The Molly Maguires

by Anthony Bimba

The story of the 1870s frameup of the Pennsylvania Irish anthracite miners.

Genres: History, Labor, Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1970

Reviews

[Murgatroyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Pinkertons were total sleazeballs. The number of people who have lost their lives (and continue to do so) just because of the horrific avarice of a few men is heartbreaking to say the least. Capitalism, imperialism, and fascism go hand in fucking hand. Also I’m starving. Let’s eat the rich!

[John Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thought-providing book, written nearly a century ago, about a historic labor battle and written by a leftist with clear views. It is a good book to remind us how long workers struggle against horrible odds to win – and how often workers lose, badly.

Bimba repeatedly reviews how workers organized under different umbrella organizations only to lose their fights for dignity at work – and often the organization couldn’t resist the pressure and were extinguished. Workingmen’s Benevolent Association, National Labor Union, United Mine Workers, American Miners’ Association, Industrial Council of United States, Western Federation of Miners, and United Mine Workers of America; this was all during the later 1800’s. More importantly, the author reviews how many strikes of tens of thousands of workers lost after epic battles. This is true both with labor disputes and legislative battles. The workers had so little yet fought so hard. It’s a good reminder when we come up short that we must continue to battle. One of the best examples was how hard it was for the miners to get legislation with a second exit after a horrible miner accident yet the legislation only covered the one county, Schuylkill where 566 miners were killed in the past seven years and many more injured, and the inspector provision was lacking.

The book also spoke about how many miners hated the company store and pushed for legislation that would forbid their payment be made in script to the store in 1876. It passed five years later but was then declared illegal.

The actual fight of the Molly Maguires was not something I found moving in this book since I’ve read many books on this unfortunate experience yet still wonder what did happen and who was guilty; we will never know. We do know that these trials are the perfect evidence on why capital punishment should be abolished.

[Brett Bosley · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I chanced upon a Marxist history of the Mollies, there was no way I wasn't buying it. A product of its time (1932), it's dripping with ideological correctness, but still a decent opposing viewpoint of a history "written by the victors."

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good but very biased account of the Molly Maguire cases. Some differing accounts from other sources which are interesting to consider. To Bimba, they were heroes and martyrs; to other sources they were outright criminals. The truth probably lies somewhere in between.

[Mitch · Rating 1 out of 5]

Revisiting this book while reading The Sons of Molly Maguire, which is phenomenal with its context. In contract, Bimba argues here that the Mollies never existed. True, this was published in 1950 and so Bimba had no access to the wealth of great research and writing on the Mollies, but given what else we know, this book is conspiracy theory.