102-769: August Spies [REDACTED] Albert Parsons [REDACTED] Samuel Fielden Carter Harrison Sr. John Bonfield 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. The rally began peacefully in support of workers striking for an eight-hour work day ,
204-465: A biased judge" and noting that the state "has never discovered who it was that threw the bomb which killed the policeman, and the evidence does not show any connection whatsoever between the defendants and the man who threw it". Altgeld also faulted the city of Chicago for failing to hold Pinkerton guards responsible for repeated use of lethal violence against striking workers. Altgeld's actions concerning labor were used to defeat his reelection. Soon after
306-457: A consensus developed that suppression of anarchist agitation was necessary while for their part, union organizations such as The Knights of Labor and craft unions were quick to disassociate themselves from the anarchist movement and to repudiate violent tactics as self-defeating. Many workers, on the other hand, believed that industry-hired men of the Pinkerton agency were responsible because of
408-465: A decree "Provisional Regulations for factories" as early as in 1923, stating "Child-laborers shall not work more than 8 hours per day and shall have 3 days of rest per week; while adult laborers shall not work more than 10 hours per day and shall have 2 days of rest per week." After the successful Northern Expedition , the new Nanking government established the Bureau of Labor in 1928, followed by issuing
510-404: A historian specializing in the study of anarchism, quotes Spies as saying: There seems to prevail the opinion in some quarters that this meeting has been called to inaugurate a riot, hence these warlike preparations on the part of so-called 'law and order.' However, let me tell you at the beginning that this meeting has not been called for any such purpose. The object of this meeting is to explain
612-402: A jury was extraordinarily difficult, lasting three weeks, and nearly one thousand people called. All union members and anyone who expressed sympathy toward socialism were dismissed. In the end a jury of 12 was seated, most of whom confessed prejudice against the defendants. Despite their professions of prejudice Judge Gary seated those who declared that despite their prejudices they would acquit if
714-399: A long time ago". In the end, Oglesby decided he would only pardon those who asked for clemency. Four of the seven outright refused this on the grounds that they had committed no crime, and so only the two who did request mercy, Fielden and Schwab, had their sentences commuted to life in prison on November 10, 1887. On the eve of his scheduled execution, Lingg died by suicide in his cell with
816-662: A march by 10,000 men employed in the Chicago lumber yards. Though participants in these events added up to 80,000, it is disputed whether there was a march of that number down Michigan Avenue led by anarchist Albert Parsons , founder of the International Working People's Association [IWPA], his wife and fellow organizer Lucy , and their children. Speaking to a rally outside the West Side, Chicago , McCormick reaper plant on May 3, August Spies advised
918-503: A piece for The Atlantic Monthly in which he identified the fears of middle-class Americans concerning labor radicalism, and asserted that the workers had only themselves to blame for their troubles. Edward Aveling remarked, "If these men are ultimately hanged, it will be the Chicago Tribune that has done it." Schaack, who had led the investigation, was dismissed from the police force for allegedly having fabricated evidence in
1020-464: A review somewhat more critical of the defendants, historian Jon Teaford concludes that "[t]he tragedy of Haymarket is the American justice system did not protect the damn fools who most needed that protection... It is the damn fools who talk too much and too wildly who are most in need of protection from the state." Historian Timothy Messer-Kruse revisited the digitized trial transcript and argued that
1122-513: A revolution, destroy capitalism, and establish a socialist economy. In October 1884, a convention held by the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions unanimously set May 1, 1886, as the date by which the eight-hour work day would become standard, declaring that they resolved that "eight hours shall constitute a legal day's labor, from and after May 1, 1886, and that we recommend to labor organizations that they so direct their laws". As
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#17327802548001224-477: A serious miscarriage of justice . Prominent people including novelist William Dean Howells , celebrated attorney Clarence Darrow , poet and playwright Oscar Wilde , playwright George Bernard Shaw , and poet William Morris strongly condemned it. On June 26, 1893, Illinois governor John Peter Altgeld , the progressive governor of Illinois, himself a German immigrant, signed pardons for Fielden, Neebe, and Schwab, calling them victims of "hysteria, packed juries, and
1326-512: A smuggled blasting cap which he reportedly held in his mouth like a cigar (the blast blew off half his face and he survived in agony for six hours). The next day (November 11, 1887) four defendants—Engel, Fischer, Parsons, and Spies—were taken to the gallows in white robes and hoods. They sang the Marseillaise , then the anthem of the international revolutionary movement. Family members including Lucy Parsons , who attempted to see them for
