Breaker Boys

[@marcoceccarelli6415]

My grandfather died in the coal mines. It was an Archibald Pennsylvania. He was an immigrant from Italy. A true American

[@robertgorham3755]

My dad's father died coal mining when my dad was around high school age..they were from Wilkes- barre PA

[@leighahmke]

My great-grandfather was a breaker boy at Maple Hill near Shenandoah, PA. My family was from Lithuania. He nearly died in two accidents as a grown man at the same location. He quit the mines after the second accident. Sadly, he still died of black lung decades later.

[@fixedthrower5064]

Rip

[@andyandcallie]

My grandfather was killed in a mine collapse, too. May they sleep peacefully.

[@debradowling800]

@@leighahmke my family was Lithuanian from Shenandoah also. My great grandfather died in the Ellen Gowan mine and my uncle had to go to work to support the family, he was ten years old. The last name was Odietus. Three out of six of my uncles died of black lung after they all fought in WWII. It truly was the greatest generation.

[@stevent9179]

Boys with the faces of combat veterans.....

[@ginathegreat3858]

3:03 That look of total hopelessness is heartbreaking. He looks like he's dead inside.

[@cownenl252]

They are dead inside.

[@philadelmar]

I think the history of the breaker boys and the lives of coal miner's families needs to be retold often.It was horrific! To me this was not much different than slavery. Being from Pennsylvania, the history of the coal mining community is especially important to me.

[@CH-zc3cq]

Slavery had and still has a lot of forms.

[@wowcool8749]

True, I only heard of it today on a Joe Rogan clip.

[@sheilasmith3801]

@Carlos R enslaved people were not paid, terrorized and brutally beatened. These working conditions were deplorable, it was dangerous, but it was not slavery

[@easyriderrider4580]

Yeah and Not Every Slave worked the fields. Sometimes they had Black Masters, as well.

[@easyriderrider4580]

Very similar in that your chances of actually getting away from the Mines. When White People didn't have Black's to beat on, they went right to the Irish and Scottish people, Next. This only happened more as you went North because, well, it was a couple degrees colder and they couldn't really grow large amounts of cotton there, I guess, lol.

[@carolalexander4261]

MY DAD WORKED IN THE MINES AT 12...HE SAID THEY WANTED SMALLER BODIES TO BE ABLE TO REACH IN THE CORNERS AND GET MORE COAL.....HE WOKED FOR 22 YEARS,,,THEN LEFT AND WORKED ON THE RAILROAD....HE DEVELOPED BLACK LUNG.

[@jnr2349]

The early days of capitalism

[@orangeytrain8878]

J N using this to support why capitalism is bad?

[@orangeytrain8878]

If so this is past capitalism, not present capitalism

[@hibye7385]

@@orangeytrain8878 Child labour still exists in many countries today. Especially in periphery countries that supply abundant cheap labour. Just because something cannot be seen by you, that does not mean it doesn't exist.

[@ChiefCowpie]

My Grandfather, George McKinley worked at a LackawannaCoal Company breaker until the continued hauntings of a fellow worker’s ghost after he was killed from dangerous conditions compelled him to quit.

[@CH-zc3cq]

Some of my Irish ancestors worked the PA coal mines. No disability and food stamps back then.

[@MyNewChanel1]

​@Carlos R He means that in the good old times...

[@CH-zc3cq]

@Carlos R What is the question? Is it is whether slavery is good or bad?

[@grailness1085]

That made them tough, can't have people that will stand up against a tyrannical government

[@cheyennebrown7102]

there were cases where people fell in the conveyor belt and they were sucked into a giant coal bin and many died from that as well. It's so sad to know that kids at the age of just 5 were working in these conditions.

[@LadisvcglhhaffllmbnnlpmilllAma]

I SAW IT IN THE RECORD OF ACCIDENTS

[@stevensamuels4041]

What are they doing on the Con evor just situng there?

[@asmxh]

Anybody who has the ignorance to complain about labor unions need to watch videos like this.

[@wildflower7975]

💯

[@yesindeed2151]

Unions were a good thing back then. Todays unions have become bloated gangs good only for making themselves money.

[@bethwilliams3949]

An acquaintance of mine lost a little brother at the Shepton Mines. He was a breaker boy, and his arm got caught in some pulley...and was ripped off his body. He bled out and died in about a minute. He was really young...under ten years old.

[@ryanhoward3383]

How old was this acquaintance of yours?

[@amyjacquelineg.9541]

These breaker boys break my heart. How did they survive ? Just children. No gloves. How cheap could these Cole billionaires be? In humans.

