves a medal
Don't anger a coal miner wife, man.
Very different breed of women back then.
@@BlueHooloovoo don't assume women are weaker today. Just look to Iran
A detail that's easy to overlook given Sid Hatfield's distinguished jawline is the fact that the man was at the oldest, 30 at the time of his death, though some sources say 28.
Sorry but now is it distinguished
@@dunbass7149 His jawline fought in Vietnam and brought peace to the Middle-East.
@@nordinreecendo512 lol. What peace? Don't speak like the US came to the eastern side to do anything good
@@tuankhangcaonguyen5545 eastern side?
@@tuankhangcaonguyen5545 it's middle east, and yes, the US did do some good. It's because of the US that the brutal dictator Saddam Hussein was brought down. It's because of the US that (until recently) Afghanistan was free of Taliban rule
Sid Hatfield was dragged to court on a completely bogus case knowing that he would be disarmed by the rules of the courthouse. It was a setup from the beginning.
If you go to court in Washington state or Arizona while armed, you have to declare your weapons before you get to the metal detectors. They give you a key to one of the lock boxes right there at the door where you can stash your personal artillery or whatever. I believe Nevada does the same but I'm not sure.
The reason for these laws is because Hatfield is not the only person to have ever been hunted at the steps to a courthouse.
Wow.
It was actually supposed to be transferred to Greenbrier county (where I am actually from) but for some reason it never was. When I found that out I knew his murder was a set up.
As a non American, it is videos like this that give you an insight into how the US has such a complicated history around government and law enforcement. Even gun control which would seem to be left over from the defence against the British. Seems to link into periods like this far more, where people need to protect themselves against their state leaders and government, just to get their basic rights.
It's one key reason why leftists, perhaps especially in America, oppose gun control. Marx even said that any and all attempts at disarming the workers must be thwarted, otherwise we have literally no power. We are subject to violence without hesitation, and that's with the knowledge that we're armed. If we weren't armed the violence against us would be greater by orders of magnitude.
Foreigners seem to not realize how much the second amendment has done for this country, just like the first. It's actually because of the second that the first still stands
Hey bud this ain't just in the past, do not see the end clip? Coal miners are getting diseases in the mining companies aren't doing anything to compensate or prevent
the 2nd Amendment is for protection against all enemies, foreign and domestic. It would come as no surprise that the gun control laws that restrict machineguns, require you to not have a criminal history to own a gun, and requires a license to distribute firearms came shortly after the events of blair mountain. Gun control has always been about oppressing people and preventing the organization of unions, it's just the first Gun control targeted slave revolts.
Could you imagine how many people would have died if the miners wernt armed? Guns are absolutely imperative to a free America. America is just an amalgamation of early 1900s European capitalism. Guns keep them in check. That's why the news pits the working class against each other in this country because we will band together to kick their doors in if they don't
You know, I used to think "America's war on the poor" was a metaphor.
@@Nigerian11 maybe true, maybe not. Wealth is very unequally distributed in the USA. But whether he's part of the have's or the have nots, we can all agree that even today unions are being squashed by the elites. Just look up today's story about Starbucks firing those that attempted to unionize.
Class war isn't some esoteric metaphor, it's our everyday reality. And only when we decide to fight back is it so plainly visible as it was at Blair mountain, but regardless it's still ongoing all the time.
@@Nigerian11 What's your point?
@@Nigerian11 okay, yes America definitely is why my MEXICAN side of family is well of, definitely not luck or hard work nooo it's all because of America psh, and the side of my family who have been living in America are totally rich not poor at all, we can always afford bottled water and we definitely eat things besides ramen
@@Nigerian11 my great grandpa betted my Nana into slavery so she illegally fled to America, my other side of the family works pretty hard too it's just there not payed a lot despite there hard work
" They say in Harlan County
There are no neutrals there.
You'll either be a union man
Or a thug for J. H. Blair.
Which side are you on boys?