1428-458: A typesetter. A search of the premises resulted in the discovery of the "Revenge Poster" and other evidence considered incriminating by the prosecution. On May 7, police searched the premises of Louis Lingg where they found a number of bombs and bomb-making materials. Lingg's landlord William Seliger was also arrested, but cooperated with police, identified Lingg as a bomb-maker, and was not charged. An associate of Spies, Balthazar Rau, suspected as
1530-684: A vast wave of strikes occurred in 1919, supported by the National Workers' Union, the biggest labour union organisation at the time. The workers achieved important objectives, including the historic victory of an eight-hour day. In the Soviet Union , the eight-hour day was introduced four days after the October Revolution , by a Decree of the Soviet government in 1917 and later in 1928 and 1940–1957 ( World War II ). In
1632-573: Is also attended to ensure their health and conservation. — Recopilación de leyes de los reinos de las indias. Mandadas a Imprimir y Publicar por la majestad católica del rey Don Carlos II, nuestro señor. Libro Tercero. An exception was applied to mine workers, whose work day was limited to seven hours. These working conditions were also applied to natives in the Spanish America , who also kept their own legislation organized in "Indian republics" where they elected their own mayors. In
1734-518: Is intensifying" and articulated the vision advocated by the Knights of Labor for an industrial system of worker-owned co-operatives , another among the strategies pursued to advance the conditions of laborers. The interview was republished as a pamphlet to include the bill Stanford introduced in the Senate to foster co-operatives. Popular pressure continued for the establishment of the 8-hour day. At
1836-461: Is starting the new 8-hour work schedule immediately. The workers were elated. The union representative Liu Dongjiang (Chinese: 劉東江 ) stated "Under the spirit of cooperation, laborers and factory owners work together to advance the business, and in turn to contribute to our nation's development." A celebration was held on the same day in the courtyard of the factory. The new schedule was called "3–8 schedule". The first shift worked 6 am – 2 pm;
1938-478: The 1835 Philadelphia general strike , the first general strike in North America, led by Irish coal heavers. Their banners read, From 6 to 6, ten hours work and two hours for meals. Labor movement publications called for an eight-hour day as early as 1836. Boston ship carpenters, although not unionized, achieved an eight-hour day in 1842. In 1864, the eight-hour day quickly became a central demand of
2040-528: The 40-hour week movement or the short-time movement ) was a social movement to regulate the length of a working day , preventing excesses and abuses of working time . The modern movement originated in the Industrial Revolution in Britain, where industrial production in large factories transformed working life. At that time, the working day could range from 10 to 16 hours, the work week
2142-475: The Chicago labor movement. The Illinois General Assembly passed a law in early 1867 granting an eight-hour day but it had so many loopholes that it was largely ineffective. A citywide strike that began on 1 May 1867 shut down the city's economy for a week before collapsing. In August 1866, the National Labor Union at Baltimore passed a resolution that said, "The first and great necessity of
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#17327802548002244-611: The Constitution of 1917 , which contained Article 123 that gave workers the right to organise labour unions and to strike. It also provided protection for women and children, the eight-hour day, and a living wage. See Mexican labor law . In the United States, Philadelphia carpenters went on strike in 1791 for the ten-hour day. By the 1830s, this had become a general demand. In 1835, workers in Philadelphia organised
2346-520: The "Factory Law" in 1929 to set legal framework for the eight-hour working day. Yet, no business actually implemented this until 1930 by Baocheng Cotton Mill. The eight-hour work day was introduced in Belgium on 9 September 1924. The eight-hour work day was introduced by law in Denmark on 17 May 1919, after a year-long campaign by workers. As a result of large-scale demonstrations and strikes in
2448-459: The 2nd shift 2 pm – 10 pm; the 3rd shift 10 pm – 6 am. Manager Wu Jingyi reasoned: "All of the factories now have a 12-hour work schedule. Workers are all exhausted and do not have time to take care of their families. In case of workers getting sick, the business also suffers. Therefore we decided to start trying the eight-hour working day". The Beiyang government in Beijing had issued
2550-726: The 48 hour limit. A general 8 hour limit to the working day has never been achieved in the UK. By the end of the 20th century, many people considered themselves to be "money-rich, time-poor". The labour movement in Canada tracked progress in the US and UK. In 1890, the Federation of Labour took up this issue, hoping to organise participation in May Day . In the 1960s, Canada adopted the 40-hour work week. The Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920 produced
2652-527: The Anarchists bore bloody fruit in Chicago tonight and before daylight at least a dozen stalwart men will have laid down their lives as a tribute to the doctrine of Herr Johann Most ." (Most was a German-American anarchy-theorist and leader, who was not in Chicago). The article referred to the strikers as a "mob" and used quotation marks around the term "workingmen". At about 10:30 pm, just as Fielden
