'Sixteen Tons': Mineworkers and Their Communities In
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‘SIXTEEN TONS’: MINEWORKERS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES IN CLIFTON- MORENCI, ARIZONA AND KIMBERLEY, SOUTH AFRICA, 1880-1910 By Micalee Sullivan A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of History Doctor of Philosophy 2013 ABSTRACT ‘SIXTEEN TONS’: MINEWORKERS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES IN CLIFTON- MORENCI, ARIZONA AND KIMBERLEY, SOUTH AFRICA, 1880-1910 By Micalee Sullivan “‘Sixteen Tons’: Mineworkers and Their Communities in Clifton-Morenci, Arizona and Kimberley, South Africa, 1880-1910” is a comparative study that spans two continents to investigate the intersections of intellectual and working class history in the small mining towns of Clifton-Morenci, Arizona and Kimberley, South Africa. Although formal unions were not open to men in these two areas, workers employed an understanding of citizenship rights and national identity to create and maintain solidarity in the workplace. Their stories provide a new understanding of how workers constructed agency outside of traditional labor unions, and their narratives touch on many fields of history including political, social, gender, and cultural. My dissertation highlights the importance of merging a discussion of labor and working class history with intellectual and political history and provides new insight into how workers have utilized the language of citizenship to advance their rights as workers. “‘Sixteen Tons’” is both a contribution to the growing field of comparative and transnational history, as well as a unique narrative of the nuanced understanding migrant workers utilize. My dissertation is organized in four major chapters. Citizenship embodied notions of opportunity and privilege in towns that offered little freedom from the everyday strains of mine work for the workers and residents of Kimberley and Clifton-Morenci. Although legal citizenship was defined according to federal laws, and governed at a national level, community members and the mining industry continually redefined and shaped these precedents according to changing social and economic conditions at the local level (community, municipality, industry). A strong colonial legacy in both regions continued well into the twentieth century presenting In both Kimberley and Clifton-Morenci, residents created their own notions of “cultural citizenship” for themselves and others despite legal precedents. Citizenship stood for more than simply one’s legal status. The term also suggested that one had the ability and rationality to maintain autonomy and freedom, and non-citizens strove to maintain an independent image by appealing to these qualities as well. In the process, these newly created cultural citizenship ties helped to establish stronger worker agency. This dissertation is a contribution to the growing field of comparative studies that highlights the importance of studying the working class narrative across national borders. From the history of these workers and their communities, I argue that these mineworkers were informed and politically active citizens in their country of work and origin and used this working class intellectualism to mobilize on the mines. Their stories provide historians with a new way of viewing worker agency outside of union organization. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation is the result of countless hours of advice, support, and assistance from numerous people. Archivists at the Arizona Historical Society archives in Tucson helped me locate many of sources I used for this dissertation. At Arizona State University I had the opportunity to meet Christine Marin, curator and librarian of the Chicano Research Collection at the Hayden library at Arizona State University. She provided me with valuable advice during the research process and I greatly admire her work as both a historian and activist for the labor movement. I am also very grateful for the hospitality of many of Clifton, Arizona’s community members during my visit to the town. Volunteers at the Greenlee Historical Society opened their doors and provided me with a personal tour of their museum. Jeff Gaskin, who lives in the old Morenci Miners’ Union Hall, was kind enough to open his home to give me a tour of this important landmark. Although I regret losing his name over the years, the owner of the Gold Panner Grub in Clifton also provided me with a tour of the town and introduced me to several residents in the area. In South Africa, I met several people during my research whose friendship and support I am very grateful for, including Mantas Zupka, Ivy Kaminski, Paul Robertson, and Natasa Muri. At the Western Cape Archives in Cape Town, I found a great deal of research material for my dissertation thanks to the assistance of