What was the immediate cause of the Haymarket Riot?
The Haymarket Riot, which took place on May 4th 1886 at Haymarket Square Chicago, was a result of a peaceful labor demonstration turned chaotic. To begin with, one immediate effect of the riot was the loss of lives caused by both the hurling of the bomb and the indiscriminate open fire by the police in response.
What was the Haymarket Riot and why did it start?
What was the Haymarket Riot and why did it start? The Haymarket Riot , also known as the Haymarket affair started as a rally to support striking workers from Chicago on May 4, 1886. The rally went bad when an unknown person tossed dynamite into a crowd of police.
What was one effect of the Haymarket Riot?
The Haymarket Affair had a lasting effect on the labour movement in the United States. The Knights of Labor (KOL), at the time the largest and most successful union organization in the country, was blamed for the incident.
How did the Haymarket protest turn violent?
The Haymarket Riot (also known as the “Haymarket Incident” and “Haymarket Affair”) occurred on May 4, 1886, when a labor protest rally near Chicago’s Haymarket Square turned into a riot after someone threw a bomb at police. At least eight people died as a result of the violence that day.
What is the Haymarket riot?
The Haymarket Affair, also known as the Haymarket Riot, was a violent confrontation between police and labour protesters in Chicago on May 4, 1886, that became a symbol of the international struggle for workers’ rights. It has been associated with May Day (May 1) since that day’s designation as International Workers’ Day by ...
Who published the Haymarket riot?
Wood engraving of the Haymarket Riot by Thure de Thulstrup, published in Harper's Weekly on May 15, 1886. In 1893 Illinois Gov. John Peter Altgeld was petitioned by the criminal attorney Clarence Darrow and others to grant clemency to the surviving three men.
What happened in the Haymarket affair?
The Haymarket Affair involved Chicago police and demonstrators at a mass meeting of workers in Haymarket Square called by anarchist labour leaders to protest police brutality. Following the confrontation, in which several police officers and demonstrators were killed and scores injured, August Spies and seven other labour leaders were tried and convicted of murder. Four of them, including Spies, were hanged; one committed suicide; and three were eventually pardoned by Illinois Gov. John Peter Altgeld.
How many people died in the Haymarket affair?
Seven police officers were killed and 60 others wounded before the violence ended; civilian casualties have been estimated at four to eight dead and 30 to 40 injured. The Haymarket Affair created widespread hysteria directed against immigrants and labour leaders.
Where is the Haymarket Memorial?
A statue dedicated to the slain police officers, erected in Haymarket Square in 1889, was moved to the Chicago Police Department’s training academy in the early 1970s after it was repeatedly damaged by leftist radicals. An official commemoration, The Haymarket Memorial, was installed on the site of the riot in 2004.
Why did the Knights of Labor disband?
Because it was accused (perhaps unfairly) of involvement in the violence, the K nights of Labor, then the largest union organization in the U.S., declined and soon disbanded, as many locals joined the new less-radical American Federation of Labor.
When was the Haymarket affair celebrated?
In 1889 the Haymarket Affair was commemorated in the designation of May 1, or May Day, as International Workers' Day by the Second (Socialist) International, a federation of socialist parties and unions based in Europe. May Day continues to be celebrated in many countries.
What was the Haymarket riot?
The Haymarket Riot. On May 4, 1886, labor unions had called for a protest meeting against the police attacks on workers during a strike the earlier day. Nearing the end of this meet, the police tried to disperse the meeting when many protesters had already left.
What happened after the Haymarket riot?
After the Haymarket riot, a gradual repression of the labor movement came about. People lost trust in the worker’s associations and the campaign. Most of the German immigrants and Bohemians, rather the labor community at large, was looked at with suspicion. Also, businessmen showed a lot of support for the police.
What was the significance of the Haymarket riots?
The incident, also known as the Haymarket Massacre or Haymarket Affair, is considered to be an important landmark in the history of the labor movement, not just in the United States, but the world over.
What was the name of the protest in Chicago in 1886?
The Chicago police attacked a peaceful demonstration by workers at McCormick Reaper Plant on May 3, 1886. This called for a labor protest meeting , which was held at the Haymarket Square. This Historyplex article explains how that meeting changed into the Haymarket Square Riot.
Why is Labor Day celebrated on May 1st?