2754-539: The Haymarket Affair, were arrested. Ignoring legal requirements such as for search warrants, 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 declared to have been engaged in making bombs on
2856-640: 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
2958-800: The action were felt nationwide and inspired further industrial action at the Kawasaki and Mitsubishi shipyards in 1921. The eight-hour day did not become law in Japan until the passing of the Labor Standards Act in April 1947. Article 32 (1) of the Act specifies a 40-hour week and paragraph (2) specifies an eight-hour day, excluding rest periods. In Indonesia , the first policy regarding working time regulated in Law No. 13 of 2003 about employment. In
3060-508: The advancing police, where it exploded, killing policeman Mathias J. Degan and severely wounding many of the other policemen. Witnesses maintained that immediately after the bomb blast, there was an exchange of gunshots between police and demonstrators. It is unclear who fired first. Historian Paul Avrich maintains that "nearly all sources agree that it was the police who opened fire", reloaded and then fired again, killing at least four and wounding as many as 70 people. In less than five minutes,
3162-526: The agency's tactic of secretly infiltrating labor groups and its sometimes violent methods of strike breaking. 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,
Haymarket affair - Misplaced Pages Continue
3264-551: The anarchist movement of several thousand, mostly immigrant, workers centered on the German-language newspaper Arbeiter-Zeitung ("Workers' Newspaper"), edited by August Spies . Other anarchists operated a militant revolutionary force with an armed section equipped with explosives. Its revolutionary strategy centered around the belief that successful operations against the police and the seizure of major industrial centers would lead to massive public support by workers, start
3366-500: The basis of interviews, that the anarchists had been experimenting for years with dynamite and other explosives, refining the design of their bombs before coming up with the effective one used at the Haymarket. At the last minute, when it was discovered that instructions for manslaughter had not been included in the submitted instructions, the jury was called back, and the instructions were given. The jury returned guilty verdicts for all eight defendants. Before being sentenced, Neebe told
3468-406: The bomb exploded. Spies and Fielden had spoken at the peaceful rally and were stepping down from the speaker's wagon in compliance with police orders to disperse just before the bomb went off. Two others had been present at the beginning of the rally but had left and were at Zepf's Hall, an anarchist rendezvous, at the time of the explosion. They were Arbeiter-Zeitung typesetter Adolph Fischer , and
3570-405: The bomber, was traced to Omaha and brought back to Chicago. After interrogation, Rau offered to cooperate with police. He alleged that the defendants had experimented with dynamite bombs and accused them of having published what he said was a code word, "Ruhe" ("peace"), in the Arbeiter-Zeitung as a call to arms at Haymarket Square. Rudolf Schnaubelt, the police's lead suspect as the bomb thrower,
3672-434: The bombing. The eight were convicted of conspiracy in the internationally publicized legal proceedings. The evidence put forward in the court trial was that one of the defendants may have built the bomb, but none of those on trial had thrown it, and only two of the eight were at the Haymarket at the time. Seven were sentenced to death and one to a term of 15 years in prison. Illinois Governor Richard J. Oglesby commuted two of
3774-602: The case, but was reinstated in 1892. The case was appealed in 1887 to the Supreme Court of Illinois , then to the United States Supreme Court where the defendants were represented by John Randolph Tucker , Roger Atkinson Pryor , General Benjamin F. Butler and William P. Black . The petition for certiorari was denied. After the appeals had been exhausted, it was left to Illinois Governor Richard James Oglesby to decide whether to commute
3876-414: The chosen date approached, U.S. labor unions prepared for a general strike in support of the eight-hour day. On Saturday, May 1, thousands of workers who went on strike and attended rallies held throughout the United States sang the anthem, Eight Hour. The song's chorus reflected the ideology of the Great Upheaval, "Eight Hours for work. Eight hours for rest. Eight hours for what we will." Estimates of
3978-766: The convention of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in 1888, the union decided to campaign for the shorter workday again. May 1, 1890, was agreed upon as the date on which workers would strike for an eight-hour workday. August Spies Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 222665542 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:50:54 GMT Eight-hour day The eight-hour day movement (also known as
4080-600: The court that Schaack's officers were among the city's worst gangs, ransacking houses and stealing money and watches. Schaack laughed and Neebe retorted, "You need not laugh about it, Captain Schaack. You are one of them. You are an anarchist, as you understand it. You are all anarchists, in this sense of the word, I must say." Judge Gary sentenced seven of the defendants to death by hanging and Neebe to 15 years in prison. The sentencing provoked outrage from labor and workers' movements and their supporters, resulting in protests around
