A DAILY DOSE OF HISTORY (11/30): Mary Jones was 30 years old
“Mother,” as her “boys” the miners called her, was a fearless and provocative agitator.
Cathy AB Willinger
A DAILY DOSE OF HISTORY (11/30): Mary Jones was 30 years old when her husband and all four of their children died in a yellow fever epidemic in Memphis. Devastated, she moved to Chicago and opened a dressmaking business. Four years later her shop was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
In the aftermath of her personal tragedies, Mary became involved with the Labor Movement, joining the Knights of Labor and helping organize strikes and protests, some of which became deadly. When the Knights of Labor folded, she became an activist and organizer for the United Mine Workers. It was while she was working on behalf of coal miners that she acquired the persona by which she is remembered today: Mother Jones.
“Mother,” as her “boys” the miners called her, was a fearless and provocative agitator. She drew national attention to the abuses of child labor in factories and mines, and she led and organized striking coal miners in West Virginia. A district attorney in West Virginia called her “the most dangerous woman in America,” a title she wore proudly.
In 1913, after martial law had been declared during a violent strike, Mother Jones and 47 other miners and activists were arrested. Charged with conspiracy to commit murder and with unlawfully carrying weapons, they were all court martialed in military courts. Denying that the court had jurisdiction, Mother Jones refused to enter a plea or present a defense. After she was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison, West Virginia Governor Henry Hatfield refused to enforce the verdicts and ordered the release of Mother Jones and all others convicted by the military courts. Released after serving only 85 days, Mother Jones promptly resumed her activism.
In 1914, during the Colorado Coalfield War in West Virginia, Mother Jones was arrested again and was again imprisoned. After being released she continued to work on behalf of labor and miners for the rest of her life. Revered by the miners on whose behalf she fought, her motto was “Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living.”
Mary Harris “Mother” Jones died at age 93 on November 30, 1930, ninety two years ago today.