This broadcast of Backroads and Banjos takes the theme of the Coal Creek Rebellion, an event that took place in East Tennessee in the late 1800s, when coal mine owners started hiring convict labor over free laborers. In response to this action, the free miners participated in riots and attacks, resulting in the freeing of many convicts and the deaths of many free laborers. The practice of hiring convict labor was soon abolished. Buddy Won’t You Roll Down the Line by Uncle Dave Macon and Sam McGee, highlighted in this episode, was inspired by the events of Coal Creek and the conditions under which the convict labor lived.

Backroads & Banjos - Coal Creek Mining Disaster

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