[@amyjacquelineg.9541]

They weren’t looked as human. Just money making labour. 😥

[@Juan-nq7wb]

Most likely typed this comment on an iphone too, kids in china going thru it right now making apple and nike products

[@samuelmartinez4819]

Honestly it's not like there was anything else to do, the kids were probably illiterate, aside from going to church and maybe school now and than you just kinda sat around. Maybe had a radio or some board games but other than that you just worked to kill time no matter how old you were lmao

[@calebgregg9900]

Sad thing is 9/10 breaker boys didn't survive

[@TheOriginalShoneBoyOnYT]

@@Juan-nq7wbidc about them

[@KB-hx3px]

My grandfather was lucky. Despite what his family wanted, he left home to attend college, eventually leave PA behind in 1944, for Los Angeles. He built a good life in Hollywood as an Engineer and rarely traveled back to visit.

[@JT-bc5cd]

And look at LA now… he amongst all the other deracinites laid the foundations for that filthy city

[@jvonschilling]

It's from a documentary released in 1984 -- "America and Lewis Hine." There's a VHS of it that came out in 1996, but it's hard to find a copy of it.

[@brbyington]

Thank you!

[@jenniferg.1169]

I have read children were seen as little adults and it was only recently childhood is considered a notion...

[@MyNewChanel1]

And they're still somewhere. In some places kids simply cannot afford... "being kids".

[@debradowling800]

And this was supposed to be a better life they came here for. Heartbreaking.

[@Hudini12345]

It was better. My family, those who stayed in Ireland, died in the famine in the 1840's. My GR-GR (GR) Grandfather immegrated to the US then along with half the population of ireland who didn't die. . My father and his father before him worked in the mines. My father was a breaker during the depression. He dropped out of school in the 8th grade to help support his family. He got out of the mines by being drafted for service in World War II and Korea and making the Army his new home. Everyone else who stayed in the mines lived but barely until the 1970's when the coal fields of Pennsylvania died.

[@the10thman87]

This is the old America. You worked or you starved. Period.

[@MyNewChanel1]

Not when you were born into better circumstances though.

[@karielyagosto2608]

This is just very sad 😢😢 I kinda regret searching this up to understand it better for a school assignment 😭😭😭😭

[@robbiehuett5674]

Ya same

[@headron66]

I had two great grandfathers who were killed down the pit and my lovely Da died at sixty three from pit related disease. I have total respect for every boy, man and pony that worked down those black holes.

[@Lockemeister]

I read that a lot of the Breaker Boys got hunchbacked from sitting hunched over all day everyday. People would joke and say. "That boy has a good hunch"

[@ursulasmith6402]

Just cruel

[@ohmeowzer1]

God Bless that man ..omg

[@CaptScrotes]

It's never been about black vs white or men vs women. It's always been rich vs poor.

[@sleepderived6890]

idk about that one

[@raunchylimeade69]

this 🙌🏽

[@CH-zc3cq]

Not really. It would be nice if it were that simple. How about good vs evil.

[@marshalljimduncan]

@@CH-zc3cq Pretty much the same self thing....

[@CH-zc3cq]

Or how about workers and non-workers?

[@beatrizmedrano2129]

Hello, I wanted to know if I had permission to use your video on the interview but I wanted to edit it for my stepson's history fair project. It can't be more than 4 minutes so I need to edit it. thank you.

[@96actress]

I will always love the kids who throughout their childhood had to work to survive and to help their families survive. You all will live forever in out hearts.

[@fauxmanchu8094]

96actress In those times poor families would have 10 or 12 children n used them as slave wage earners. They used their kids like farm animals.

[@EgirlPoke]

Faux Manchu my grandma had r4kids who helped on the farm in the late 1900s, they all went to colleges and graduated. My dad is one oof the sons and bought the farm.

[@erin19030]

My male ancestors all began their lives in this country under the boot of american corporate greed.

[@sudorights]

They stopped doing it to our kids and now it’s done in the mines of Africa. Same thing!

[@sands7779]

from the UK, the testimony gathered by Lord Ashley for the commission of inquiry into the conditions of workers in the coal mines may be of interest. As a result, the Mines Act of 1842 prohibited the employment in of all women and boys under ten in underground mines.

[@maryl2188]

1911 south Pittston Pa., we have a town called Pittston here in Luzerne county. Do you know where this is from?

[@ohmeowzer1]

Poor little kids how horrible

[@andyandcallie]

Black lung anyone?? Can you imagine what that coal dust did to these boys' undeveloped lungs? And the poor horses and mules. I feel even worse for them. God, I hate people.

[@debradowling800]

You feel worse for a fucking mule? Three of my uncles died in those mines. Doubt my grandmother worried about a mule as she buried her children.

