By September, thanks to Roosevelt's strenuous campaigning, the Republicans appeared to be taking the lead. Bryan begins to attack McKinley's alliance with big business. In September, coal miners in Pennsylvania threaten to walk off the job. This gives Bryan an opportunity to unseat McKinley. Throughout 1900 labor disputes arise.
Workers demand better working conditions and higher pay.
John Mitchell, president of the United Mine Workers, tries to organize a strike in the Pennsylvania coal fields. However, uniting the miners is an enormous challenge for Mitchell because the workers are divided along racial and ethnic lines. By the afternoon of September 8, the hurricane has washed out bridges. The trains are no longer running and there is no way to get off the island. By the next day one-sixth of the population of Galveston has perished and nearly half of the homes in Galveston have been destroyed.