Workers vs. Business In the U.S. during the 1880s a group called the “Knights of Labor” was trying to help improve rights and conditions of American workers. They vouched for better pay and to get rid of child labor. Unions, or associations of workers that support each other to improve working conditions, were being created. They could be used to initiate strikes. One other issue was arising: that of the eight-hour workday. U.S. laborers wanted “eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, eight hours for what we will” as they would later protest. But businesses gave them long 10 to 12 hour days, six days a week, in order to make more money. Due to the unhappiness with the lengthy workdays companies required, the “Knights of Labor” helped organize worker demonstrations in May, 1886.
Picture of the Knights of Labor Organization from http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/immigrant-laborers-1.htm
Why Chicago? Chicago was a main city where trouble was brewing and major demonstrations would occur. It had become “the” industrial U.S. city and had major social problems. The gap between rich and poor was growing wider. There were rich business owners, and there were industrial factory workers in extreme poverty. Many laborers were German immigrants who had no other choice of work. The fact that they were immigrants only widened the gap between rich and poor, as many saw who they thought of as “true Americans” superior to others at the time. The city had the perfect set up for the events of May, 1886.
Postcard featuring Haymarket Square, Chicago in the early 1900s from http://www.chicagopostcardmuseum.org/20th_century_wing_chicago_street_scenes.html
The Demonstrations On May 1, 1886, about 190,000 workers from all different professions started demonstrations and strikes started across the country in protest for an eight hour workday. Tens of thousands of the laborers were in Chicago. Albert Parsons lead a union striker parade on Michigan Street. The government did not stay out of the events. Police and Pinkerton security guards from Pinkerton Government Services, who work in security for certain companies and government agencies, stood ready to step in, mainly on behalf of the businesses. May 2 brought 260,000 more workers. On May 3, August Spies spoke in German to strikers in thee Lumber Shovers’ Union. It was nearby McCormick Reaper Works in Chicago, where union workers had been kept out since February. When some from McCormick tried to bother non-union workers outside, Spies attempted to warn caution. Nevertheless, a fight broke out between the strikers and scabs. Scabs are people hired by a business to find new workers during strikes, making the strikers’ efforts worthless. The police and Pinkerton security guards came to the scene. Shots went out. One striker was killed and five badly injured. In quick response, Spies wrote an article entitled, “REVENGE! Workingmen to Arms!”. It addressed workers in saying, “When you ask them now to lessen your burden, he sends his bloodhounds out to shoot you, kill you!” This helped to paint the violent image unions were getting of the companies they were employed by. Spies was a clear motivating leader of union employees. All these previous events showed how bad the relationship between unions and businesses was starting to go. It would get worse.
Picture of August Spies from http://www.wsws.org/images/2009may/m11-hay1-spie-225.jpg
The Anarchists Anarchists were a group of people defined as anti-government. On the night of May 3, after they heard about the police violence, they had a secret meeting to plan an attack on the police. They decided on a protest in Haymarket Square, Chicago. 20,000 flyers were distributed calling for a meeting to protest police harshness. They said that “speakers will be present to denounce the latest atrocious acts of the police”. Spies would be a speaker and also agreed to print the notice in his paper, Arbeiter Zeitung. However, he made them remove a line in the notice that said “Workingmen Arm Yourselves and Appear in Full Force.” Nevertheless, a few fliers that still had the line ended up being distributed. When the anarchists joined the demonstrations on the day of the bombing, they joined for the sake of going against the government, not for the sake of labor rights. Their addition has been credited with riling up the demonstrations.
Famous image of the Haymarket bombing from http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/haymarket/riotscene.jpg
May 4, 1886 Fewer than 2,000 people went to this protest, and 180 policemen showed up saying the meeting was “disrupting the peace”. After their arrival, a bomb went off by an unknown culprit. One police officer was killed. In the riot that followed, a fight between police officers and protesters killed dozens. People looked to anarchist immigrants to place the blame on. Due to this, eight anarchists were quickly sentenced to death for the bombing on little evidence and insufficient proof. The unedited line in the fliers sent out for the protest was used to condemn them. All eight were immigrants. Four were hung, including August Spies, and another committed suicide in prison. Governor John P. Atgeld of Illinois came to believe the accusations had resulted from outcry rather than true evidence pardoned the last three. He himself was an immigrant, and much of the public was critical of his decision because of this. According to the Chicago Tribune, Atgeld "does not reason like an American, does not feel like one, and consequently does not behave like one." This further showed the racism and societal gaps in the U.S. that had been developing.
Image of the four anarchists being hung from http://www.executedtoday.com/images/Haymarket_hanging_big.jpg
Effects on America The Haymarket Riot had several affects on the U.S.A. and its labor movement. The “Knights of Labor” immediately vanished afterwards due to the bad reputation the violence had brought them. Views of people across the country were altered. People started associating the labor problems as a ground for politics and governmental problems due to instances of government interference. They also started associating the unions with violence and radical ideas. Businesses disliked unions even more because of the strenuous troubles that had come with the demonstrations. In the long-term, both views would strain union-business relations. Each side was afraid of violence and problems from the other. The riot also marked the shift to “bread and butter” unionism, which means unions focused on concrete aspects of work, such as wages.