The International Labor Day, celebrated on the first day of May each year, is a date declared by the Second International in 1889 to commemorate the Haymarket Affair.
Why did the American labor movement get a setback?
The American labor movement, in general, received a setback due to the riot, also weakening the struggle for the eight-hour day demand. Several suspects, including the speakers at the protest, were arrested. The blame for the riot was put entirely on the anarchists and ...
What happened after the end of the workday?
After the end of the workday, some workers went towards the gates of the company to confront the strikebreakers. The police intervened to protect the strikebreakers and strikers, leading to firing upon the crowd. Two workers were killed, and many were wounded.
What year was the Haymarket riot?
Brazil 2017. Catalan (2017) Catalan (2019) The Haymarket affair (also known as the Haymarket massacre, the Haymarket riot, or the Haymarket Square riot) was the aftermath of a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration on May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square in Chicago. It began as a peaceful rally in support ...
What was the Haymarket incident?
A harsh anti-union clampdown followed the Haymarket incident and the Great Upheaval subsided. Employers regained control of their workers and traditional workdays were restored to ten or more hours a day. There was a massive outpouring of community and business support for the police and many thousands of dollars were donated to funds for their medical care and to assist their efforts. The entire labor and immigrant community, particularly Germans and Bohemians, came under suspicion. Police raids were carried out on homes and offices of suspected anarchists. Dozens of suspects, many only remotely related to the Haymarket Affair, were arrested. Casting legal requirements such as search warrants aside, Chicago police squads subjected the labor activists of Chicago to an eight-week shakedown, ransacking their meeting halls and places of business. The emphasis was on the speakers at the Haymarket rally and the newspaper Arbeiter-Zeitung. A small group of anarchists were discovered to have been engaged in making bombs on the same day as the incident, including round ones like the one used in Haymarket Square.
How many police officers were in the McCormick plant during the 1886 strike?
By the time of the 1886 general strike, strikebreakers entering the McCormick plant were under protection from a garrison of 400 police officers.
What was the impact of the Civil War on Chicago?
Following the Civil War, particularly following the Long Depression, there was a rapid expansion of industrial production in the United States. Chicago was a major industrial center and tens of thousands of German and Bohemian immigrants were employed at about $1.50 a day. American workers worked on average slightly over 60 hours, during a six-day work week. The city became a center for many attempts to organize labor's demands for better working conditions. Employers responded with anti-union measures, such as firing and blacklisting union members, locking out workers, recruiting strikebreakers; employing spies, thugs, and private security forces and exacerbating ethnic tensions in order to divide the workers. Business interests were supported by mainstream newspapers, and were opposed by the labor and immigrant press.
What is the purpose of the bronze sculpture in Haymarket?
The bronze sculpture, intended to be the centerpiece of a proposed "Labor Park", is meant to symbolize both the rally at Haymarket and free speech. The planned site was to include an international commemoration wall, sidewalk plaques, a cultural pylon, a seating area, and banners, but construction has not yet begun.
When was the Haymarket statue vandalized?
The Haymarket statue was vandalized with black paint on May 4, 1968, the 82nd anniversary of the Haymarket Affair, following a confrontation between police and demonstrators at a protest against the Vietnam War.
Where are the Haymarket Martyrs buried?
Main article: Haymarket Martyrs' Monument. A 2009 image of the Haymarket Martyrs' Monument at the Forest Home Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois. Lingg, Spies, Fischer, Engel, and Parsons were buried at the German Waldheim Cemetery (later merged with Forest Home Cemetery) in Forest Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.
Who was responsible for the Haymarket riots?
The rioting was blamed on the labor movement, specifically on the Knights of Labor, the largest labor union in the United States at the time. Widely discredited, fairly or not, the Knights of Labor never recovered. Newspapers throughout the US denounced “anarchists,” and advocated hanging those responsible for the Haymarket Riot.
What was the Haymarket riot?
Haymarket Riot a Setback for American Labor. It was never officially determined who threw the bomb in Haymarket Square, but that didn't matter at the time. Critics of the American labor movement pounced on the incident, using it to discredit unions by linking them to radicals and violent anarchists.
How did the Haymarket riots affect the labor movement?
The Knights of Labor had its influence plummet, and its membership dwindled.
What happened in Chicago in 1886?
