Transcript
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November 26

Coalfield controversies:Conflicting values of the Past

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Slack Farm,Union County,

Kentucky

James Chatters

Douglas Minthorn

ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONTROVERSIES2) Looting1) Fakes

3) Archaeology and Native Americans

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Archaeology is controversial because the past has value

Value is not just money

The past has value in defining who people are

The past has value because it is different from the present and can form a critique of the present

The past has value as a scientific record of humanity

As long as the past has different kinds of value to different people, archaeology is political

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1. Recognizing multiple dimensions to a good question

3. Evaluating evidence

2. Recognizing multiple answers to a question or a problem

5. Exploring the ethical implications of differing approaches, methods or conclusions

4. Developing potential solutions to problems based on sound evidence and reasoning

Aspects of Intellectual Inquiry in the Social Sciences

There are multiple answers and ethical considerations in the social sciences becausesocial scientists study people, and people have different opinion and ethical rights

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1) Colorado Coalfield War (1913-1914)

2) Battle of Blair Mountain, West Virginia (1921)

Two examples of controversies over the value of the past

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Striking Coalminers,southern Colorado

The history of the Colorado Coalfield war has value for--contemporary laborers--Americans at large

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--A 10 percent increase in how much they get paid per ton.--The right to elect the people who weighed the coal carts. The people who weighed the coal carts often shorted the workers.--Miners want to be paid for the work they do to keep the mines safe --An eight hour work day, --The right to buy, seek medicine or live anywhere they wanted (not just company towns)--Get rid of the mine guards

guard station

Demands of striking coalworkers

Remains of Berwind, a company town in southern Colorado

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Ludlow striker’s tent camp(1200 people)1913 to 1914

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Ludlow massacre: April 20th, 1914Colorado National Guard opens fire onthe Ludlow tent camp.

Colorado National Guard sets fire to camp,killing 12 children and 2 women

Ludlow Memorial

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“What good is archaeology? All you need to know is they got f**ked”

Randall McGuire

DeanSaitta

1997: Archaeologists begin to study the Colorado coalfield war.

Contemporary union member’s challenge to McGuire and Saitta

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Archaeological finds from Ludlow camp…

1) Pins from the Knights of Pithias Fraternal Order (an interethnic social club for men)

2) Canning jars (canning fruit requires access to special ovens not found in the tent camp)

3) Baseball equipment

The CFI (Colorado Fuel and Iron Company) attempted to weaken the strikeby playing ethnic groups off one another. The presence of these pins suggeststhat there was not much cross-ethnic conflict.

The CFI attempted to depict the strikers as a kind of criminal outcast. The evidencefor canning reveals strong social ties with people not on strike and a degree ofsympathy for the strikers.

Popular literature about labor movements (Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, for example),portrays strikers as leading bleak lives. The baseball equipment suggests that strikerswere able to stay in good spirits and continue dignified hobbies.

The history of the Colorado Coalfield war has value for--contemporary laborers--Americans at large

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Memorial to the Ludlow Massacre

Why is the archaeology of the Coloradocoal field war a controversy?

Many people do not value thehistory of the labor movement

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Blair Mountain

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Kenny King and Robert Ayers

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Remains of Battle of Blair Mountain

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Archaeologist Brandon Nida

Second Battle of Blair Mountain

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Archaeology of Blair Mountain has shown:

--That the 10,000 mine workers marching to Logan were not an unruly mob

--Remains of the battle are spectacularly well preserved

distribution of bullets shows well coordinated offensive actions

--The mine workers were winning the battle

--Even current mine employees poised to destroy Blair Mountain are interested

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Archaeology of Blair Mountain has shown:

--That the 10,000 mine workers marching to Logan were not an unruly mob

--Remains of the battle are spectacularly well preserved

distribution of bullets shows well coordinated offensive actions

--The mine workers were winning the battle

Broader Message: Rights were not given to workers Workers fought for their rights and died for them

--Even current mine employees poised to destroy Blair Mountain are interested

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