History course
The West Virginia Mine Wars, 1912–1921
12-Week History Course
The record, from every side
Your student reads what the miners, the coal operators and the state said and did, in their own words: Senate testimony and reports, court opinions, proclamations, trial records, operators’ statements, union papers and newspapers. Each side’s case is stated at its strongest before anyone judges it. Union power, company power and government power get the same questions, and every claim traces to a source printed in the lesson.
For the parent or teacher
Each lesson’s parent note says what to preview that day, and every lesson has a full answer key.
Course Big Question
What did the miners, the operators and the state each want, what did each do to get it, and what did each win or lose by 1933?
Course introduction
Why this course. West Virginia students rarely learn how the Mine Wars of 1912–1921 shaped their state’s labor, law and identity, so this course walks them through the strikes, Matewan and Blair Mountain using period primary sources, with the miners’, operators’ and state’s cases each steel-manned.
Three cases, one standard. Each unit puts the miners’ case, the operators’ case and the state’s case in their strongest form before students judge any of them, and asks the same questions of union power, company power and government power.
Sources first. Every lesson opens with a period document: Senate testimony and reports, court opinions, proclamations, trial records, operators’ statements, union papers and newspapers. The two histories, the novel and the film are read in excerpts and tested against the documents.
From the coal camps and the Paint Creek–Cabin Creek strike of 1912–1913 to Matewan, Welch and the march on Blair Mountain in 1920–1921, and on to the treason trials and the New Deal, in eight units. One unit tests the film Matewan (1987) against the record; a parent previews it first. Every writing task has its own expectations for the Grades 7–8 path, Grades 9–10 and Grades 11–12. There are source and terms quizzes, two DBQs, a unit test in Week 4 and a final in Week 12, and the capstone project is presented in Week 12.
Grades 9–12, with a Grades 7–8 path. 12 weeks, two lessons a week of about 45–60 minutes, plus the week’s reading in the course books. Aligned to West Virginia Department of Education academic standards (Social Studies and English Language Arts, grades 8–12).
The course opens with an active Pharos Terminal subscription.
Subscribe to start Lesson 1 Already a subscriber? Sign in
Pharos Terminal
Every course is included
This course is included with an active Pharos Terminal subscription, along with every other course, new courses as they’re released, a new Nexus Point every day and the parent tracker. Lessons are aligned to West Virginia Department of Education academic standards in English Language Arts, Science and Social Studies.