Which side are you on? "
It's just a real shame Florence Reece wouldn't write that for another decade after Blair Mountain
i am on the side 0f the corps the miners knew what they agreed to and could have quit
@@kadenyt6623someone is naive
@@kinman3051 i am not naive lol im just not a socialist
@kadenyt6623 no. No, you are.
A very similar series of events played out in the gold mining town of Waihi, New Zealand in 1912. Fortunately there wasn’t nearly as much bloodshed, probably being a smaller country and population, but 10% of the country’s police force was sent to break the strike.
Most countries have their Blair Mountain, Australia had the Eureka Stockade and South Africa had the Rand Rebellion.
@@PhoenixIsTrash Las Bananeras in Colombia
@@alexcortes4892 one I'm not familiar with. Keen to look into it
in the state of Maryland, we have the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 in Baltimore
I think a lot of folks know about the Harlan County "wars" here in Kentucky, which is why Harlan is sometimes known as "Bloody Harlan"
Holy crap how is this not talked about more in school?! It's like when I found out about the coup in Wilmington in my own state of North Carolina, how did we ever gloss over that?
You didn't learn about it cause when events like this happen again the government will take the same side as they did before, and it's not your side
same, i didnt know that back in the colonial era, some militiamen mutined! in my county!
Because school was meant to create more factory workers and it never got the memo things changed.
Hmmm why would the US school system want to bury the largest labor uprising in American history? Hmmmm really scrombles the brain.
Lol the US government teach it's slaves the power of Unions and civil disobedience like that'll ever happen, there's a reason you learn about MLK and not Malcolm X
Fun Fact: General Bandholtz has a statue in Budapest, Hungary for preventing the Romanian military authorities from removing artefacts from the Hungarian National Museum.
Hát ma is tanultam valamit.
General Bandholtz was a very based man
Remember, if the bosses had their way, you'd be chained to your workstation 24 hours a day 7 days a week. It's only because of people like the miners who fought for labor rights that we have any rights.
The minimum wage, weekends, workers comp, and so many other basics of modern life were paid for in blood. The blood of the workers who fought to make them happen.
Νο
@@LEEboneisDaMan Heck, the very concept of the 5-day work week, especially for those who get weekends off.
Unions are need even more today then ever
no one is forcing you to work for a company like that. labor employment, like all other trades, are an economic transaction between two willing parties. Just like you don't have the right to stop your customer from walking away when you force them to pay a minimum price for your apple, if you are a farmer.
"Don't scab for the bosses, Don't listen to their lies! Us poor folk haven't got a chance, unless we organize! WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON?!"
WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON
Yeah that song fits real well here
@@FloridianRat the corps side
If you guys do another series about coal strikes, I'd like to see one about the 1989 Pittston strike where the company unsuccessfully tried to take away benefits from the miners. This series inspired me to research the 89 strike and ask my mom about stories she had since she took part.
And the Battle of Athens, TN, as well!
Rest in peace, you glorious men. Coming from a mining family, stories like Blair Mountain really speak to me. Thank you, EC.
I live in this area. Coal is everything. It sucks because everywhere you look, things are manipulated by coal. I don’t know of a single person who doesn’t know someone who works in the coal mines. If anyone thinks that coal is basically gone, it is not.
I grew up near Glasgow in an area where there was a lot of coal, so when you were digging up dirt to plant something you would just stumble on some coal
Definitely not gone and to the communities where coal mining still occurs it is central to the community. Unfortunately with that comes greater leverage for the coal companies because they know they're the only game in town and like to use their status as "job creators" to extract good will of the people.
Alpha Natural Resources for instance which tried to give it's execs millions dollar bonuses by terminating benefits of retired miners even as they were going through bankruptcy.
They have taken untold millions that they never toiled to earn
But without our brain and muscle not a single wheel can turn!
We can break their haughty power, gain our freedom when we learn
That the union makes us strong!
I watched the first part today and I couldn't wait for the next part but I didnat expect it to be today
I knew about this very and important event in US worker history and ime glad you guys are giving it the attention it deserves
Thanks for making this video. We have brave men and women like the miners who fought at Blair Mountain to thank for our rights, moreso than any war. Solidarity forever.
