Molly Maguires

(noun)

A secret Irish-American organization, mostly consisting of Pennsylvania coal miners, that was accused of crimes and abused by Pinkerton agents.

Related Terms

Examples of Molly Maguires in the following topics:

  • The Molly Maguires

    • The Molly Maguires were an Irish-American organization of coal miners, opposed and persecuted by industrialists and Pinkerton agents.
    • At the time, however, fears about the Molly Maguires enabled mine owners to destroy the miners' union, the Workingman's Benevolent Association.
    • The Molly Maguires were a secret Irish-American organization that consisted mainly of coal miners.
    • The Molly Maguires originated in Ireland, where secret societies were common through the 18th and 19th centuries.
    • In addition, Gowen used vigilantes to ambush and murder several miners suspected of membership in the Molly Maguires.

  • The Rise of Unions

    • In the 1870s, the Reading Railroad blamed the deals of two dozen mine foremen and administrators on a secret society of Irishmen called the "Molly Maguires. " Although the Reading Railroad hired a Pinkerton undercover detective to investigate, it is highly probable that most of the men accused and executed for being Molly Maguires were innocent.
    • At the time, however, fears about the Molly Maguires enabled mine owners to destroy the miners' union, the Workingman's Benevolent Association.
    • The Molly Maguires were a secret Irish-American organization that consisted mainly of coal miners.
    • The defendants were arrested by the Coal and Iron Police, who served under Gowen; Gowen, who was poised to gain financially from the destruction of the striking union, acted as prosecutor of some of the alleged Molly Maguires at their trials.
    • Molly Maguire history is sometimes presented as the persecution of an underground movement that was motivated by personal vendettas, and sometimes as a struggle between organized labor and powerful industrial forces.

  • Irish Immigration

    • The anthracite-coal region of northeastern Pennsylvania saw a massive influx of Irish during this time period; conditions in the mines eventually gave rise to groups and secret societies such as the Molly Maguires.

  • Revolutionary Women

    • This engraving depicts legendary "Molly Pitcher," fighting in battle.
    • It is rumored that she got this name because she would bring soldiers water in the midst of battle (they would call out, "Molly, Pitcher!