1880's: Haymarket Riot

By: Lisa Machado

Factual Questions

1) What point were the rioters of the Haymarket affair trying to get across?2) Who were the main contributors to the riot?3) Where did the riot take place and how did it start? 

Critical Thinking Questions

1) What effects did the riot have on society?

2)  Was it really worth all the commotion for the people to fight for their rights?

3) How does it relate to our society today?

The Haymarket riot was a destructive affair of the 1880s that

affected many people on both sides of the controversy and was a

wrong decision on both of their parts.

Thesis:

Basic Information

- The Haymarket riot started off as a rally, but later turned into much more.

- They begun by forming unions, most importantly the Knights of Labor.

- The affair began because workingmen wanted to have the right to their 8 hour work day during a time where 60 hour work weeks were common.

- Workers struck at the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company in Chicago. 

More Info

- On May 1st, a May Day Parade was held outside the McCormick Company, and 2 days later, someone was killed during a protest.

- A public meeting was held on May 4th at the Haymarket Square to address police brutality. It was supposed to be peaceful.

- Anarchists spoke in front of a crowd of around 1,500 people.

- Someone anonymously set off a bomb when the police were coming to try to stop the meeting.- 7 police officers were killed, likely not even from the bomb itself but from policemen shooting at the massive crowd of people.- 4 civilians were also killed, and many others were injured.

People Put to Blame- The Knights of Labor were blamed for the riot because they were the largest labor union in the U.S.

- Anarchists in general were also accused for the riot, even ones that were innocent.

- Eight anarchists were accused of murder, 7 of them were convicted.

-  4 of them were hung, 2 replaced death with life in prison, and 1 man committed suicide while he was in prison. 

- Even after all the trials that went on in court, the one person who set off the bomb was not identified.

Example Testimony

The Aftermath

- The new governor in 1892, John Peter Altgeld gave the anarchists mercy and declared that their trial was unfair.

- It affected his political career because people then thought he was biased toward the anarchists.

Affect on their Society

- The Haymarket riot caused huge commotion in Chicago.- Critics of the labor unions, after the riot, associated all unions with fighting and massive meetings getting out of control.

- They simply made assumptions that all unions were going to be violent.- Membership of the Knights of Labor almost vanished and reputation of the riot stayed for years after.

- Although most of the affects of the riot turned out poorly, the workingmen involved in these mass meetings thought they deserved their 8 hour work day.

- Even though they got their point across to the authorities, it was wrong for someone to set off a bomb for the police, and was also not beneficial for the policemen to shoot back abruptly.

Relation to our Society- The Haymarket affair relates to the situation we have going on today: the OCCUPY movement.

- These people are on strike against economic and social inequality. The first one started on Wall Street, but now the movement has caught on all over the world.

- This shows that people on strike won't give up until they see the results that they want: from the 1880s to 2011.

BibliographyPrimary Sources:1) "Attention Workingmen." Illinois vs. August Spies 4 May 1886: n. pag. Chicago      History Society. Web. 15 Nov. 2011. <http://www.chicagohistory.org/hadc/      transcript/exhibits/X000-050/X0050.htm>.2) Bonfield, John. "Testimony of John Bonfield." Interview by Mr. Grinnell.      Chicago Historical Society. Haymarket Affair Digital Collection, 16 July      1888. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. <http://www.chicagohistory.org/hadc/transcript/      volumei/000-050/I019-052.htm>.3) Tyrell, Frank P. "Parade banner of Veterans of the Haymarket Riot." Chicago      Historical Society. N.p., 1895. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.      <http://www.chicagohistory.org/hadc/visuals/artifact/001A020.htm>.4) Waller, Godfried. "Testimony of Godfried Waller." Interview by Mr. Ingham.      Chicago Historical Society. Haymarket Affair Digital Collection, 17 July      1886. Web. 21 Nov. 2011. <http://www.chicagohistory.org/hadc/transcript/      volumei/101-150/I101-140.htm>.

Secondary Sources:

1) Bienen, Leigh. "The Haymarket Riot." Homoside in Chicago 1870-1930. Northwestern      University School of Law, 2008. Web. 15 Nov. 2011.      <http://homicide.northwestern.edu/context/movements/haymarket1/>.2) Boyer, Paul S. "Haymarket Affair." The Oxford Companion to United States History      . encyclopedia.com, 2001. Web. 15 Nov. 2011.      <http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O119-HaymarketAffair.html>.3) H., David, and Aurich P. "Haymarkey Square Riot." Questia Online Library. N.p.,      2004. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. <http://www.questia.com/library/encyclopedia/      haymarket_square_riot.jsp#journal>.4) "The Haymarket Square Riot." History.com. A&E Television Networks, LLC,      1996-2011. Web. 21 Nov. 2011. <http://www.history.com/      this-day-in-history/the-haymarket-square-riot>.5) "Knights of Labor." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 21 Nov. 2011.      <http://americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/      253496?terms=Haymarket+riot>.

Thank you!

We can answer questions now!

1) What point were the rioters of the Haymarket affair trying to get across?

2) Who were the main contributors to the riot?

3) Where did the riot take place and how did it start?

1) What effects did the riot have on society?

2)  Was it really worth all the commotion for the people to fight for their rights?

3) How does it relate to our society today?