The Haymarket Affair took place in Chicago, Illinois in 1886. After a peaceful protest for eight hour working days, hundreds of policemen came to the location and asked them to disperse. A bomb was thrown killing seven and injuring nearly seventy other policemen.
Cause of the Haymarket Affair
The main cause of the Haymarket Affair was the riot at the McCormick Works Factory. The men and boys at McCormick Works stormed the streets in protest over the long working hours. Six men were killed while the police were only slightly injured. August Spies, angered over the incident published what is known as the Revenge Circular. He called his fellow workers to join him in Haymarket to protest the Police brutality and to ask for shorter working hours.
The Revenge Circular
The McCormick Works, Chicago
Events that Took Place
A bomb exploded in the ranks of policemen guarding an anarchist street meeting This bomb killed and injured innocent men and policemen. This sparked shootings between the strikers and the policemen.[1] Eight of the leading anarchists were arrested. Five of them were sentenced to death, where one of them committed suicide beforehand. The other three got a life of prison. But the other three were pardoned by John Peter Altgeld who was the Governor of Illinois. He thought that they had not gotten a fair trial.[2]
The Haymarket Affair
John Peter Altgeld
Immediate Effects of the Affair
The immediate effects of the Haymarket affair were that it got the attention to the anarchists and the point they were trying to make. They were trying to get shorter working hours, and their businesses wanted to avoid it and crush them. Later on however, people realized that as radical they were, they were peaceful and those that recieved jail time were pardoned.[3]
The Great Trial
Long Term Effects
The Haymarket Affair had long term effects as well. The affair ended up killing 7 policemen and 70 men.[4] It damaged the image of the growing labor movement.[5]
7 Policemen were Killed
^ Werstein, Irving. "Pie in the Sky: An American Struggle." New York, Ne York: Dell Publishing Co., Inc., 1969.
Table of Contents
The Haymarket Affair took place in Chicago, Illinois in 1886. After a peaceful protest for eight hour working days, hundreds of policemen came to the location and asked them to disperse. A bomb was thrown killing seven and injuring nearly seventy other policemen.
Cause of the Haymarket Affair
The main cause of the Haymarket Affair was the riot at the McCormick Works Factory. The men and boys at McCormick Works stormed the streets in protest over the long working hours. Six men were killed while the police were only slightly injured. August Spies, angered over the incident published what is known as the Revenge Circular. He called his fellow workers to join him in Haymarket to protest the Police brutality and to ask for shorter working hours.Events that Took Place
A bomb exploded in the ranks of policemen guarding an anarchist street meeting This bomb killed and injured innocent men and policemen. This sparked shootings between the strikers and the policemen.[1] Eight of the leading anarchists were arrested. Five of them were sentenced to death, where one of them committed suicide beforehand. The other three got a life of prison. But the other three were pardoned by John Peter Altgeld who was the Governor of Illinois. He thought that they had not gotten a fair trial.[2]Immediate Effects of the Affair
The immediate effects of the Haymarket affair were that it got the attention to the anarchists and the point they were trying to make. They were trying to get shorter working hours, and their businesses wanted to avoid it and crush them. Later on however, people realized that as radical they were, they were peaceful and those that recieved jail time were pardoned.[3]Long Term Effects
The Haymarket Affair had long term effects as well. The affair ended up killing 7 policemen and 70 men.[4] It damaged the image of the growing labor movement.[5]