4182-524: The day after the events at the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company , during which one person was killed and many workers injured. An unknown person threw a dynamite bomb at the police as they acted to disperse the meeting, and the bomb blast and ensuing retaliatory gunfire by the police caused the deaths of seven police officers and at least four civilians; dozens of others were wounded. Eight anarchists were charged with
Haymarket affair - Misplaced Pages Continue
4284-483: The defendants. The prosecution, led by Julius Grinnell, argued that, since the defendants had not actively discouraged the person who had thrown the bomb, they were therefore equally responsible as conspirators. The jury heard the testimony of 118 people, including 54 members of the Chicago Police Department and the defendants Fielden, Schwab, Spies and Parsons. Albert Parsons's brother claimed there
4386-438: The defendants." He further notes that the conspiracy charge was legally unprecedented, the judge was "partisan," and all the jurors admitted prejudice against the defendants. Historian Carl Smith writes, "The visceral feelings of fear and anger surrounding the trial ruled out anything but the pretense of justice right from the outset." Smith notes that scholars have long considered the trial a "notorious" "miscarriage of justice". In
4488-522: The early 19th century, Robert Owen raised the demand for a ten-hour day in 1810, and instituted it in his "socialist" enterprise at New Lanark . By 1817, he had formulated the goal of the eight-hour day and coined the slogan: "Eight hours' labour, Eight hours' recreation, Eight hours' rest". Women and children in England were granted the ten-hour day via the Factories Act 1847 . French workers won
4590-464: The early and mid twentieth century for the condition to be widely achieved through the industrialised world through legislative action. The International Workingmen's Association took up the demand for an eight-hour day at its Congress in Geneva in 1866, declaring "The legal limitation of the working day is a preliminary condition without which all further attempts at improvements and emancipation of
4692-553: The early history for the celebration of May Day , and Labour Day in some countries. Tata Steel was among the first Indian companies to provide various labour welfare benefits, such as eight-hour workdays since 1912, free medical care since 1915, school facilities for the children of employees since 1917, paid time off since 1920, formation of a provident fund and accident compensation in 1920, vocational training since 1921, maternity benefits since 1928, profit sharing bonuses since 1934, and retiring gratuity since 1937 In Iran in 1918,
4794-543: The eight-hour day as a key goal. The British Fabian socialist economist Sidney Webb and the scholar Harold Cox co-wrote a book supporting the "Eight Hours Movement" in Britain. The first group of Workers to achieve the 8-hour day were the Beckton [ East London ] Gas workers after the strike under the leadership of Will Thorne , a member of the Social Democratic Federation. The strike action
4896-469: The event, Henry David wrote a history, which preceded another scholarly treatment by Paul Avrich in 1984, and a "social history" of the era by Bruce C. Nelson in 1988. In 2006, labor historian James Green wrote a popular history. Christopher Thale writes in the Encyclopedia of Chicago that lacking credible evidence regarding the bombing, "...the prosecution focused on the writings and speeches of
4998-527: The evidence points to Rudolph Schnaubelt, brother-in-law of Schwab, as the likely perpetrator. An extensive collection of documents relating to the Haymarket Affair and the legal proceedings related to it, The Haymarket Affair Digital Collection, has been created by the Chicago Historical Society . 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
5100-411: The evidence supported it, refusing to dismiss for prejudice. Eventually the peremptory challenges of the defense were exhausted. Frustrated by the hundreds of jurors who were being dismissed, a bailiff was appointed who selected jurors rather than calling them at random. The bailiff proved prejudiced himself and selected jurors who seemed likely to convict based on their social position and attitudes toward
5202-468: The first country in the world to introduce a universal law effective on all type of works, restricting the workday to a maximum of eight hours: "Real decreto de 3 de abril de 1919", signed by the prime minister, Álvaro de Figueroa, 1st Count of Romanones . Average work hours per week for manufacturing employees in Sweden was 64 hours in 1885, 60 hours in 1905, and 55 hours in 1919. The eight-hour work day
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#17327802548005304-519: The first time on the political field in the summer following the Haymarket Affair.... [T]he Knights of Labor doubled its membership, reaching 40,000 in the fall of 1886. On Labor Day the number of Chicago workers in parade led the country. On the first anniversary of the event, May 4, 1887, the New-York Tribune published an interview with Senator Leland Stanford , in which he addressed the consensus that "the conflict between capital and labor
5406-555: The first two extra hours, and 200% salary if the work day exceeds 10 hours. The eight-hour day was enacted in France by Georges Clemenceau , as a way to avoid unemployment and diminish communist support. It was succeeded by a strong French support of it during the writing of the International Labour Organization Convention of 1919. The first German company to introduce the eight-hour day