[@andyandcallie]

@@debradowling800 I definitely feel worse for the horses and mules. Humans were there by choice. Animals were innocent victims, enslaved. My grandfather and plenty of uncles died in the mines and yes, I still feel worse for the animals. And no of course your grandmother didn't worry about the animals because people are disgusting that way.

[@debradowling800]

The fact that childrens lives mean so little to you speaks volumes. Get help, you are a very sick girl.

[@andyandcallie]

@@debradowling800 I don't like humans. I've already said that. But I value ALL life--unlike you. You are the one who is "sick." I hope you don't have any pets.

[@orangeytrain8878]

youcanttunafish bruh you dislike humans because of what some rich people did a hundred years ago, I just guess your an edgy teenager

[@a.u.positronh3665]

It is crazy that young people had to suffer to get flammable rock

[@kevincorcoran6493]

Is that Jason Robards doing narration?

[@EgirlPoke]

I cant believe youi made this!

[@MrYpink]

Can someone help me by telling me one of the boys name ?

[@noR10swDBaur]

They have no names, they have all been forgotten now. They worked their lives away and never asked for acceptance, because they knew they were accepted.

[@erin19030]

Patrick Brennan

[@edwu8253]

i was very spoiled growin up in nj

[@clayheadnightmares]

oh man, this new minecraft movie goes hard.

[@yvonnerousseau2238]

Humans. -_- I'm ashamed.

[@orangeytrain8878]

Yvonne Rousseau your ashamed at the entire human race for what some rich dumbasses did nearly a hundred years ago

[@fixedthrower5064]

1:53 Is this for kids

[@hilaruisdancer255]

Hell isn't a swear.

[@ursulasmith6402]

Just horrible, those poor children.

[@иванепифан-к8ж]

Не знаю , можно ли ставить "Laike" под этим видео......

[@grailness1085]

Back in the good old days...

[@postmodernmining]

Just look at em oppressing the whamens.

[@MultiWayland]

this is so sad ( god bless them ) all

[@VintageCartoonBuff]

When was this video made?

[@fixedthrower5064]

ESLinstructor1 Jan 2010

[@samuelmartinez4819]

Idk I don't really see a problem I mean this is what everyone did back than, you worked. There wasn't tv or internet or even board games except cards. You would go to church and work or school sometimes. There was literally nothing else to do especially in those small ass towns.

[@miyubail]

What does feminism got to do with mining laborers?

[@CH-zc3cq]

Well, no women were working the mines, but children did.

[@lianelaskoske4397]

Had nothing to do with feminism. Women were needed working in the home, cooking, cleaning, sewing, etc.

[@CH-zc3cq]

@@lianelaskoske4397 I don't see any connection with children's or women's rights. Harsh realities. Life was never easy for any family member.

[@_Mike23]

All these kids look like there in their 40s. Man that’s crazy….

[@ursulasmith6402]

horrible, what that man and the others had to endure. i can't even imagine that. now kids kill , do drugs, complain, cut school.

[@justawokedude8155]

This is after the fall of grad tartaria they killed us off and only children survived

[@jamesbrennan7057]

I remember my great great uncle used to tell me stories of this

[@JohnMFlores]

Wow. Who is the photographer?

[@Ruins......]

Lewis Hines I think?

[@kevincorcoran6493]

@@Ruins...... Yes Lewis Hine

[@frezericks]

What is this a clip from?

[@riffmaster5805]

the true BRAVE HEARTS

[@alison1107]

Hi, I just wanted to say that I found this video extremely helpful and enlightening. A friend and I are creating a National History Day documentary on a similar topic, would it be okay to use some footage from this video?

[@Hist0ry_Enj0yer]

2021?

[@ralphmalph6824]

Make America Great ...Again?

[@joseanibalberrios2758]

Homosexual ?

[@fenandocastanonmanrriquez591]

Fueron grandes chicos

[@bill-nj6fc]

oh well someone had to do it

[@guuskurstjens8825]

Minecraft

[@tyraireri8315]

😭😭😭

[@577buttfan]

All this hard work toil and madness built this beautiful country.

[@lilrancher7418]

Was good

[@erin19030]

My great uncle Andrew died from a fall of coal at the #9 mine in Lansford, Pa. His wife and children with all their belongings were cast into the street and made homeless by Asa Packer coal baron of the Lehigh Coal Company.

[@bobzurunkle1860]

My family on my fathers side were miners in Domany near Reschitza Romania. Does anyone here have family that mined that part of Banat? im interested in what you know about the miners and families there.

[@suckit.77]

So much for that whole "white privilege" thing...