The Haymarket Riot in Chicago in May 1886 killed several people and resulted in a highly controversial trial followed by executions of four men who may have been innocent. The American labor movement was dealt a severe setback, and the chaotic events resonated for many years.
What happened at the Haymarket?
The Haymarket Bombing. As scuffles broke out, a powerful bomb was thrown. Witnesses later described the bomb, which was trailing smoke, sailing above the crowd in a high trajectory. The bomb landed and exploded, unleashing shrapnel. The police drew their weapons and fired into the panicked crowd .
How many people were arrested in the Haymarket riots?
A number of arrests were made, and charges were brought against eight men.
Why did Governor Altgeld grant clemency?
Governor Altgeld granted the clemency, stating that their trial had been unfair and was a miscarriage of justice. Altgeld’s reasoning was sound, but it damaged his own political career, as conservative voices branded him a “friend of anarchists.”
How many people were arrested in the Haymarket Square riots?
The Haymarket Square Riot set off a national wave of xenophobia, as hundreds of foreign-born radicals and labor leaders were rounded up in Chicago and elsewhere. A grand jury eventually indicted 31 suspected labor radicals in connection with the bombing, and eight men were convicted in a sensational and controversial trial.
What happened at Haymarket Square?
At Haymarket Square in Chicago, Illinois, a bomb is thrown at a squad of policemen attempting to break up what had begun as a peaceful labor rally. The police responded with wild gunfire, killing several people in the crowd and injuring dozens more. The demonstration, which drew some 1,500 Chicago workers, was organized by German-born labor ...
Who were the three people executed in 1887?
On November 11, 1887, Samuel Fielden, Adolph Fischer, August Spies and Albert Parson were executed. Of the three others sentenced to death, one died by suicide on the eve of his execution and the other two had their death sentences commuted to life imprisonment by Illinois Governor Richard J. Oglesby.
Who was the leader of the Haymarket riots?
The Revenge flyer printed shortly before the Haymarket Riot. (Credit: Public Domain) Anarchist leader August Spies was among the many people left fuming by the McCormick melee. The German immigrant had been giving a speech to strikers a short distance from the factory, and he had witnessed police open fire on workers.
Who were the bomb throwers in the Haymarket riot?
Throughout it all, the identity of the Haymarket bomb thrower remained a mystery. Nevertheless, on May 27, eight anarchists were indicted for murder in connection with the riot—August Spies, Albert Parsons, Samuel Fielden, George Engel, Adolph Fischer, Michael Schwab, Louis Lingg and Oscar Neebe.
What did Fielden protest about?
Fielden protested that the meeting was “peaceable,” but soon gave up and agreed to leave. As Fielden climbed down from the hay wagon, the tension was suddenly broken by the sight of a homemade dynamite bomb, its fuse lit, flying from the crowd and into the ranks of police.
How many blue coated police officers were there at the Bonfield speech?
Despite Harrison’s earlier order, the inflammatory remarks convinced Inspector Bonfield to act. Moments later, as Fielden was wrapping up his speech, a phalanx of 175 blue-coated police advanced on the crowd and ordered it to disperse.
What was the reaction to the Haymarket bombing?
The Haymarket bombing provoked a frenzied response from the media, which largely framed the incident as the work of immigrant radicals. A law journal branded the protestors “long-haired, wild-eyed, bad smelling, atheistic, reckless foreign wretches,” while the Chicago Times called for the public to “whip these Slavic wolves back to the European dens from which they issue.”
How many police officers were killed in the Haymarket bombing?
When the furor finally subsided, some 60 police officers lay wounded, seven of them mortally. Several dozen civilians were injured, and at least four were killed. The Haymarket bombing provoked a frenzied response from the media, which largely framed the incident as the work of immigrant radicals.
What was the explosion in Haymarket Square?
Evan Andrews. The explosion in Haymarket Square came during a period of nationwide labor upheaval. Chicago—then the fastest growing city in the United States—was the nerve center of the country’s workers’ movement, and the spring of 1886 marked one of its most ambitious protests to date. In concert with the trade unions, ...
Did You Know?
Significance of The Haymarket Riot
- The labor unions and the movement for the rights of industrial workers were gaining momentum during the 1880s. The incident, also known as the Haymarket Massacre or Haymarket Affair, is considered to be an important landmark in the history of the labor movement, not just in the United States, but the world over. This period is characterized by the prominent eight-hour day …
The Haymarket Riot
- On May 4, 1886, labor unions had called for a protest meeting against the police attacks on workers during a strike the earlier day. Nearing the end of this meet, the police tried to disperse the meeting when many protesters had already left. At this point, an unknown person threw a dynamite bomb at the police. The bomb blast, followed by firing fr...