5508-466: The fliers stated that the police had murdered the strikers on behalf of business interests and urged workers to seek justice. The first fliers contain the words Workingmen Arm Yourselves and Appear in Full Force! When Spies saw the line, he said he would not speak at the rally unless the words were removed from the flier. All but a few hundred fliers were destroyed, and new fliers were printed without
5610-484: The general situation of the eight-hour movement and to throw light upon various incidents in connection with it. Following Spies' speech, the crowd was addressed by Parsons, the Alabama-born editor of the radical English-language weekly The Alarm . The crowd was so calm that Mayor Carter Harrison Sr. , who had stopped by to watch, walked home early. Parsons spoke for almost an hour before standing down in favor of
5712-657: The governor of Kerman , Sistan and Balochistan , which controlled the working conditions and working hours for workers of carpet workshops in the province. In 1946, the council of ministers issued the first labor law for Iran, which recognized the eight-hour day. Theodor Herzl 's The Jewish State proposed a 7-hour day for the Jewish Company that would implement the initial stages of the Jewish homeland . The first company to introduce an eight-hour working day in Japan
5814-564: The incident as the "bloody fruit" of "the villainous teachings of the Anarchists".ref> The New York Times , May [4] 6, 1886, quoted in Avrich, The Haymarket Tragedy , p. 217.</ref> The Chicago Times described the defendants as "arch counselors of riot, pillage, incendiarism and murder"; other reporters described them as "bloody brutes", "red ruffians", "dynamarchists", "bloody monsters", "cowards", "cutthroats", "thieves", "assassins", and "fiends". The journalist George Frederic Parsons wrote
5916-590: The incident from complications related to injuries received that day. Police captain Michael Schaack later wrote that the number of wounded workers was "largely in excess of that on the side of the police". The Chicago Herald described a scene of "wild carnage" and estimated at least fifty dead or wounded civilians lay in the streets. It is unclear how many civilians were wounded since many were afraid to seek medical attention, fearing arrest. They found aid where they could. A harsh anti-union clampdown followed
6018-750: The last speaker of the evening, the English-born socialist, anarchist, and labor activist Methodist pastor, Rev. Samuel Fielden, who delivered a brief ten-minute address. Many of the crowd had already left as the weather was deteriorating. A New York Times article, with the dateline May 4, and headlined "Rioting and Bloodshed in the Streets of Chicago ... Twelve Policemen Dead or Dying", reported that Fielden spoke for 20 minutes, alleging that his words grew "wilder and more violent as he proceeded". Another New York Times article, headlined "Anarchy's Red Hand" and dated May 6, opens with: "The villainous teachings of
6120-412: The last time, were arrested and searched for bombs (none was found). According to witnesses, in the moments before the men were hanged , Spies shouted, "The time will come when our silence will be more powerful than the voices you strangle today." In their last words, Engel and Fischer called out, "Hurrah for anarchism!" Parsons then requested to speak, but he was cut off when the signal was given to spring
6222-641: The late 1920s. In Hungary , the eight-hour work day was introduced on 14 April 1919 by decree of the Revolutionary Governing Council . The eight-hour work day was introduced by law in Italy on 17 April 1925. The Factory Act of 1915 introduced a 10-hour workday. In Poland , the eight-hour day was introduced 23 November 1918 by decree of the cabinet of the Prime Minister Jędrzej Moraczewski . In Portugal
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#17327802548006324-579: The late 19th and early 20th century, the former Czechoslovakia , now Czechia and Slovakia , introduced the eight-hour workday on 19 December 1918. The eight-hour work day was established in Finland in 1917 as a result of the November general strike. According to the law accepted in late 1917, maximum work day was 8 hours and maximum work week 47 hours. Five-day work week was established gradually between 1966 and 1970. A worker receives 150% payment from
6426-484: The law, it stated that a worker should work for 7 hours a day for 6 days a week or 8 hours a day for 5 days a week, excluding rest periods. In China , the first company to introduce the eight-hour working day was the Baocheng Cotton Mill in the port city of Tianjin (Chinese: 天津市寶成紗廠 ). Its manager Wu Jingyi (Chinese: 吳鏡儀 ) announced on 16 February 1930 through Ta Kung Pao that his factory
6528-694: The modern GMB union. Working hours in the UK are currently not limited by day, but by week, as first set by the Working Time Regulations 1998 , which introduced a limit of 40 hours per week for workers under 18, and 48 hours per week for over 18s. This was in line with the European Commission Working Time Directive of 1993. UK regulations now follow the EC Working Time Directive of 2003 , but workers can voluntarily opt out of
6630-412: The newly organised union staged a 14-day strike and succeeded in reaching a collective agreement with employers to institute the eight-hours day, overtime pay, and medical care. The success of the printers' union encouraged other trades to organize. In 1919 the bakers and textile-shop clerks formed their own trade unions. However the eight-hour day only became code by a limited governor's decree on 1923 by
