Matewan Massacre - Coal Mine Wars.
Title: Matewan Year: 1987 Runtime: 135 min Director: John Sayles Writer: John Sayles Actors: Chris Cooper, Mary McDonnell, Will Oldham, David Strathairn Plot: A labor union organizer comes to an embattled mining community brutally and violently dominated and harassed by the mining company.
The records included newspaper articles of the massacre and subsequent trial of Sid Hatfield, the Chief of Police in Matewan and 15 others. It also included the actual trial transcripts, the interoffice memos of the detective agency as it went about the business of trying to piece together the incidents of that day as well as documentation of the Mohawk incident which precluded the shoot-out.
Matewan is a richly textured film, boosted by Haskell Wexler's Oscar-nominated cinematography and boasting a remarkable cast of established stars, promising newcomers, and Sayles regulars.
Historian Eric Foner on John Sayles’ MATEWAN. Buy now at Amazon.com “MATEWAN tells the story of a bitter 1920 strike in the coal mines of southern West Virginia. The struggle culminates in the Matewan Massacre, a violent (and historically accurate) confrontation in which the town’s mayor, seven armed guards hired by the coal operators, and two miners lost their lives.
The museum is dedicated to educating the public about the events of the Mine Wars era, including the history of the United Mine Workers of America in the local area; the Paint Creek-Cabin Creek Strike of 1912-1913; the 1920 Matewan Massacre; and the 1921 Miners March leading to Battle of Blair Mountain. Finally, it aims to educate youth, promote heritage tourism, and foster local economic.
The Matewan Police Chief, Sid Hatfield, was shot on the Court House steps by company operatives after he was indicted for his role in the Matewan Massacre. The coal miners, for their part, blew up mines and other coal company property. 10,000 miners fought a pitched battle with company forces at Logan, West Virginia, in 1921, gaining the upper hand. President Warren G. Harding then declared.
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