Analyzing a Coal Mining Labor Photograph

Miners of bituminous (soft) coal joined a series of massive post–World War II labor strikes. Their primary demands were improved health and safety conditions and a health and welfare fund. President Harry S. Truman seized the mines after seven weeks of negotiations between the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) and the private mine operators failed. The deal struck between the government and the UMWA included a promise to conduct a survey of factors affecting the miners' health and welfare. The government contracted photographer Russell Lee to document the study with photographs.

In 1946, Russell Lee took photographs for a federal government survey of medical, health, and housing conditions in coal communities. Located in remote areas and patrolled by mine company guards during times of labor unrest, coal communities were normally inaccessible to outsiders. But government seizure of the mines from private operators gave Lee an unprecedented view into coal fields from Pennsylvania to Wyoming. Russell Lee took more than 2,000 photographs of the miners in their homes, workplaces, and communities. These images are rich sources of historical information. They are also a tribute to the miners—unsung heroes whose labor was critical to the economic and industrial development of the United States.

Russell Lee’s personality, interests, and skills were ideally suited to the coal survey. Originally trained as an engineer, Lee approached his subjects systematically. But he was not without charm. People quickly warmed to the quiet Midwesterner, enabling him to capture scenes of surprising intimacy. With the help of his wife, Jean, Lee recorded detailed captions. Lee’s coal survey photographs depict the effect of global economic and political forces on individuals and honor the miners’ quiet fortitude in the daily struggle to survive.