6732-509: The number of striking workers across the U.S. range from 300,000 to half a million. In New York City, the number of demonstrators was estimated at 10,000. and in Detroit at 11,000. In Milwaukee , some 10,000 workers turned out. In Chicago, the movement's center, an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 workers had gone on strike and there were perhaps twice as many people out on the streets participating in various demonstrations and marches, as, for example,
6834-468: The offending words; More than 20,000 copies were distributed. The rally began peacefully under a light rain on the evening of May 4. August Spies , Albert Parsons , and the Rev. Samuel Fielden spoke to a crowd estimated variously at between 600 and 3,000 while standing in an open wagon adjacent to the square on Des Plaines Street. A large number of on-duty police officers watched from nearby. Paul Avrich ,
6936-526: The police were wounded by each other's revolvers. ... It was every man for himself, and while some got two or three squares away, the rest emptied their revolvers, mainly into each other." In all, seven policemen and at least four workers were killed. Avrich said that most of the police deaths were from police gunfire. Historian Timothy Messer-Kruse argues that, although it is impossible to rule out lethal friendly fire, several policemen were probably shot by armed protesters. Another policeman died two years after
7038-508: The possessing classes, which followed the throwing of the bomb on May 4, the Chicago wage earners only united their forces and stiffened their resistance. The conservative and radical central bodies – there were two each of the trade unions and two also of the Knights of Labor – the socialists and the anarchists, the single taxers and the reformers, the native born...and the foreign born Germans, Bohemians, and Scandinavians, all got together for
7140-424: The premature exhaustion and death of this labour power itself." On 17 November 1915, Uruguay adopted an eight-hour working day, under the government of José Batlle y Ordóñez . Nevertheless, the law was not effective on all type of works. On 3 April 1919, Spain introduced a universal law effective on all type of works, restricting the workday to a maximum of eight hours. The "Real decreto de 3 de abril de 1919"
7242-483: The proceedings were fair for their time, a challenge to the historical consensus that the trial was a travesty. 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, and organization of
7344-627: The region of Alcoy , a workers strike in 1873 for the eight-hour day followed much agitation from the anarchists . In 1919 in Barcelona , after a 44-day general strike with over 100,000 participants had effectively crippled the Catalan economy, the Government settled the strike by granting all the striking workers demands that included an eight-hour day, union recognition, and the rehiring of fired workers. Therefore, Spain became on 3 April 1919
7446-472: The same day as the incident, including round ones like the one used in Haymarket Square. Newspaper reports declared that anarchist agitators were to blame for the "riot", a view adopted by an alarmed public. As time passed, press reports and illustrations of the incident became more elaborate. Coverage was national, then international. Among property owners, the press, and other elements of society,
7548-488: The sentences of the convicted. Hundreds of thousands of people across the country petitioned him to do so, though the press at the time largely called for executions. Oglesby was troubled by the case. Parson's attorney had noted in the trial that hanging these men would be the equivalent of hanging abolitionists who had sympathized with John Brown . Oglesby, a former Radical Republican himself, acknowledged that under these laws "all of us abolitionists would have been hanged
7650-490: The sentences to terms of life in prison; another died by suicide in jail before his scheduled execution. The other four were hanged on November 11, 1887. In 1893, Illinois Governor John Peter Altgeld pardoned the remaining defendant and criticized the trial. The site of the incident was designated a Chicago landmark in 1992, and a sculpture was dedicated there in 2004. In addition, the Haymarket Martyrs' Monument
7752-522: The square was empty except for the casualties. According to the May 4 New York Times , demonstrators began firing at the police, who then returned fire. In his report on the incident, Inspector Bonfield wrote that he "gave the order to cease firing, fearing that some of our men, in the darkness, might fire into each other". An anonymous police official told the Chicago Tribune , "A very large number of
7854-472: The striking workers to "hold together, to stand by their union, or they would not succeed". Well-planned and coordinated, the general strike to this point had mainly remained non-violent. However, workers surged to the gates to confront strikebreakers when the end-of-the-workday bell sounded. Spies called for calm, but the police fired on the crowd. Two McCormick workers were killed; some newspaper accounts said there were six fatalities. Spies later testified, "I
7956-406: The time of the bombing; he was also later pardoned. Not directly tied to the Haymarket rally, but arrested for their militant radicalism were George Engel , who had been at home playing cards on that day, and Louis Lingg , the hot-headed bomb-maker denounced by his associate, Seliger. Another defendant who had not been present that day was Oscar Neebe , an American-born citizen of German descent who