I work as a medical coder and I always wondered what UMWA was. Working for Florida you won't know much until someone tells you.
Born and Raised
Proud Hillbilly
Mudfork ,Verdunville,
Hedgeview ,MATHIS
Logan, West Virginia
“That rifle on the wall of the labourer's cottage or working class flat is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays there.” -George Orwell. Author, Socialist, and veteran of Catalonia in the Spanish Civil War.
Holy crap I never knew he served in the Spanish civil war
@@gustavofring5674 callmeezekiel has video on that
@@gustavofring5674 A lot of socialists did. A lot of British labour party politicians did and later served in the 45-51 government, unsurprisingly they're the only government in british history to actually change anything about how the country was run in a socialist fashion. If you didn't know the NHS, free school meals, most council houses and nationalised industry were all done by these people. Heroes to the working class, the same working class that was later betrayed by careerist labour politicians and of course Conservatives.
@@gustavofring5674 yup. He was also turned off by stalinists because of what happened in that war, though he still kept many socialist ideals the rest of his life
No one needs a gun. You have the police and government. What are you going to do, start killing people because you don't get you way? That's terroristic talk.
I’m so happy to see y’all doing this series. As a southerner who has long watched an oppressed working class struggle here and being descended from coal miners in Tennessee it’s cool seeing someone talk about this stuff
"The working class and the employing class have nothing in common. There can be no peace so long as hunger and want are found among millions of the working people and the few, who make up the employing class, have all the good things of life."
-Preamble to the Industrial Workers of the World Constitution
KAISERRIECH REFERENCE?
@@Akrafena No, real world reference. The IWW is a real and growing industrial union in the english speaking world
@@HUNDmiau nah your clearly a totalist in the american communist revolution
@@HUNDmiau I should know, as I'm a member. :)
@Akrafena you can also be an IWW member it's for everyone
Sid Hatfield a true working class hero and the miners that made a stand.
Need to more about Hatfield and the Hatfield/McCoys
Bill Blizzard is a fantastic name.
We're kinda jealous too!
true
Not as great as John Johnson
@@subira8518 try tru tru, but think about it
@@subira8518 both are badass
The US has gr8 labour history. Nice to see its resurgence.
This was an unexpected topic but a welcome one
This is an excellent topic, and an excellent episode! Maybe the Colorado Coal Wars next? 😉
Last time I was here this early after I rung the bell, I think the ‘Palagra’ Episode made me realize I became more of a history nerd then a gaming nerd.
LETSGO!!!!💕
When the union's inspiration through the worker's blood shall run
There can be no power greater anywhere beneath the Sun
Yet what force on Earth is weaker than the feeble strength of one?
But the union makes us strong!
We all owe so much to the sacrifices of the workers of the past, both successful and unsuccessful. We must never forget, and we must measure our own actions to their standards, to continue to advance people's rights and not allow what they won with their blood to be taken away again.
The struggles of the past cannot be forgotten especially when they are still so very relevant today.
This is the history that American people need to learn about. Good job, EH 👍👍👍
i cant tell which is better, the fact that you covered this hidden history, or that amazing ad transition.
Remember this wasn't the only bit of anti union vs union violence there was. The Pittsburgh rail strike of 1877 descended into violence that left 40 people dead and roving sporadic gun battles through the streets of Pittsburgh.
I really hope they do an episode on the battle of Athens Tennesse 1946
Its clear that you put entire oceans of love into your videos
the miners lost - not because of the use of planes, or the backing of the state, or the attacks of assassins and hitmen - but because they didnt realise the power they truly held. leadership buckled when the national government threatened to get involved, cripling the movement and forcing new, inexperienced leaders to arise in their place. when the military arrived, the miners thought it beneficial to make concessions instead of continuing the struggle, giving them the short end of the stick.
in reality, the organised working class is the most powerful force on earth. and we have a world to win!