Workers vs. Business
In the U.S. during the 1880s a group called the “Knights of Labor” was trying to help improve rights and conditions of American workers. They vouched for better pay and to get rid of child labor. Unions, or associations of workers that support each other to improve working conditions, were being created. They could be used to initiate strikes. One other issue was arising: that of the eight-hour workday. U.S. laborers wanted “eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, eight hours for what we will” as they would later protest. But businesses gave them long 10 to 12 hour days, six days a week, in order to make more money. Due to the unhappiness with the lengthy workdays companies required, the “Knights of Labor” helped organize worker demonstrations in May, 1886.
Why Chicago?
Chicago was a main city where trouble was brewing and major demonstrations would occur. It had become “the” industrial U.S. city and had major social problems. The gap between rich and poor was growing wider. There were rich business owners, and there were industrial factory workers in extreme poverty. Many laborers were German immigrants who had no other choice of work. The fact that they were immigrants only widened the gap between rich and poor, as many saw who they thought of as “true Americans” superior to others at the time. The city had the perfect set up for the events of May, 1886.
The Demonstrations
On May 1, 1886, about 190,000 workers from all different professions started demonstrations and strikes started across the country in protest for an eight hour workday. Tens of thousands of the laborers were in Chicago. Albert Parsons lead a union striker parade on Michigan Street. The government did not stay out of the events. Police and Pinkerton security guards from Pinkerton Government Services, who work in security for certain companies and government agencies, stood ready to step in, mainly on behalf of the businesses. May 2 brought 260,000 more workers. On May 3, August Spies spoke in German to strikers in thee Lumber Shovers’ Union. It was nearby McCormick Reaper Works in Chicago, where union workers had been kept out since February. When some from McCormick tried to bother non-union workers outside, Spies attempted to warn caution. Nevertheless, a fight broke out between the strikers and scabs. Scabs are people hired by a business to find new workers during strikes, making the strikers’ efforts worthless. The police and Pinkerton security guards came to the scene. Shots went out. One striker was killed and five badly injured.
In quick response, Spies wrote an article entitled, “REVENGE! Workingmen to Arms!”. It addressed workers in saying, “When you ask them now to lessen your burden, he sends his bloodhounds out to shoot you, kill you!” This helped to paint the violent image unions were getting of the companies they were employed by. Spies was a clear motivating leader of union employees. All these previous events showed how bad the relationship between unions and businesses was starting to go. It would get worse.
The Anarchists
Anarchists were a group of people defined as anti-government. On the night of May 3, after they heard about the police violence, they had a secret meeting to plan an attack on the police. They decided on a protest in Haymarket Square, Chicago. 20,000 flyers were distributed calling for a meeting to protest police harshness. They said that “speakers will be present to denounce the latest atrocious acts of the police”. Spies would be a speaker and also agreed to print the notice in his paper, Arbeiter Zeitung. However, he made them remove a line in the notice that said “Workingmen Arm Yourselves and Appear in Full Force.” Nevertheless, a few fliers that still had the line ended up being distributed. When the anarchists joined the demonstrations on the day of the bombing, they joined for the sake of going against the government, not for the sake of labor rights. Their addition has been credited with riling up the demonstrations.
May 4, 1886
Fewer than 2,000 people went to this protest, and 180 policemen showed up saying the meeting was “disrupting the peace”. After their arrival, a bomb went off by an unknown culprit. One police officer was killed. In the riot that followed, a fight between police officers and protesters killed dozens. People looked to anarchist immigrants to place the blame on.
Due to this, eight anarchists were quickly sentenced to death for the bombing on little evidence and insufficient proof. The unedited line in the fliers sent out for the protest was used to condemn them. All eight were immigrants. Four were hung, including August Spies, and another committed suicide in prison. Governor John P. Atgeld of Illinois came to believe the accusations had resulted from outcry rather than true evidence pardoned the last three. He himself was an immigrant, and much of the public was critical of his decision because of this. According to the Chicago Tribune, Atgeld "does not reason like an American, does not feel like one, and consequently does not behave like one." This further showed the racism and societal gaps in the U.S. that had been developing.
Effects on America
The Haymarket Riot had several affects on the U.S.A. and its labor movement. The “Knights of Labor” immediately vanished afterwards due to the bad reputation the violence had brought them. Views of people across the country were altered. People started associating the labor problems as a ground for politics and governmental problems due to instances of government interference. They also started associating the unions with violence and radical ideas. Businesses disliked unions even more because of the strenuous troubles that had come with the demonstrations. In the long-term, both views would strain union-business relations. Each side was afraid of violence and problems from the other.
The riot also marked the shift to “bread and butter” unionism, which means unions focused on concrete aspects of work, such as wages.
References
Secondary Sources
“America: Pathways to the Present” (Online Textbook). 2007. Pearson SuccessNet. https://www.pearsonsuccessnet.com/
“The Dramas of Haymarket.” Chicago History Museum. http://www.chicagohs.org/dramas/ov erview/main.htm.
“Haymarket Square Riot.” 2011. In American History. http://americanhistory.abc-clio.com/.
“Industrialization and the Working Class: Haymarket Riot.” 14 May 2011. Digital History Online Textbook. http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=227.
"Labor on the March: The Story of America's Unions" 1969. Joseph L. Gardner. American Heritage Publishing Co., INC. May 14 2011.
Primary Sources
Fischer, Adolph. “Attention Workingmen!”. 4 May 1886. Depaul. http://condor.depaul.edu/chicago/primary_sources/haymarket.html
Spies, August. “REVENGE! Workingmen to Arms!!!”. 3 May 1886. Depaul. http://condor.depaul.edu/chicago/primary_sources/haymarket.html