8058-459: The trap door. Witnesses reported that the condemned men did not die immediately when they dropped, but strangled to death slowly, a sight which left the spectators visibly shaken. Notwithstanding the convictions for conspiracy, no actual bomber was ever brought to trial, "and no lawyerly explanation could ever make a conspiracy trial without the main perpetrator seem completely legitimate." Historians such as James Joll and Timothy Messer-Kruse say
8160-510: The trial, anarchist Dyer Lum wrote a history of the trial critical of the prosecution. In 1888, George McLean, and in 1889, police captain Michael Schack, wrote accounts from the opposite perspective. Awaiting sentencing, each of the defendants wrote their own autobiographies (edited and published by Philip Foner in 1969), and later activist Lucy Parsons published a biography of her condemned husband Albert Parsons . Fifty years after
8262-622: The twelve-hour day after the February Revolution of 1848 . A shorter working day and improved working conditions were part of the general protests and agitation for Chartist reforms and the early organisation of trade unions. There were initial successes in achieving an eight-hour day in New Zealand and by the Australian labour movement for skilled workers in the 1840s and 1850s, though most employed people had to wait to
8364-414: The well-known activist Albert Parsons , who had spoken for an hour at the Haymarket rally before going to Zepf's. Parsons, who believed that the evidence against them all was weak, subsequently voluntarily turned himself in, in solidarity with the accused. A third man, Spies's assistant editor Michael Schwab (who was the brother-in-law of Schnaubelt) was arrested, as he had been speaking at another rally at
8466-646: The work day for children in factories. Those aged 9–13 could work only eight hours, 14–18 twelve hours. Children under 9 were required to attend school. In 1884, Tom Mann joined the Social Democratic Federation (SDF) and published a pamphlet calling for the working day to be limited to eight hours. Mann formed an organisation, the Eight Hour League, which successfully pressured the Trades Union Congress to adopt
8568-588: The work of reorganizing the trade unions began in earnest in Tehran during the closure of the Iranian constitutional parliament Majles . The printers' union, established in 1906 by Mohammad Parvaneh as the first trade union, in the Koucheki print shop on Nasserieh Avenue in Tehran , reorganized their union under leadership of Russian-educated Seyed Mohammad Dehgan, a newspaper editor and an avowed Communist. In 1918,
8670-417: The workers work eight hours a day distributed as appropriate. All the workers will work eight hours a day, four in the morning, and four in the afternoon in fortifications and factories, which [The hours] are to be made, distributed at the most convenient times to get rid of the rigor of the sun, [and] more or less what seems to [be right to] the engineers, so that not missing a point of the possible [work], it
8772-407: The workers. Business interests were supported by mainstream newspapers, and were opposed by the labor and immigrant press. During the economic slowdown between 1882 and 1886, socialist and anarchist organizations were active. Membership of the Knights of Labor , which rejected socialism and radicalism but supported the eight-hour work day, grew from 70,000 in 1884 to over 700,000 by 1886. In Chicago,
8874-504: The working class must prove abortive", and "The Congress proposes eight hours as the legal limit of the working day." Karl Marx saw it as of vital importance to the workers' health, writing in Das Kapital (1867): "By extending the working day, therefore, capitalist production...not only produces a deterioration of human labour power by robbing it of its normal moral and physical conditions of development and activity, but also produces
8976-508: The world, and elevating the defendants to the status of martyrs, especially abroad. Portrayals of the anarchists as bloodthirsty foreign fanatics in the press along with the 1889 publication of Captain Schaack's sensational account, Anarchy and Anarchism, on the other hand, inspired widespread public fear and revulsion against the strikers and general anti-immigrant feeling, polarizing public opinion. In an article datelined May 4, entitled "Anarchy's Red Hand", The New York Times had described
9078-596: Was Degussa in 1884. The eight-hour day for industrial workers was signed into law during the German Revolution of 1918 by the new Social Democratic government. The eight-hour day was a concession to the workers' and soldiers' soviets , and was unpopular among industrialists. A 12-hour day was reintroduced by a right-wing government during the occupation of the Ruhr and subsequent hyperinflation crisis in 1923. The Labour Ministry eventually shortened wages in
9180-430: Was arrested twice early on and released. By May 14, when it became apparent he had played a significant role in the event, he had fled the country. William Seliger, who had turned state's evidence and testified for the prosecution, was freed by the state. On June 4, 1886, eight other suspects were indicted by the grand jury, and stood trial for being accessories to the murder of Degan. Of these, only two had been present when