It would have been significantly worse for them if they kept fighting
@@hellomynameisjoao at least they would of died free instead of living as corporate slaves. Death is preferable to slavary. Those that rebelled in lousiana after the failed uprising in lousiana lead to every slaves head lining the roads to New Orleans. They knew what there fate would be and yet they still tried to free themselves.
Yeah, one of the reasons socialism is important to any workers movement is because it insists that the fight for workers rights is never done until both the state and business we have ties to are owned by us, demobilizing in the face of threats is rarely the right answer
@@hellomynameisjoao Why?
Many wouldn’t consider this a loss but a Pyrrhic victory as while many lost their lives and coal unions suffered in numbers, awareness of the battle and message of workers rights spread across the nation. It has been said to inspire many other unions who eventually did get big victories and the fact we are talking about it today shows that their message still lives on
The saying "gun rights are workers rights" really hits the mark here
Except the guns they had did them no good. The army has better guns, won the fight and the workers were punished for the armed uprising.
Paradoxically their situation would have been better had they not had guns.
@@thomasjetzer2823 please don't confuse our American friends.
@@thomasjetzer2823 they would still have got shot or charged at by cavalry
@@thomasjetzer2823 actually it wasn’t a fact that the guns where “better” but it’s literally there job as soldiers to know how to fight, miners well… mine….
Leftists seething in the replies 😂
Corporations are not your friend and do not care about you. This is not an inflammatory statement. This is fact. Anyone who works any part of retail or food service (customer service, warehouse, janitorial, etc) can back me up on this. Especially during the pandemic when corporate office decided they wanted workers to work harder and longer in conditions more likely to get covid, sometimes without even adequate protection, with little to no pay compensation for the increased risk. The method of starting a union is also obfuscated and unclear
When I worked for Advance Auto Parts I wanted to start a union for our workers. Yes, you read right, auto parts workers don't have a union. I could not find a government site telling how to start a union and the nearest union for retail workers of any kind was in another state, and when I contacted them about it, I was met with chilly reception.
@@Shadowreaper5 do you mind if I ask from what state are you from?
@@Melody-Pines I was working in Alabama at the time
God forbid Hollywood make a Movie or TV series about this. No, let's just do another Remake of some candy ass show/movie for the 100th time.
PBS has a film on it called the mine wars
@@wizard680 PBS is not Hollywood
big corpo has a grasp of hollywood
Uh... there's a classic movie about it that's literally titled "Matewan"
Man, I wish this one was more than just two episodes. This is crazy stuff. Thank you for the video.
Stay well out there everybody, and God bless you, friends. ✝️ :)
Though Nebula I got to see the video early, but I came here to finish the ending as I was experiencing some technician issues -- intermittent skipping.
Otherwise, great video! More Americans *need* to know about the blood split trying to effect meaningful Labor Rights.
I just wanted to say again that all your intros give the strongest goosebumps of excitement. Like the prelude to an epic story
They say in Harlan county, there are no neutrals there... Excellent video.
Which side are you on?
@@adambishop7699 🚩
@@adambishop7699 Nobody's. I chose to stay neutral because I did not want to have anything to do regarding both sides. If I fight the ocean, eventually I will drown.
@@stephenbaker9645 the Enlightened Centrist has logged on
The unsung heroes. RIP!
thank you for covering this topic!
These are like vacations they only happen so often but my god when they do you will be so relived.
"Under no pretext should arms and ammunition be surrendered; any attempts to disarm the people must be stopped, by force if necessary"
Kindly attribute the quote.
@@jorenvanderark3567 Karl Marx
I ve waited for a good video on this for a while, thank you
I hope they do a series about the battle of Athens next.
I have no love for Unions, but it's nice to get the other side of the story. Thank you, Extra History!! Five Stars!!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Rest in peace to the heroes of Blair Mountain. Soon our time will come. All power to the workers! We have nothing to lose but our chains! ✊🛠
Never give up your guns!
