Haymarket+Riot+of+1886

== =WORKERS VS BUSINESS = Many workers felt that they were being treated unfairly leading up to the Haymarket revolt. They wanted free association of responsible people without regulation or interference from above. As with any event, many radicals emerged who believed in a mix of anarchism and unions which became known as the “The Chicago Idea”. They claimed that the current system of capitalism was far more "anarchic" in the negative sense of the word than they were, and caused disorder. One of the major things that these groups advocated for was the eight hour work day. They held many strikes and gatherings advocating for the eight hour workday, as well as many other issues. When the police started getting violent, radicals believed that the only way to get through to the existing order would be through violence, and that it was necessary to get their point across.
 * Haymarket Riot of 1886 **

=THE POLICE = The police played a major role in the bombing at Haymarket. The radicals demonstrating for the eight hour day, and various other reasons, never wanted to use malicious force against the police, but claimed that they were given no choice. In previous rallies, and specifically the one on May 3rd, (the day before the Haymarket bombing), police had become increasingly violent towards the protestors. In some instances innocent bystanders had been clubbed to death, and on May 3rd, the police open fired on a crowd of unarmed protestors. This enraged radicals like August Spies, who formulated a plot along with 7 others to hold a rally the next evening in order to draw the police in. the plan was then to detonate a bomb in a cluster of police officers in retaliation for what they had done to the innocent civilians.



=THE STRIKE = On May 4th, 1886, anarchists, socialist labor leaders, and workingmen who had been rallying for an eight-hour workday, began a demonstration at Haymarket Square to protest the police brutality carried out on the previous day's rally. A confrontation soon erupted between the workers and the police, leading to an explosion of a dynamite bomb thrown by an unknown anarchist. Chaos immediately ensued--a Chicago newspaper described the scene as "wild carnage with revolvers, bludgeons, and other missiles". The bomb had immediately killed an officer and by the end of the riot, seven policemen and three civilians lay dead, with countless others injured. As the newspaper recounts, "blood gushed from a hundred wounds, and the air was filled with the agonizing cries of the dying and injured." This bombing was to be known as the Haymarket Affair.

=THE ANARCHISTS = After the explosion in the Haymarket square, Authorities immediately looked for someone to blame for it. At first, there were a total of 31 suspects, but that number was eventually brought down to eight: August Spies, Albert Parsons, Adolph Fischer, George Engel, Louis Lingg, Michael Schwab, Samuel Fielden and Oscar Neebe. Eight of the men were sentenced to death, while Oscar Neebe was sent to 15 years of hard labor due to lack of evidence. The first four anarchists were hung, and a fifth committed suicide in his prison cell. The Illinois Governor, Richard Ogelsby, who had doubts "that any of the men were guilty of the crime," changed the remaining men’s death sentences to life sentences in prison. Illinois's new governor, John Peter Altgeld, eventually pardoned the three surviving men saying that "The deed to sentencing the Haymarket men was wrong, a miscarriage of justice. And the truth is that the great multitudes annually arrested are poor, the unfortunate, the young and the neglected. In short, our penal machinery seems to recruit its victims from among those who are fighting an unequal fight in the struggle for existence." == = = =AFTERWARD = News of the bombing spread quickly nationwide. The public was shocked and outraged, having never expected the violent riot or its casualties. This led to the First Red Scare in America, where many feared the emerging radical ideologies and anarchism of the growing labor movement. The fear allowed the eight anarchists to be convicted and sentenced to death though there still exists no evidence to prove their involvement. Altgeld's pardon of the surviving three men also led to major outcry from the public, who questioned his patriotism and loyalty to America (Altgeld was German-born). His pardon became the end of his political career. The riot also caused backlash towards the growing labor movement. The public opinion of the labor forces' plight went down.

Years later, the public view has changed. In 1889, the American Federation of Labor delegate to the International Labor Congress proposed May 1st as international Labor Day to honor the efforts of the anarchists' rallies and gain workers their natural rights. May 1st would be and still is the day workers worldwide march for an eight-hour day, democracy, and their to organize. The eight anarchists have been immortalized as martyrs for this cause, honored annually with this holiday.



=References: = = Mintz, Steven ,16 May, 2011. "Haymarket Square//."// [], = = Students of Northwestern university, 16 May, 2011. "The Dramas of Haymarket." [], = Green, James, 2006. //Death in the Haymarket.// Published by Pantheon books. Preview available at [] Chicago Historical Society, "The Haymarket Affair Digital Collection." [] Chicago Herald. "'Account of the Haymarket Riot' in the 'Chicago Herald, 05 May 1886'". [] Illinois During the Guilded Age. "The Haymarket Bomb in Historical Context." [] "Haymarket Square riot." //American History //. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 17 May 2011. []