mollie maguires

“The Mollie Maguires” was a name that was bestowed upon the militant coal miners in the harsh late 19h century. Although there were no official records saying that such an organization existed, nineteen men were hanged for their crimes as “Mollies”. This story was an excellent historical reference of the background, conditions, and struggles faced by the Pennsylvania miners in the anthracite fields. These miners faced low wages, bad working conditions, and long work days. They had finally had enough of this harsh treatment and they formed a union called the Workingmen’s Benevolent Association. Since these miners were mainly Irish, most of the WBA also belonged to an Irish fraternal organization known as the Ancient Order of Hibernians. The AOH had several people from several different classes of prestige. This membership in the AOH would eventually doom the miners. Overall, the militant working class man, who gave any protest to his mistreatment in the coal mines wo...