In the late 1860’s to 1870’s a small Irish gang emerged in the coal mines of Pennsylvania. Due to the prejudice and maltreatment of non-Anglo Saxon immigrants in the United States, the Irish were forced to work in horrible conditions for such little pay and barely any security or fair compensation when they were injured. The legacy the Mollies left behind was not only the gory truth about what happens when prejudices get in the way, but their battles were only the beginning in creating unions and labor strikes. The Molly Maguires serve as they martyr for the battered and abused work force of the 19th century. The Molly Maguires were a group of men in Pennsylvania who emigrated from Ireland to look for job opportunities in the great new world …show more content…
The miners grew weary and vengeful due to the pleas of their work conditions being ignored by their employers. The Mollies then changed their approach on how to demand justice, they began to terrorize the towns; arson, threatening policemen, intimidation of townies. As the days went by, more and more bodies showed up, they weren’t killing just the people who were crossing them, the kill list became an inclusive to anyone who just came into contact with one of the notorious members. The Mollies were getting away with it to, until a Pinkerton Private Detective Agency was hired by the mine owners to poke around and get proof so they could take legal action against the barbarian Irish workers. The Pinkerton detectives began their investigation, one detective that seems most prominent in the case was James McParlan. McParlan, an Irishman himself, joined forced with the small town in Schuylkill County to crack down on the Mollies and serve justice. With the amount of coverage and smartly framed newspaper articles, across America, many other laborers were seeing the actions of the enraged Irish miners and thus began the impact of the Molly …show more content…
The trial ended with the hanging of the Molly Maguires, such a statement to be made against those not only who do harm to their oppressors, but to the laborers who were creating unions. The Mollies’ death was a message, don’t bite the hand that feeds you, even if it is crumbs. However, the reaction that can out of the hanging was more strikes, more unions, more demands made by employees, but less murderous actions. The Molly Maguires death signified the new era of social reform for the underpaid and abused laborers in the United States. Within a few months after their death, the Great Railroad Strike occurred, almost stopping the United States down entirely due to lack of respect for employees’ wishes and meeting more than the bare minimum of basic