Why was the labor violence at haymarket square of chicago in 1886 significant?

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.

American workers had begun organizing into unions following the Civil War, and by the 1880s many thousands were organized into unions, most notably the ​Knights of Labor.

In the spring of 1886 workers struck at the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company in Chicago, the factory that made farm equipment including the famous McCormick Reaper made by Cyrus McCormick. The workers on strike demanded an eight-hour workday, at a time when 60-hour workweeks were common. The company locked out the workers and hired strikebreakers, a common practice at the time.

On May 1, 1886, a large May Day parade was held in Chicago, and two days later, a protest outside the McCormick plant resulted in a person being killed.

A mass meeting was called to take place on May 4, to protest what was seen as brutality by the police. The location for the meeting was to be Haymarket Square in Chicago, an open area used for public markets.

At the May 4th meeting a number of radical and anarchist speakers addressed a crowd of approximately 1,500 people. The meeting was peaceful, but the mood became confrontational when the police tried to disperse the crowd.

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. According to newspaper accounts, policemen fired their revolvers for a full two minutes.

Seven policemen were killed, and it’s likely that most of them died from police bullets fired in the chaos, not from the bomb itself. Four civilians were also killed. More than 100 persons were injured.

The public outcry was enormous. Press coverage contributed to a mood of hysteria. Two weeks later, the cover of Frank Leslie's Illustrated Magazine, one of the most popular publications in the US, featured an illustration of the "bomb thrown by anarchists" cutting down police and a drawing of a priest giving the last rites to a wounded officer in a nearby police station.

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. A number of arrests were made, and charges were brought against eight men.

The trial of the anarchists in Chicago was a spectacle lasting for much of the summer, from late June to late August of 1886. There have always been questions about the fairness of the trial and the reliability of the evidence. Some of the evidence presented did consist of early forensic work on bomb building. And while it was never established in court who had built the bomb, all eight defendants were convicted of inciting the riot. Seven of them were sentenced to death.

One of the condemned men killed himself in prison, and four others were hanged on November 11, 1887. Two of the men had their death sentences commuted to life in prison by the governor of Illinois.

In 1892 the governorship of Illinois was won by John Peter Altgeld, who ran on a reform ticket. The new governor was petitioned by labor leaders and defense attorney Clarence Darrow to grant clemency to the three imprisoned men convicted in the Haymarket case. Critics of the convictions noted the bias of the judge and jury and the public hysteria following the Haymarket Riot.

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.”

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 labor movement. The Knights of Labor had its influence plummet, and its membership dwindled.

At the end of 1886, at the height of the public hysteria following the Haymarket Riot, a new labor organization, the ​American Federation of Labor was formed. Eventually, the AFL rose to the forefront of the American labor movement.

Labor unions have a long and significant history in the United States of America. Over the years as the United States steadily developed the world’s largest economy in history, the union Labor Movement contributed in many substantial ways to this unprecedented expansion.

Among the many milestone achievements delivered to the American worker by unions; key contributions include the right to a safe and non-discriminatory work environment, collective bargaining power, the eight hour work day, young children working prohibitions, wage standards, political influence and much more. Such significant changes are taken for granted today.

Such important work environment contributions took time and evolved over the life of the American Republic. Moreover, in many cases, union recommended work changes came at a long and often hard fought and sometimes violent cost.

The U.S. Labor Movement History

The U.S. Labor Movement had its beginnings in the 1820s, corresponding with the continued rise of both the new American nation and the British led Industrial Revolution. However, effective union organization was ineffectual until after the American Civil War.

By the 1880s, many workers organized themselves into various unions. Thousands of workers joined the union movement and one of the early successful unions was the Knights of Labor. During the late 19th century, the union movement expanded and was met with opposition from employers and some politicians. Numerous strikes (work stoppage until demands are met) occurred throughout the United States and affected many industries.

Union work strikes disrupted manufacturing, mining, transportation, farming and other industries. Striking workers included steel and iron workers, carpenters, assembly workers, teamsters and many more. The union labor movement also included factions of communists, anarchists, socialists and other radicals who believed that the entire capitalist system was exploitive, evil and should be destroyed.  Many such radicals were recent immigrants to the United States.

