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A Program Guide For The Documentary
THE STRUGGLE FOR AN AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE: COAL MINERS AND OPERATORS IN CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA, 1919-1933

Researched and Written By James Dougherty, Ph.D.

The program guide is an expanded version of the narrative provided in the documentary with additional supplementary components for assisting the reader in gaining a broader framework of the story. The first part - which is not entirely included in the film script - presents an overview of the dominant economic, political, and cultural forces which shaped the social landscape of early 20th century America, including the role of industrialization, investment institutions, cultural conflict, race, ethnic and gender issues among other factors. Part II and III focus on the regional story with part II concentrating on the 1922 coal strike and Part III covering the major local events in its aftermath.. Each section is followed by a series of response questions, multiple choice questions, and student exercises. They are designed to help the reader develop a deeper dialogue with the material and relate it to events of the contemporary era. A glossary of terminology, a list of biographical sketches, an overview chronology of major coal related events from the early 19th century, and guidelines for a student oral history project all serve as additional mechanisms for providing more information and clarity for those with limited familiarity of the theme.

The content in the three sections were selected for their overall relative importance to the story and as a means of providing a microscopic picture of the culture of the local institutions involved and the social conditions in which the miners lived. The Rossiter injunction of the 1927 coal strike, for example, provides a case study of the nature of the local legal system and its impact on the worker's daily lives. Although there are a number of additional reports and perspectives one could pursue in developing the guide, the purpose of both the guide and the documentary is to make a complex plot more accessible to those with limited knowledge of the subject matter and as a stepping stone for those who wish to gain more insight. It presents an overview, provides a mechanism for interaction with the content, and directs the reader toward other sources for additional information.

CURRICULUM COORDINATION

The documentary and guide are recommended for use in the following areas of study

Labor Studies: As a case study of how business and progressive unionists responded to labor management relations in a declining sector of the American economy.

Cultural Studies: As a study of how operators, business unionists, and progressive unionists
used different interpretations of Americanism to present and promote their policies and perspectives to decision makers and the general public.

Political History: As an investigation of how federal, state, and local governments responded
to a crisis in the nation's primary energy source. Also as a study of how the various levels of government and the private sector interacted with each other during a transitional period of American history.

Pennsylvania History: As a case study of a neglected area of Pennsylvania's industrial heritage, the development and organization of one of the first bituminous coal fields in the
United States.

Social History: As an overview of work and living conditions; racial, ethnic, and employer
relations; and worker perspectives on the economy, politics and the legal system.

PROGRAM GUIDE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE

Introduction ......................................................................................................................

Curriculum Coordination ...................................................................................................

Learning Objectives ...........................................................................................................

The Struggle For An American Way of Life, A Narrative Part I:

Defining Americanism: A Contested Terrain
for Coal Operators and Coal Miners
in the 1920s.........................................................................................................................

Absentee Ownership of Coal Companies in
Central Pennsylvania: Local and National
Linkages..............................................................................................................................

Race and Ethnicity in the Northern
Bituminous Coal Fields: An Overview..................................................................................

The Ku Klux Klan Nationally and Locally:
Defender of a Narrow Definition of
Americanism .......................................................................................................................

The Role of Women in the Early 20th Century.......................................................................

The 1919 Strike in Central Pennsylvania:
The Struggle over the Distribution of
Power and Wealth................................................................................................................

RESPONSE QUESTIONS: For Part I

Nationalization of the Mines.................................................................................................
Americanism .......................................................................................................................
The 1919 Strike...................................................................................................................

Multiple Choice Exam Questions For Part I..........................................................................

Exercises For Part I..............................................................................................................

THE 1922 STRIKE, A Narrative Part II

Introduction.........................................................................................................................

Vintondale: The Fight For Free Speech................................................................................

The Companies Fight Back..................................................................................................

The National Guard: The Final Move to Seek Control..........................................................

The Somerset Strike............................................................................................................

RESPONSE QUESTIONS: For Part II

The 1922 Pre Strike Activities
The Vintondale Free Speech Case
The Company's Fight Back - Evictions
and the National Guard .....................................................................................................
The Somerset Strike............................................................................................................

Multiple Choice Exam Questions For Part II .......................................................................

Exercises For Part II............................................................................................................

THE FIGHT FOR CONTROL OF THE UNION: A Narrative Part III

Introduction .......................................................................................................................

The Open Shop Drive: The Breaking of the
Union in Central Pennsylvania .............................................................................................

The 1927 Strike: The Fight for Rossiter ..............................................................................

The Splintering of the Union ..............................................................................................

RESPONSE QUESTIONS: For Part III

The Fight for Control of the Union ....................................................................................
The Open Shop Drive ........................................................................................................
Rossiter and the 1927 Strike ..............................................................................................

Multiple Choice Exam Questions For Part III .....................................................................

Exercises For Part III ........................................................................................................

Appendix I: Glossary of Terms ..........................................................................................

Appendix II: Biographical Sketches ...................................................................................

Appendix III: An Overview Chronology of Major Events Related
to Central Pennsylvania's Coal Industry in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries .......................

Appendix IV: The Cast of Characters Appearing in the Documentary ................................

Appendix V: Guidelines For A Student Oral History Project .............................................

Appendix VI: Bibliography ................................................................................................

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