Mfw There's no sickle emoji
@@Tsuruchi_420 Here you go: ☭
This happened just 1 hours ago away from where I grew up, Ashland KY. I live in Sacramento, CA now. But I always get excited when I see the area where I come from talked about by bigger accounts and news media since you don’t hear about it that often, in fact, pretty rarely.
Kudos to you for bringing an event like this to my attention. I doubt I'd have heard of it otherwise 🤔
The Goverment will never teach this in the School Sytem..
Solidarity Forever!
Solidarity for the working class! 🟥
Man it is a good thing major corporations don't have that power anymore. Imagine what they could have done in today's time? They might have every mom and pop shop closed due to an emergency, but get a special exemption from the government to remain open. That would be wild right?
Thanks for enlightening me all the time..
Another good video on this subject,👍
Chaveri, you need to do a video on the battle of Athens in Tennessee. There were several cases of American revolts since the Civil War and they all need to be remembered. Athens Tennessee was screwing over the people and veterans and the veterans returned the favor.
Imagine bringing an armed bomb to court and being like " your honor it was self defense, they were trying to throw THIS at me!" As you slap it on the table
Solid defense
These days youd be INSTANTLY shot dead for even ATTEMPTING that, dud or not
Hi, just wanted to say I noticed the change in sponsor, and it was appreciated 👍
I really dont see how hiring and maintaining a private army, paying for bombing airraids, numerous bribes, assasins and all other forms of containment - on top of having their mining operations come to a complete halt for however long this lasted - is somehow more profitable than raising the miners' salaries.
Great job! Please cover the mining tragedy of Centralia Pennsylvania too!
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
Don't scab for the Bosses
Don't listen to their lies
Us poor folks haven't got a chance
Unless we organise!
Great little two parter, looking forward to what you guys have planned for next week.
i am glad to see that this channel is showing people that how exploitive the 20th century Capitalist class was in America
And remain to this day, with all the insidious subtlety of a sub minimum wage while ceos rake in more money than they can literally *lose* in a lifetime.
@@OutbackCatgirl also, it's a lot of the 20th century capitalists sons and grandsons who run the show now
Was?
@@ThatCamel104 i meant for that century ofc i know that they are exploitive even today
You should do episodes on the civil war
Any chance y'all would be interested in doing the 1913 copper country strike?
The struggle remind me of the conflict between the Saltpeter companies and their miners in northern Chile during the 1890s to the 1920s. The miners were paid not in cash, but in coupons that they could use to buy stuff in the company owned stores at the mining towns. Strikes and such usually ended in the army been called in and it didn't end as peacefully as when the federal troops got involved here.
The main example is the Santa Maria School Massacre, where a large group of miners and their families gathered in said school on the city of Valparaiso. Army showed up and placing machineguns in front of the school, ordered the strikers to go back to the mining towns. They all refused. Of note is that there weren't only chilean miners, but inmigrants too, including of neighbouring nations Peru and Bolivia. The bolivian consul in the city actually asked his compatriots to go back uo because he knew the army would shoot. The response was "With the chileans we lived, with the chileans we will die".
Die they did, since the shooting that followed ended up with over 2000 dead workers, the strike dispersed and the survivors rounded up and sent to the mines again. It crushed unions for decades. The general in charge got a medal for "keeping the peace". Worse is that 2 decades later the industry colapsed anyways, due to the double hit that was artificial saltpeter and the Crash of 29
Remember that time a company used machine guns against their employees? Remember that time your boss told you that we are one big happy family here?
Thanks for this video. They even made a movie about it, it's filmed in Thurmond. I have an ancestor who fought in this battle
"My daddy was a miner, and I'm a miner's son.
And I'll stick with the union until the day is done."
At 1:18, the wives umbrella is not straight anymore:D gotta love the details. And gotta love Unions.
Could you guys do a series on the IBEW? I'd love to see my union get some shine as well. Henry Miller himself was a great founder and Union Organizer
I love these mini series
Worker's rights! Solidarity forever!
Keep repeating your Communist nosense
@@rrrr-xj6ll The Union makes us strong!
