Western Miners and Silicosis: “The Scourge of the Underground Toiler,” 1890–1943

Abstract

This paper examines the history of silicosis in the mines of the western United States between 1890 and 1943. After establishing the seriousness of the health threat posed by the disease, the author describes the methods of prevention known to be effective during that period, the slow pace at which mine operators adopted those methods, and their campaign to defeat silicosis-compensation legislation in one western state, Arizona. Also described is the surprisingly passive role played in this controversy by the Western Federation of Miners. Finally, the author finds some empirical evidence of the Kerr-Siegel hypothesis, namely, silicosis may have been a “mass grievance” that helps to explain the violent labor history of the mining West.