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One repercussion of the "Red Scare" following
World War I was the attempt by business
to reverse the gains made by labor during
the war. There followed a series of strikes
throughout the nation. In southeast Kansas
the coal miners of the United Mine Workers
(UMW), led by Alexander Howat, defied both
President Woodrow Wilson and the president
of the UMW, John L. Lewis, in a series of
strikes. When Kansas passed the Court of Industrial
Relations law to do away with strikes,
Howat called a strike to test the law. His imprisonment
resulted in the "Amazon Army."
On December 11, 1921, a mass meeting of women in Franklin, Kansas, prompted 2,000 to 6,000 wives, daughters, mothers, sisters, and sweethearts of striking miners to march in the Kansas coalfields over the next several days. The marchers included Annie Stovich, Mary Skubitz, and her mother Julia Youvain. Mrs. Ted Farrell, Mrs. Felix Azamber, Mrs. William Howe, Mrs. J. R. Supple, Mrs. James Marioth, Mrs. Paul Johnson, and Mrs. Julia Chiararini signed the resolutions at Franklin. The women's march sparked interest across the state and nation. Although controversy exists over whether any violence occurred during the march (red pepper being the "weapon" of choice), the state sent in the militia, including cavalry and some machine-gun units, and some arrests were made. The women's march caused a stir but did not stop coal production, and the strike ended on January 13, 1922.