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Molly Kuznicki
Mrs. Davidson
U.S. Humanities
9 February 2015
Labor Unions: the Haymarket Affair
On May 4, 1886, Chicago workmen gathered to protest an eight hour work day, but it
turned into a riot after someone threw a stick of dynamite at the police officers there. People
were killed and the country was scared. Labor activists were doing whatever they could to get
what they believed they deserved. Sometimes the risks they took went too far, but in the end
they were able to achieve their goals.
Around the 1880s, labor union strikes were becoming more common in the United States.
Working conditions were terrible and dangerous, work hours were up to twelve hours long, and
the wages were extremely low. Workmen of Chicago were determined to get an eight hour work
day. They hung up posters all over the town to get people to come. They even wrote some in
different languages to get more people to come.
The Chicago policemen arrived at the scene of the rally to put an end to it. Shortly after
the police arrived, an unknown striker threw a bomb in the direction of the police. The police,
and some of the rioters, started shooting at the protesters after the bomb was thrown. Numerous
people were injured that day, seven police officers were killed, and at least one civilian was
killed as well.

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This sudden out-break of violence sent the nation into a state of fear. In August 1886,
eight of the protester were arrested and labeled as anarchists. Their trial was controversial and
the jury was said to be biased. There was not enough evidence to link any of the accused to the
bombing. The judge for the trial, Joseph E. Gary, sentenced seven of the men to the death penalty
and the last one to fifteen years in prison. Four of the men were hanged on November 11, 1887.
One of the remaining men committed suicide the night before he was supposed to be hanged.
The remaining twos sentences were changed to life in prison.
The incidence at Haymarket Square was tragic, but it was important. This event helped
to get better working conditions and a shorter work day. It may not have happened immediately,
but it helped in the long run. Benjamin Harrison once said, I pity the man who wants a coat so
cheap that the man or woman who produces the cloth will starve in the process. Men and
women came together to fight for a common cause and to better their lives. The fight was hard,
but the end results were worth it.

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"Haymarket Square Riot." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2015