staff members. In Kimberley, the staff of the Kimberley Library and the Sol Plaatje Museum were especially helpful in locating research materials for me. I would also like to thank Charmaine McClean of the De Beers archives for her assistance during my research trip. iv At Michigan State University, I am grateful to have had the guidance and support of numerous friends and colleagues. Yvonne Tswelelo Chinyanga spent a year instructing me in Setswana, and I am grateful for her assistance and friendship during this project. In 2010, I received a Cultural Heritage and Informatics grant to produce a digital archive of my research (sixteentons.matrix.msu.edu) thanks largely in part to the efforts of Ethan Watrall. Thank you also to MSU faculty members Peter Limb, Rich Thomas, James Anderson, Pero Dagbovie, Laura Fair, Malcolm Magee, John Beck, David Bailey, Dionicio Valdes, Jerry Garcia, Peter Alegi, and Anna Pegler-Gordon for their support throughout this project. My advisor, Lisa Fine, has provided me with valuable feedback throughout this entire process. I am grateful for her support of this project throughout my graduate career and will always admire her dedication to her work as a historian. Lastly, I could not have completed the many years of research, teaching, and writing without the support of my friends and family. Thank you especially to Jill Kelly, Sakina Hughes, Andrea Vicente, Sonia Robles, Joe Genetin-Pilawa, Nora Salas, Jaime McLean Dalrymple, Dan Dalrymple, Ben Sawyer, Carlos Aleman, Brandon Miller, and Big 80. Special thank you to Lindsey Gish for being an amazing friend throughout the years. My parents, Linda and Pat Sullivan have been my support system throughout this entire process, and I love them very much for it. For Greg Johnson, Matt Husband, Erin Rook, and everyone else who has been there for me throughout the beginning, middle, and (especially) end of this project, thank you. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………………….viii INTRODUCTION………………………………….……………………………………..1 Internal Colonialism Scholarship………………………………………………….7 Labor and Working Class Ideology…………………………………………...…13 Intellectual Working Class History………………………………………………15 Additional Historiography – Mining…………………………………………….16 Comparative Studies…………………………………………………………..…21 Methodology/Sources…………………………………………………………....22 Organization of Dissertation……………………………………………………..25 CHAPTER ONE WHEN A FRONTIER BECOMES A TOWN: CLIFTON-MORENCI, ARIZONA………………………………………………………………………………..29 Contested Lands and Colonial Legacies………………………………………....30 From Copper Camp to Company Town………………………………………….39 Between Mexico and America…………………………………………………...51 Between Immigrant and American……………………………………………....56 CHAPTER TWO CECIL RHODES’ FINAL PROJECT: KIMBERLEY, SOUTH AFRICA……………………………………………………………………….…………72 Before the Rush…………………………………………………………………..75 The New Rush Frontier…………………………………………………………..78 Outside the Compound Walls……………………………………………………97 Inside Compound Walls………………………………………………………...101 Between BaTswana and Badumedi……………………………………………..105 Crying Evils…………………………………………………………………….109 A Different Type of Frontier……………………………………………………113 CHAPTER THREE THE ROOTS OF CITIZENSHIP: THE GROWTH OF NATIONALISM AND POLITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN MEXICO AND SOUTH AFRICA…………………………………………………………………………….…..116 The Failure of Liberalism and the African Political Consciousness……………118 Socialism and the Left in South Africa…………………………………………134 A New Nationalism in Mexico………………………………………………....147 The Growth of the Mexican Working Class……………………………………153 Magón and the PLM…………………………………………………………....159 The Left in Clifton-Morenci……………………………………………………163 vi CHAPTER FOUR A COMPANY OF WORKERS, AN EMPIRE OF CITIZENS………………………………………………………………………………168 The 1903 Strike in Clifton-Morenci……………………………………………171 The 1903 Strike in the U.S……………………………………………………..180 Diamond Field Citizens……………………………………………………...…189 Workers and the War…………………………………………………………...191 The Franchise Debate…………………………………………………………..200 After the Strikes………………………………………………………………...204 The Other Workingmen’s Democracy………………………………………….208 CONCLUSION FROM KIMBERLEY TO MARIKANA……………….…………………………………………………………...211 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………217 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Data for 1910 Census, Graham Country………………………………………63 viii INTRODUCTION Tucked away in the back of one private residence in Clifton, Arizona hangs a forty-foot mural dedicated to the 1983 Phelps Dodge (hereafter referred to as PD) strike. The mural depicts several scenes during the events of the strike, but its overall message is that of unity for the men and women striking, even amidst the repression of Arizona state troopers and the National Guard. Despite this unity, PD forced the union out, turning to scab labor instead, and today, it is thanks to the preservation efforts