9282-558: Was associated with the Arbeiter-Zeitung and had attempted to revive it in the aftermath of the Haymarket riot. Of the eight defendants, five – Spies, Fischer, Engel, Lingg and Schwab – were immigrants born in Germany; a sixth, Neebe, was a U.S.-born citizen of German descent. The remaining two, Parsons and Fielden, born in the U.S. and England, respectively, were of British heritage. The trial, Illinois vs. August Spies et al. , began on June 21, 1886, and went on until August 11. The trial
9384-407: Was conducted in an atmosphere of extreme prejudice by both public and media toward the defendants. It was presided over by Judge Joseph Gary , who displayed open hostility to the defendants, consistently ruled for the prosecution, and failed to maintain decorum. A motion to try the defendants separately was denied. The defense counsel included Sigmund Zeisler and William Perkins Black . Selection of
9486-657: Was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1997 at the defendants' burial site in Forest Park . The Haymarket affair is generally considered significant as the origin of International Workers' Day held on May 1. It was also the climax of the social unrest among the working class in America, known as the Great Upheaval. Following the Civil War, particularly following the Long Depression , industrial production
9588-569: Was evidence linking the Pinkertons to the bomb. This reflected a widespread belief among the strikers. Police investigators under Captain Michael Schaack had a lead fragment removed from a policeman's wounds chemically analyzed. They reported that the lead used in the casing matched the casings of bombs found in Lingg's home. A metal nut and fragments of the casing taken from the wound also roughly matched bombs made by Lingg. Schaack concluded, on
9690-407: Was finishing his speech, police arrived en masse, marching in formation towards the speakers' wagon, and ordered the rally to disperse. Fielden insisted that the meeting was peaceful. Police Inspector John Bonfield proclaimed: I command you [addressing the speaker] in the name of the law to desist and you [addressing the crowd] to disperse. A home-made fragmentation bomb was thrown into the path of
9792-501: Was initiated on 31 March 1889 after the introduction of compulsory 18-hour shifts, up from the previous 12 hours. Under the slogan of "shorten our hours to prolong our lives" the strike spread to other gas works. He petitioned the bosses and after a strike of some weeks, the bosses capitulated and three shifts of 8 hours replaced two shifts of 12 hours. Will Thorne founded the Gas Workers and General Labourers Union , which evolved into
9894-536: Was introduced into law in Sweden on 4 August 1919, going into effect on 1 January 1920. At the time, the work week was 48-hour since Saturday was a workday. The year before, 1918, the builders’ union had pushed through a 51-hour work week. The Social Democratic Party was the main driver behind the eight-hour workday. Once full male suffrage was implemented in Sweden, the parliament passed legislation to introduce an eight-hour workday. The Factory Act of 1833 limited
9996-612: Was rapidly expanded 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
10098-794: Was signed by the prime minister, Álvaro de Figueroa, 1st Count of Romanones . The first international treaty to mention it was the Treaty of Versailles in the annex of its thirteenth part establishing the International Labour Office, now the International Labour Organization . The eight-hour day was the first topic discussed by the International Labour Organization which resulted in the Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919 ratified by 52 countries as of 2016. The eight-hour day movement forms part of
10200-755: Was the Kawasaki Dockyards in Kobe (now the Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation ). An eight-hour day was one of the demands presented by the workers during pay negotiations in September 1919. After the company resisted the demands, a slowdown campaign was commenced by the workers on 18 September. After ten days of industrial action, company president Kōjirō Matsukata agreed to the eight-hour day and wage increases on 27 September, which became effective from October. The effects of
10302-1012: Was typically six days, and child labour was common. In 1919, Spain became the first country to introduce the eight-hour work day by law for factory and fortification workers. It was first established for non-agricultural workers by Uruguay in 1915. In 1594, Philip II of Spain established an eight-hour work day for the construction workers in the American Viceroyalties by a royal edict known as Ordenanzas de Felipe II , or Ordinances of Philip II. This established: Ley VI Que los obreros trabajen 8 horas al día repartidas como convenga. Todos los obreros trabajaran ocho horas al día, cuatro á la mañana, y cuatro á la tarde en fortificaciones y fábricas, que se hicieren, repartidas á los tiempos más convenientes para librarse del rigor del sol, más o menos lo que á los ingenieros pareciere, de forma que no faltando un punto de lo posible, también se atienda à procurar su salud y conservación. Law VI That
10404-588: Was very indignant. I knew from experience of the past that this butchering of people was done for the express purpose of defeating the eight-hour movement." Outraged by this act of police violence , local anarchists quickly printed and distributed fliers calling for a rally the following day at Haymarket Square (also called the Haymarket), which was then a bustling commercial center near the corner of Randolph Street and Desplaines Street. Printed in German and English,
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