Progressive Movement: Coal Strike: Sydney

The Coal Strike of 1902

     One of the beliefs of President Roosevelt was that it was his job to keep society operating well by mediating conflicts between groups because of their interests. He wanted to put those beliefs to practice, and he did, in the fall of 1902. He did this by telling the mine owners that he was going to send the army in to work the mines, instead of the actual workers.

     He did this because in the spring of 1902, the UMV had developed a strike, there were close to 150,000 workers that joined in on this. They wanted larger wages, less working hours, and recognition from the union. Roosevelt saw this as just another example of groups pursuing their interests. He needed a way to get the employees back to work or else the factories would get shut down and many homes could go unheated during the winter.