Molly Maguires
The Molly Maguires were a secret society of Irish and Irish diaspora members active primarily in the anthracite coal region of Pennsylvania during the 19th century. Their activities spanned from 1854 to 1877 and were characterized by a campaign of intimidation and violence aimed at improving the harsh living and working conditions faced by miners. Although inspired by similar groups in Ireland that had targeted landlords, the American Molly Maguires formed independently, largely comprised of disenfranchised Irish immigrants.
These individuals, affiliated with the Ancient Order of Hibernians, sought to protect their community through aggressive tactics, which included harassment and murder of mine owners, supervisors, and rival miners. The organization gained strength during the Civil War but faced increased scrutiny and opposition after the war ended, leading to their eventual downfall. In the early 1870s, a private detective, James McParland, infiltrated the group, gathering evidence that played a critical role in the arrest and conviction of several members. Ultimately, the Molly Maguires are often remembered for their tumultuous relationship with the mining industry, reflecting the broader struggles of immigrant workers in America during a tumultuous historical period.
Molly Maguires
The Molly Maguires were an Irish and Irish diaspora secret society active in Ireland, England (mainly Liverpool), and the United States in the nineteenth century. They are most well known for their operations in the anthracite coal region of eastern Pennsylvania from 1854 to 1877. The Molly Maguires of America adopted their name from one of the Ribbon societies of Ireland that had waged a campaign of intimidation and attacks against landlords and process servers between 1835 and 1855. The Pennsylvania Molly Maguires consisted of similarly disfranchised Irishmen, but there was no direct connection between the two organizations. The American organization was associated with the Ancient Order of Hibernians, a benevolent society having branches throughout North America and Great Britain. Membership in the order required a person to be of Irish birth or descent and a Roman Catholic with Roman Catholic parents. Despite its links to Catholicism, the Order of Hibernians was a secret society and thus under official ban of the Catholic Church.
In the eastern mining district of Pennsylvania, the Order of Hibernians eventually came under control of militants who created an inner order of Molly Maguires, with the intention of improving living and working conditions in the mining industry. To achieve their goals, the Mollies waged a violent terror campaign, harassing, intimidating, and murdering mine owners and supervisors, mine-owner-dominated police officers and judges, and miners of non-Irish descent. By plan, violent acts of arson, thuggery, and assassination were carried out in one district by Mollies from another district so the crimes were always perpetrated by non-locals, making criminal identification more difficult.
The Molly Maguires grew in strength during the Civil War when the increased demand for coal caused an influx of Welsh, English, and German miners to eastern Pennsylvania, displacing Irish American miners. During the war, the Mollies opposed enlistment in the Union Army and harassed federal recruitment officers. During the postwar years, between 1865 and 1875, the Molly Maguires’ violent activities increased as wages and living conditions deteriorated for mining families in eastern Pennsylvania. During this time, the group organized a union and initiated several coal strikes. Eventually, members of the group ran for public office to advance mine workers’ interests.
In 1873, after repeated efforts to bring the Molly Maguires to justice had failed, and the ongoing threat of the group became intolerable to mine owners, Franklin B. Gowen, president of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad and its affiliated Coal and Iron Company hired the Pinkerton Detective Agency to eradicate the group. James McParland (or McParlan), an Irishman and Pinkerton detective, infiltrated the Molly Maguires and for more than two years was a member of the Shenandoah division, one of the most violent of the Molly Maguire lodges. McParland collected enough evidence to break the organization through a series of murder trials lasting from 1875 through 1878. McParland’s evidence and testimony aided in convicting twelve of the nineteen Mollies eventually found guilty and hanged. Of historical and legal interest is the fact that the destruction of the Molly Maguires was initiated by a private corporation with the aid of a private police force, and the defendants on trial were prosecuted by mining company attorneys, then executed: All of this took place outside the confines of the US judicial system.
Bibliography
Bulik, Mark. The Sons of Molly Maguire: The Irish Roots of America's First Labor War. New York: Fordham UP, 2015. Print.
Kenny, Kevin. Making Sense of the Molly Maguires. New York: Oxford UP, 1998. Print.
Linder, Douglas, O. "The Molly Maguires Trials: An Account." Famous Trials. U of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, 2010. Web. 8 Apr. 2015.
Riffenburgh, Beau. Pinkerton's Greatest Detective: The Rough-and-Tumble Career of James McParland, America's Sherlock Holmes. New York: Penguin, 2014.
Weisman, Peter A. "The Molly Maguires." Lehigh.edu. Lehigh U, 1999. Web. 8 Apr. 2015.