Causes
- Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions had, in an 1884 convention, decided May 1, 1886 to be the day when the movement for eight-hour day across the nation would commence. All the labor unions, affirming the eight-hour day demand, geared up for a general strike on this day. On May 1, Chicago saw the maximum number of workers going on strike, with this number reac…
Effects
- After the Haymarket riot, a gradual repression of the labor movement came about. People lost trust in the worker’s associations and the campaign. Most of the German immigrants and Bohemians, rather the labor community at large, was looked at with suspicion. Also, businessmen showed a lot of support for the police. The American labor movement, in general, received a set…
Overview
The Haymarket affair (also known as the Haymarket massacre, the Haymarket riot, the Haymarket Square riot, or the Haymarket Incident) was the aftermath of a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration on May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It began as a peaceful rally in support of workers striking for an eight-hour work day, the day after the even…
Background
Following the Civil War, particularly following the Long Depression, there was a rapid expansion of industrial production in the United States. Chicago was a major industrial center and tens of thousands of German and Bohemian immigrants were employed at about $1.50 a day. American workers worked on average slightly over 60 hours, during a six-day work week. The city became …
Legal proceedings
The police assumed that an anarchist had thrown the bomb as part of a planned conspiracy; their problem was how to prove it. On the morning of May 5, they raided the offices of the Arbeiter-Zeitung, arresting its editor August Spies, and his brother (who was not charged). Also arrested were editorial assistant Michael Schwab and Adolph Fischer, a typesetter. A search of the premises re…
Pardons and historical characterization
Among supporters of the labor movement in the United States and abroad and others, the trial was widely believed to have been unfair, and even a serious miscarriage of justice. Prominent people such as novelist William Dean Howells, celebrated attorney Clarence Darrow, poet and playwright Oscar Wilde, playwright George Bernard Shaw, and poet William Morris strongly condemned …
Effects on the labor movement and May Day
Historian Nathan Fine points out that trade-union activities continued to show signs of growth and vitality, culminating later in 1886 with the establishment of the Labor Party of Chicago.
Fine observes:
[T]he fact is that despite police repression, newspaper incitement to hysteria, a…
Historian Nathan Fine points out that trade-union activities continued to show signs of growth and vitality, culminating later in 1886 with the establishment of the Labor Party of Chicago.
Fine observes:
[T]he fact is that despite police repression, newspaper incitement to hysteria, a…
Suspected bombers
While admitting that none of the defendants was involved in the bombing, the prosecution made the argument that Lingg had built the bomb, and two prosecution witnesses (Harry Gilmer and Malvern Thompson) tried to imply that the bomb thrower was helped by Spies, Fischer and Schwab. The defendants claimed they had no knowledge of the bomber at all.
Burial and monument
Lingg, Spies, Fischer, Engel, and Parsons were buried at the German Waldheim Cemetery (later merged with Forest Home Cemetery) in Forest Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Schwab and Neebe were also buried at Waldheim when they died, reuniting the "Martyrs". In 1893, the Haymarket Martyrs' Monument by sculptor Albert Weinert was raised at Waldheim. Over a century later, it was de…
Haymarket memorials
In 1889, a commemorative nine-foot (2.7 meter) bronze statue of a Chicago policeman by sculptor Johannes Gelert was erected in the middle of Haymarket Square with private funds raised by the Union League Club of Chicago. The statue was unveiled on May 30, 1889, by Frank Degan, the son of Officer Mathias Degan. On May 4, 1927, the 41st anniversary of the Haymarket Affair, a
American Labor on The Rise
Protest Against Police Brutality
The Haymarket Bombing
Labor Unionists and Anarchists Blamed
Trial and Executions of The Anarchists
The Haymarket Case Was Reviewed
Haymarket Riot A Setback For American Labor
- It was never officially determined who threw the bomb in Haymarket Square, but that didn't matter at the time. Critics of the American labor movement pounced on the incident, using it to discredit unions by linking them to radicals and violent anarchists. The Haymarket Riot resonated in American life for years, and there is no doubt it set back the...