Coal mining in Cape Breton is an important piece of history, it gave many men, young and old, secure jobs. Jobs that also meant endangering their lives every day as they went into the mines, possibilities of dust explosions threatened them daily along with unknown threats to their health, breathing in the dust from the mines would build up and cause serious long term lung diseases. Taking jobs in the mines meant being put in a company town, leaving them little to none free choice of their own, also taking the job meant being paid very little which resulted in hunger and poverty among the miners, and when striking against the company for more money and more power over their own lives it resulted in extreme police brutality towards the miners. …show more content…
In Cape Breton, the Sydney coalfield is one of the richest coal resources in the world. Before becoming miners, many poor European Immigrants came to Canada for hopes of earning more money than they did before, many Scottish immigrants settled in Cape Breton but remained poor and jobless. Business men in the late 1800s saw better use for the failing mining companies in Cape Breton if there was a railway built going from Sydney to Louisberg, the provincial government agreed to this which meant coal was not only worth more but the mines would not close during the winter months as they usually did. The dominion coal company took over many unprofitable coal mines in the Sydney Coal Field, many mining sites were built in Glace Bay when the coal industry really took, men were coming to get jobs daily in large numbers and The Dominion Coal Company hurriedly built boarding houses for the men to live in. After these boarding houses were built, they built school houses for the married miners children, hospitals, police stations and fire stations. It was the Coal Company Town, in which many others were built all around Cape Breton. (Mellar John, pg …show more content…
Miners had to go through many struggles whether it be being paid so little it results in poverty and hunger, working through dangerous conditions that cause accidents and miners being seriously injured and killed, when protesting for these rights for decent pay and better safety they were beaten by company thugs or even the police, they lived in company towns that helped little and made debts go up which resulted in families being forced out of their company houses, and when finally getting these basic rights many miners fell ill due to breathing in the coal dust for many years and no protection from it. Coal mining may have created jobs for poor men and immigrants, and earned the government money yet miners and their families for many years were ignored and looked after so terribly that many lives were lost too prematurely. "The company couldn 't be loved as it many times in the past proved, it didn 't love us." -James McLachlin (miner and union
It is possible to ascertain which scholar has most portrayed life, working conditions and human-earth relationships in the George’s Greek Coal district. The Lonaconing Journals: The Founding of a coal and iron community 1837-1840, edited by Katherine Harvey (1977) depict conclusive evidence of the coal district working conditions and human-earth relationships. Also, the journals are a primary source document that provides first-hand and non-technical accounts of the beginning nineteenth-century mining and manufacturing enterprise. Moreover, the demands describe detail information of the people, cultures, and events in a company town in that
Instead of negotiating with the workers the employers simply replaced them. The workers retaliated by completely destroying houses: "rails and mine carts [were] torn apart, and a host of other equipment in and around the mine [were] set alight" (23). Furthermore the miners chased many families to the forests of Vancouver Island due to their outrage at the men who replaced their positions on the mines. The government reciprocated by forming a militia.
Andrew Carnegie was an industrialist, business mogul, and a philanthropist who led the growth of the American steel industry. Born to a poor Scottish family, Carnegie later grew up and began working in the steel industry and worked his way up from there. Carnegie worked at the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1853 as the assistant and telegrapher to Thomas Scott, one of the railroad's top officials. Three years later, he was promoted to superintendent and began making investments. He spent most of his earnings on Pittsburgh; building libraries, museums, a university and a concert hall.
The rail road and fossil fuels are the keys to Palmer’s vision for an industrialized Colorado. The increasing demand for energy from the populous tinkled up to business like Colorado Fuel and Iron Company to minimized cost. However, the side effects of bring the rail road and coal mining to the beautiful Colorado included destroying the landscape and polluting the living condition to citizens of Colorado. The growing cost of labor paved away to immigrant labor to enter into the coal mining industry instead of the experienced and more expensive colliers.
By the 1890′s, wool stores, power stations and mills created employment for thousands of local residents and continued to do so until the 1960′s, particularly during World War II. As early as 1900, Pyrmont was the Australian centre for distribution of flour, milk, sugar and wool, and was providing Sydney with all its power for lights and trams (Pyrmont village, 2010). Pyrmont became the largest working industrial centre in Sydney. As well as its thriving wool industry, Pyrmont was the home of Sydney’s best sandstone, creating a lucrative business in quarrying. Some of Sydney’s most reputable and well-known buildings were built using Pyrmont’s yellow block sandstone.
