Playwright's Concept Everything centers on a young mother and her children, Julia and Gus. Searching for a better life for her two young children, the mother leaves her husband in the Appalachian coalmines. She hopes that the mills in Philadelphia will pay enough so her children, ages 10 and 12, can attend school and not have to work. Mother Jones appears in the play, but she is not the main focus of this production. The play is about the empowerment of the children.
Children take action to improve their lot.
Mother Jones hopes to persuade him to champion a federal law regulating child labor. Every day little children came into Union Headquarters, some with their hands off, some with the thumb missing, some with their fingers off at the knuckles. They were stooped, little, thin, round shoulders and skinny. Mother Jones' low pleasant voice had great carrying power. She commanded the attention of audiences with dynamic energy and passionate speeches denouncing the work and living conditions of men, women and children in America.