Fueling the Gilded Age: Railroads, Miners, and Disorder in Pennsylvania Coal Country
Fueling the Gilded Age: Railroads, Miners, and Disorder in Pennsylvania Coal Country
Cite
Abstract
If the railroads won the Gilded Age, the coal industry lost it. Railroads epitomized modern management, high technology, and vast economies of scale. By comparison, the coal industry was embarrassingly primitive. Miners and operators dug coal, bought it, and sold it in 1900 in the same ways that they had for generations. In the popular imagination, coal miners epitomized anti-modern forces as the so-called “Molly Maguire” terrorists. Yet the sleekly modern railroads were utterly dependent upon the disorderly coal industry. Railroad managers demanded that coal operators and miners accept the purely subordinate role implied by their status. They refused. This book shows how disorder in the coal industry disrupted the strategic plans of the railroads. It does so by expertly intertwining the history of two industries—railroads and coal mining—that historians have generally examined from separate vantage points. It shows the surprising connections between railroad management and miner organizing; railroad freight rate structure and coal mine operations; and railroad strategy and strictly local legal precedents. It combines social, economic, and institutional approaches to explain the Gilded Age from the perspective of the relative losers of history rather than the winners. It examines the still-unresolved nature of America's national conundrum and asks how to reconcile the competing demands of national corporations, local businesses, and employees.
-
Front Matter
- Introduction: Railroads, Miners, and Disorder in the Gilded Age, 1870–1900
-
Part I Hubris
-
Part II Humility
-
Part III Stalemate
-
End Matter
Sign in
Get help with accessPersonal account
- Sign in with email/username & password
- Get email alerts
- Save searches
- Purchase content
- Activate your purchase/trial code
Institutional access
- Sign in through your institution
- Sign in with a library card Sign in with username/password Recommend to your librarian
Institutional account management
Sign in as administratorPurchase
Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.
Purchasing informationMonth: | Total Views: |
---|---|
October 2022 | 1 |
November 2022 | 2 |
November 2022 | 1 |
November 2022 | 1 |
November 2022 | 1 |
November 2022 | 1 |
November 2022 | 1 |
November 2022 | 1 |
December 2022 | 1 |
December 2022 | 1 |
December 2022 | 1 |
December 2022 | 1 |
December 2022 | 1 |
April 2023 | 1 |
April 2023 | 1 |
April 2023 | 1 |
April 2023 | 1 |
December 2023 | 8 |
December 2023 | 2 |
December 2023 | 2 |
December 2023 | 3 |
December 2023 | 1 |
December 2023 | 4 |
December 2023 | 1 |
February 2024 | 2 |
February 2024 | 2 |
February 2024 | 2 |
February 2024 | 3 |
February 2024 | 2 |
February 2024 | 3 |
February 2024 | 2 |
February 2024 | 2 |
February 2024 | 2 |
February 2024 | 2 |
February 2024 | 2 |
April 2024 | 2 |
April 2024 | 1 |
April 2024 | 1 |
Get help with access
Institutional access
Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:
IP based access
Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.
Sign in through your institution
Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.
If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.
Sign in with a library card
Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.
Society Members
Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:
Sign in through society site
Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:
If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.
Sign in using a personal account
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.
Personal account
A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.
Viewing your signed in accounts
Click the account icon in the top right to:
Signed in but can't access content
Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.
Institutional account management
For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.