Notice this list does not include mining of any sort. In fact, they have never operated a mine of their own before. This corporation has the desire to invest a large amount of money into a sulfide mine. It would be located near the pristine area of Babbitt and the Hoyt Lakes area. The mine itself would be situated atop 6,650 acres of land that is currently owned by the Superior National Forest.
The textile factories were an unsafe and unheathly place for working class families to work. These factories were unsafe for children to work because the factories would over work the children,give them a insuffient diet and the factories were filled with diseases. For example a testimony from Joesph Hebergram to the Sadler committee he said; ‘i have damged lunges. my lgs muscles do not function properly and will not support the weight of my bones... the doctor told me that it was caused by dust in the factory,from being over worked and a insufficient diet.
During the years 1880-1920 there were many issues because of urbanization and industrialization. The industrial revolution brought many new job opportunities with low wages making companies focus on women and children. These opportunities were available but at a cost, they were paid less and they were forced to work up to ten hours. The industrial giants made labor a tough and unfair lifestyle. They wanted more riches, but they were making people suffer in order to obtain the money.
Coal miners will always continue to fight for their rights to fair wages and health benefits. However, its apparent from the readings in class and this documentary that because coal miners were of a low social class often called hillbilly’s the mining corporations thought they could use them without giving them their full rights to fair wages and health compensation. In conclusion, the documentary film: Blood on the Mountain brought me to some new perspective on what coal miners had to go through, but I was also able to relate to this film because I had prior knowledge of these hardships. It was interesting on what these coal miners went through and I am glad I got to be able to hear from two different informative
During the period of industrialization, between 1865 and the early 1900’s, corporate
“A painting showing an early factory plant shows that the smoke rising from the factory was black and full of coal ashes, affecting the air. Also, because the factory is next to water, it can be assumed that the factory has dumped into this water, causing it also to become polluted”(Document 3). Yes, wonderful products came from these factories; things like clothing and cars, but coal was being used to power these machines that produced. Black coal ash rose up into the sky and was being breathed in by the people and animals. Coal is not the best thing for people’s lungs.
South Wales. A region known for its beautiful countryside, rich medieval history, and Celtic culture. Offering a wide range of attractions, visitors can stroll along the rolling coastline and then head into Cardiff for castles and cathedrals. However, head twenty-three miles outside of Cardiff to the county of Merthyr Tydfil, and they will uncover a darker aspect of Welsh history: coal. Visitors will also find that Merthyr Tydfil still has a strong coal presence, and this understanding may lead them to ask a bigger question: How has the coal mining industry impacted the region of Merthyr Tydfil and how has it shaped the social and political climate in the area today?
Without a doubt, industrialization was one of the biggest factors in how the United States developed. It gave us the means of mass production, better transportation, and eventually the consumerist society that the United States is today. Industrialization did drastically change American society, but did it change America for the better? Did it do more good than bad? While industrialization did lead to multiple social and economic problems, the advantages significantly outweigh the disadvantages.
Amid the invention and introductions to the world in the 1800’s especially in the United States, there was a demand for railroads to make traversing the Country easier. They needed a fast way to transport people and goods all around the country, especially between major cities, a great example of this being accomplished is the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. On account of the demand of railroads, there was also a demand for people to work on and build the railroads throughout the country. Railroad work opened up an abundant amount of jobs all around the country which was positive for the nation, but for the people working it was a very physically intensive job and low paying.
Even though water power was more effective, businesses transferred over to coal and the steam engine slowly as having a steam engine allowed them to move their businesses away from the river and into the city for a vast amount of cheap workers. It allowed business ' to "be placed in the centre of a population trained in industrious habits" McCullock 1833. This way more people migrated to the cities and worked there because it cost less to pay workers due to their being so many of them there. The idea of the steam engine explains why business ' set up in the city centre and also explains why buildings like the ex hotels I saw when conducting my ethnography, were being knocked down. In order to make space for further business, and help capitalism strive.