This year marks the centennial of the 1922 Charles Town treason trials that followed the famous Battle of Blair Mountain—which saw approximately 10,000 armed West Virginia coal miners fight a pitched three-day battle in Logan County to free fellow miners imprisoned under martial law. In the months that followed the battle, over 500 miners and their allies were indicted in a series of trials that became a major test of free speech for the American labor movement. This Little Lecture discusses the legal and jurisprudential impact of the treason trials, and how many of these issues remain relevant today.rrRachel Donaldson is a historian and historic preservationist whose work focuses and cultural and labor history. She has written two books on the history of the folk music revival and her work has appeared in several academic journals. She was the principal editor and an author of the forthcoming Labor History Theme Study for the National Park Service. Donaldson wrote a series of articles on the West Virginia Mine Wars for the National Park Service, and co-authored the Jefferson County Courthouse nomination for the National Register of Historic Places.