History of District Twenty-one, United Mine Workers of America
Abstract
The purpose of this work is to discuss the rise and decline of District Twenty-one of the United Mine Workers of America. The district became a major force in Oklahoma after successfully gaining recognition by the mine owners of Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas in 1903. Its greatest moment came in the Oklahoma constitutional convention of 1907 where Pete Hanraty of the miners served as vice-president. For two decades, the union was a major factor in the Oklahoma Federation of Labor and helped to gain significant benefits for the working men and women of the state. In the 1920s, the miners' organization began the long period of decline in which the lessening demand for coal and internal and external problems resulted in the loss of the district's autonomy in 1929. After that year, the district became dependent for its survival on the strength of the national organization. The history of District Twenty-one is important because the union was so influential in the early development of the state and because it reflects national trends in the United Mine Workers of America. This work will illustrate how the miners, economically strong and supported by Oklahomans, created a state which reflected their interests, and how economic, political, and social changes promoted that union's collapse.
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- OSU Theses [15752]