@@jakekaywell5972 ok but the Union should not have the right to stay in the property of the of the business men if he doesn't want it . I don't have any problem with people joining Unions
@@rrrr-xj6ll The capital owner is forced to negotiate since he can't access his means of production. Saying the union shouldn't do this is like removing a fish from water.
@@jakekaywell5972 I am sorry you don't have the right to be in some body else's property with out his consent
more people need to hear this story
It’s not the “Matewan massacre” it’s the Battle of Matewan. The side that was “massacred” was well-armed and instigated the battle. It was a skirmish, or battle that the workers won, so the corporate media dubbed it as a “massacre” but it was nothing of the sort.
As a West Virginian, this hits home. Our state is impoverished and has essentially been ruined as a result of coal companies. Reason being is that the overemphasis on coal still being what WV is all about, and nothing more. No better paying or large businesses really ever take root here save for some retail. Industrial, manufacturing, etc. is very scarce, and obviously we don’t really have the right land for agriculture. I love my home state and miss it dearly, as I’m in the military, and I can’t wait to get back there and help it as much as I can.
[Verse 1]
Stand up, all victims of oppression
For the tyrants fear your might!
Don't cling so hard to your possessions
For you have nothing if you have no rights!
Let racist ignorance be ended
For respect makes the empires fall!
Freedom is merely privilege extended
Unless enjoyed by one and all
[Chorus]
So come brothers and sisters
For the struggle carries on
The Internationale
Unites the world in song
So comrades, come rally
For this is the time and place!
The international ideal
Unites the human race
[Verse 2]
Let no one build walls to divide us
Walls of hatred nor walls of stone
Come greet the dawn and stand beside us
We'll live together or we'll die alone
In our world poisoned by exploitation
Those who have taken, now they must give!
And end the vanity of nations
We've but one Earth on which to live
[Chorus]
So come brothers and sisters
For the struggle carries on
The Internationale
Unites the world in song
So comrades, come rally
For this is the time and place!
The international ideal
Unites the human race
[Verse 3]
And so begins the final drama
In the streets and in the fields
We stand unbowed before their armour
We defy their guns and shields!
When we fight, provoked by their aggression
Let us be inspired by life and love
For though they offer us concessions
Change will not come from above!
You might also like
I Dreamed I Saw Phil Ochs Last Night
Billy Bragg
California Stars
Billy Bragg and Wilco
Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)
Kate Bush
[Chorus]
So come brothers and sisters
For the struggle carries on
The Internationale
Unites the world in song
So comrades, come rally
For this is the time and place!
The international ideal
Unites the human race
Been looking foward to this
🎶🎶which side are you on, which side are you on🎶🎶
This needs to be a movie
Watch Matewan
*"Which side are you on, boys? Which side are you on?"*
the corps side "welcome to ancapitstan"
I would love to see your take on the battle of Athens TN
The American Revolution has been strangled in it's infancy every time, but the fire cannot burn out until every worker is free to form their own fate
Missed opportunity to close the video with the internationale; btw, great video!
Since this part of history isn't spoken often. Can you do a series on the history of Slavery in the US between the American Revolution and the US Civil War?
That part of history is talked about fairly often
There is alot of videos about that we truly need more videos of American Unions and achievements
After all the unions have always been demonize by the state as those "dangerous communists" but hopefully with this type of videos people will see why we are who we are.
'Cause of yous, I'm listening to _Which Side Are You On?_ by _Pete Seeger_ again.
Corporations would happily go back to these tactics again if people don't stand against them.
I was born and raised in PA’s coal country, we heard about blair and plenty of other incidents between miners and the companies, and in my home county we had the Molly McGuires who hung from the gallows without proper evidence to charge them
Anyone else completely dumbfounded and sickened that they didn't learn about this in public school history classes?
That would be by design.
I mean it's improving at least in my school we learned for about 2 days about the battle of Blair mountain and the whole situation
I have never heard of this event
The US's worst nightmare - fair conditions.
As a relative of Don Chafin, I feel happy to have a part of history like that in my family but a bit torn over the fact he was on the wrong side of the conflict