McCormick Harvesting Machine Company

Striking unions were often met with stiff opposition from employers that often turned violent. In the spring of 1886, union strikers stopped work at the huge farm equipment manufacturer, the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company in Chicago. The workers demanded an eight hour work day. The workers were consequently locked out and the company hired replacement strike breakers to take over their jobs, further inflaming the emotions of the striking union workers.

In support of the McCormick union strikers, on May 1, 1886, a large parade was organized in Chicago. A couple of days later, a person was killed during a further protest outside of the McCormick Harvesting Machine plant. Tensions were high for everyone involved in this dispute.

Because of the death and injuries of striking workers that took place the day before at the McCormick plant, organizers called for a mass protest and rally to take place on May 4th to protest McCormick work policies and police and strikebreaker brutality.

Haymarket Square

Haymarket Square in Chicago was an open park area used for public events and markets. This site was chosen for the protest rally of May 4th. Approximately 1,500 people assembled at the rally. Among the many striking union members and leaders in attendance, the rally also included a number of labor radicals, anarchists and leftists.

The rally was largely peaceful, even during inflammatory speeches given by various radicals and anarchists, most if not entirely, German immigrant labor activists. However, the crowd became incited and confrontational when police arrived and demanded their disbursal from the area.

As the Chicago Police pushed the crowd to leave, a powerful bomb suddenly exploded, sending deadly shrapnel everywhere. Witnesses later testified that the bomb was hurled high into the air above the crowd. The bomb thrower was never identified.

The police panicked, drew their weapons on the crowd and began firing at perceived attackers. Eye witnesses claim that police shot their pistols for almost two full minutes. Chaos ensued throughout the square and at the end of the sudden violence; seven policemen and about four civilians were dead and upwards of 100 people were injured and wounded.

Haymarket Square Riot

The Haymarket Square Riot, as the incident became known, set off a national wave of xenophobia. Public outcry against immigrant radicals was substantial. The riot and deaths were blamed on the Labor Movement. The Knights of Labor was the largest union in the U.S. at the time and received enormous criticism and denunciation. The union was severely discredited and whether fair or not, never recovered its stature and influence.

Hundreds of labor organizers and foreign born radicals and leftists were arrested in Chicago and throughout the nation. A Chicago grand jury indicted 31 suspected labor radicals in connection with the bombing. In August, 1886, eight men were brought to trial.

The trial of the accused labor radicals, which lasted throughout the summer of 1886, was a huge event, followed by thousands. To this day there are allegations of unreliable evidence, blatant bias against the defendants and essential unfairness during the controversial trial. It was never established in the trial who had built and delivered the deadly bomb. However, all eight defendants were convicted of inciting the riot. Judge Joseph E. Gary sentenced seven of the defendants to death and the eighth to 15 years in prison.

On November 11, 1887, four of the men, August Spies, Adolph Fischer, Albert Parson and Samuel Fielden/Engel were executed by hanging. Of the three other convicted men, one died in prison by suicide and the final two had their sentences commuted to life in prison by the Governor of Illinois, Richard Oglesby. Later, Governor John Altgeld gave a full pardon to the remaining two due to wide spread and growing public questioning about the fairness of the trial and the guilt of the condemned men.

The Haymarket Square Riot was a pivotal event in the history of the U.S. Labor Movement. The aftermath of the Riot and consequent trial produced a general public that was divided between those who condemned the Labor Movement and those who believed that the convicted men were martyrs whose deaths strengthened the emerging Labor Movement.

Over time, the Labor Movement did indeed strengthen and grow throughout the nation. Organizations such as the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) grew tremendously in members and political influence. Later, many other unions were formed such as the Teamsters, the American Federation of Teachers, the American Federation of Government Employees and many more.

Today, membership in unions has dropped substantially, especially in the private sector. Public sector union membership however remains strong and highly influential. Debate still rages about the need and cost impact of unions in the twenty first century. However, there is no denying that the U.S. Labor Movement had a profound and positive impact on the life of the American worker.