Immigration in Kentucky
Christine Argus, Matt McCarter, and Connor Ryken
Engagement in immigrant culture during the 20th century laid a foundation for socioeconomic change. By tying these grounds of socioeconomic change to coal mining, and analyzing a multitude of credible sources, the effect of immigration on Appalachian coal camps will be shown. Overall, this Digital Story will make it evident that immigration played a considerable role in the development of Kentucky.
Background
Immigration is the movement of people to a country they are not citizens in. Prior to the twentieth century in the United States, immigration was considered undesirable. Therefore, foreigners were frequently assimilated and absorbed into the native white culture. Eventually, white Americans were unable to practice this as immigrants came in larger, more educated populations. In support, there are early twentieth century statistics indicating that immigrants were becoming, "...about one million, or considerably more than one percent, of the total population of the United States" (Patten 1). As this number has only grown, and the view on immigrants has shifted in the modern-day, there is evidence that immigrants have a large role on United States history.
When immigrants were migrating to the United States in the twentieth century, around three-fifths of the population moved to the Eastern States (Patten 1). The Eastern States cover the region called "Appalachia", and more specifically, the state of Kentucky. Immigrant movement into this region had long-lasting effects on society in social and economic terms. Effects were also made on the coal camps and coal mines in Harlan, a county of this region. This section will begin to analyze the question of how the influx of immigrants affected coal camps in Appalachian Kentucky. Furthermore, this section will provide background information on the immigrant lifestyle, and how coal camps were set-up.
Life in the Coal Camps
("Coal Camp")
The Precedent
Capitalism Reaches Out
In the mid-nineteenth century, American capitalists had learnt about the prestigious coal industry in Wales. This gave them the impression that the United States could increase profits if they utilized 'people that knew what they are doing.' Thus, they began recruiting Welshmen miners in order to expand, improve, and make wealth off of the coal industry in the United States. Clearly, "the overwhelmingly agrarian Americans recognized early on that the Welsh possessed a superior knowledge of mining and the idea readily mutated into the myth of the Welsh as masters of the mines." (Lewis 2). The Welsh were the masters of their mining skill, and their ability to manifest such set a precedent for the movement of immigrants and future successes in Appalachian coal camps.
U.S Steel Company
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The U.S Steel Company had a large role in the running of the Appalachian region. Historically, the U.S Steel Company is known for owning a large sum of mines-- owning those across Harlan County, Kentucky (Keleman, et al. 5:35-5:43). Profit from owning these mines, with loads of employees, gave the Company access to govern the town. The U.S Steel Company owned the hotels, hospitals, boardinghouses, schools and more. Owning these facilities essentially gave the Company access to run the entire coal camp. At one time it is accounted that, "...the U.S Steel Company owned all the houses in Lynch, Kentucky (Keleman, et al. 6:39-6:41).
Although the U.S Steel Company had a large influence over the coal camps, the company itself disregarded the individuality of a person. This led to an evident poor history of mining conditions, and treatment of immigrants.
Practice of Mining
Being a miner was considered a typical job in the twentieth century. The job offered a higher compensation than other jobs at the time. It also enthralled the physical lifestyle and strength of men, although women were allowed to work in the field as well.
Oftentimes, the life of a miner can be," ...summed up in one or two sentences" (Portelli 135). An account by Mossie Johnson demonstrates such, stating how her father, a miner, worked as a teenager until death in the Harlan County coal mines (Portelli 135). To do so for so long, there was an interest and benefit in the career. However, complications can be found as well. Each day in the mines, there was a "clean-up system" where a quota had to be met, otherwise, the only work to be had the next day was what was left unfinished (Keleman, et al. 11:37). Additionally, due to the physical nature of the work, there were frequent injuries on the job. These injuries were not largely covered by the U.S Steel Company and had the ability to impair an individual for life. Altogether, the practice of mining was not ideal but it was the best suited option for career seekers in the late nineteenth, early twentieth century.
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"...Loading with a shovel, to uh, loading it on a chain conveyor, from a chain conveyor to a shaker conveyor, from shaker conveyor, to uh, conventional mining, and then from conventional mining to continuous miner. I've seen five different phases while I worked up there"
Methods of Mining
(Keleman, et al. 12:10-12:48)
Treatment of Immigrants
"Appalachia had been importing immigrants since the beginning of the coal boom ... by 1920, there were immigrants of twenty-one nationalities" (Portelli 162). Such a large influx of people came with repercussions in treatment.
There are wide claims from immigrants, varying from whether they were mistreated in the coal camps or not. This is because Eurocentric, or whiter immigrants were treated as equals in relation to the native white folk. They could enrich themselves in their customs, go to the better schools, unite under religion and more (Portelli 165-167). People of color were not treated the same. "It's a white world," and, "...black people knew they were 'inferior' to whites" (Portelli 167, 169). It was was not uncommon for people of color to be subservient as a sharecropper, be segregated, or be discriminated against in Harlan County, Kentucky. Evidently, there were disregards for immigrants as residents of the coal camps regulated daily life by whether an individual was "white-passing."