Yet the wider perspective of history has called into question the validity of the Molly Maguire trials. Historian Harold Aurand stated his conclusions in this way:
"The Molly Maguire investigation and trials were one of the most astounding surrenders of sovereignty in American History. A private corporation initiated the investigation through a private detective agency; a private police force arrested the alleged offenders; and coal company attorneys prosecuted them. The state provided only the courtroom and the hangman."
Whoever and whatever the Molly Maguires really were will forever remain a mystery.Yet, they earned a place in history as men who would do anything to fight oppression.
In January of 1875, all the mines were forced to close by the "long strike". The Molly Maguires sprang into action and one of the members was charged with murder. When the issue came to trial, the accusations made by McParlan were more serious than anyone had expected. He claimed that the Molly Maguires had carried out a campaign of violence against mine owners, superintendents and police for over a decade. He painstakingly described plans of sabotage that included plots to dynamite bridges and derail railroad cars. In September of 1875, Jimmy Kerrigan, Mike Doyle and other Molly Maguires were placed on trial for the murder of a mine superintendent. Doyle was sentenced to be hanged but Jim Kerrigan agreed to name other Molly Maguires. For two years, the trials continued with McParlan and Kerrigan fascinating spectators with tales of violence and murder they had witnessed. By June 1877, nineteen members of the Molly Maguires had been sentenced to hanging, ten of whom were executed simultaneously.
