"Children of the Coal Shadow" – A haunting report about the children of the Coal Region from 1903
In the wake of the 1902 Coal Strike, the editorial team at McClure’s Magazine made the decision to explore the legacy of the strike and peculiar lands of Pennsylvania’s Coal Region. In February 1903, McClure’s published two lengthy stories about the anthracite coal fields. One, “The Right to Work” by Lincoln Steffens, explored the intense violence that took place during the 1902 Coal Strike between union and non-union mineworkers. The other, “Children of the Coal Shadow” by Francis Nichols, revealed the bleak realities facing children growing up in the mining towns and vil...