‘Hillbillies’ Fought for Unionization: The Battle of Blair Mountain (1921)
In 1921, the Battle of Blair Mountain, the “largest armed labor uprising since the Civil War.” In 1921, 10,000 coals miners in West Virginia marched in protest of deadly working conditions and receiving their pay in scrip rather than actual money. Scrip is an artificial currency produced by the company. It only had worth in company stores and to pay rent on company-owned housing. The miners built a coalition, for all workers, regardless of race or immigrant status, to march on the company and demand unionization, better working conditions, and real pay. The coal company officials thwarted the miner’s demands, however, near Blair Mountain. For two days, gunfire and fighting raged in the mountain pass, An estimated sixteen people died in a clash between the workers and those opposed to their union efforts. The battle ended when President Harding sent federal troops to the area to squash the fight.