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"There seems to prevail the opinion in some quarters that this meeting has been called for the purpose of inaugurating 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 the general situation of the eight-hour movement and to throw light upon various incidents in connection with it."<ref>{{cite book |title=In the Supreme Court of Illinois, Northern Grand Division. March Term, 1887. August Spies, et al. v. The People of the State of Illinois. Abstract of Record |publisher=Barnard & Gunthorpe |location=Chicago |oclc=36384114 |nopp=true |page=vol. II, p. 129 }}, quoted in Avrich, ''The Haymarket Tragedy'', pp. 199–200.</ref></blockquote> |
"There seems to prevail the opinion in some quarters that this meeting has been called for the purpose of inaugurating 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 the general situation of the eight-hour movement and to throw light upon various incidents in connection with it."<ref>{{cite book |title=In the Supreme Court of Illinois, Northern Grand Division. March Term, 1887. August Spies, et al. v. The People of the State of Illinois. Abstract of Record |publisher=Barnard & Gunthorpe |location=Chicago |oclc=36384114 |nopp=true |page=vol. II, p. 129 }}, quoted in Avrich, ''The Haymarket Tragedy'', pp. 199–200.</ref></blockquote> |
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Following Spies' speech, the crowd was addressed by [[Albert R. Parsons]], the Alabama-born editor of the radical English-language weekly ''[[The Alarm (newspaper)|The Alarm]].''<ref name=Nelson188>Nelson, ''Beyond the Martyrs'', p. 188.</ref> 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 the last speaker of the evening, [[Samuel Fielden]], who delivered a brief 10 minute address.<ref name=Nelson188 /> A ''New York Times'' article, with the dateline May 4th 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.".<ref name=NYTMay5 />The same ''New York Times article'' (also datelined May 4), headlined "Anarchy’s Red Hand" and dated May 6, is reproduced on the [http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/haymarket/newsnyt5-6.html University of Missouri at Kansas City Law School website]. The article opens: "The villainous teachings of 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[[ |
Following Spies' speech, the crowd was addressed by [[Albert R. Parsons]], the Alabama-born editor of the radical English-language weekly ''[[The Alarm (newspaper)|The Alarm]].''<ref name=Nelson188>Nelson, ''Beyond the Martyrs'', p. 188.</ref> 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 the last speaker of the evening, [[Samuel Fielden]], who delivered a brief 10 minute address.<ref name=Nelson188 /> A ''New York Times'' article, with the dateline May 4th 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.".<ref name=NYTMay5 />The same ''New York Times article'' (also datelined May 4), headlined "Anarchy’s Red Hand" and dated May 6, is reproduced on the [http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/haymarket/newsnyt5-6.html University of Missouri at Kansas City Law School website]. The article opens: "The villainous teachings of 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]]." It refers to the strikers as "a mob" and uses quotation marks around the term "workingmen". |
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====The bombing and gunfire==== |
====The bombing and gunfire==== |
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===Aftermath and red scare=== |
===Aftermath and red scare=== |
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Hounded by the police who accosted them on sight, arresting them, entering their homes, and ransacking them in their search for weapons, explosives, socialistic literature, and bomb making instructions, the anarchists, who had previously been quite bold, were soon nowhere to be found in public spaces.<ref name=NYTMay8>{{cite news|title=The Anarchists Cowed|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B02E4D71638E533A2575BC0A9639C94679FD7CF|accessdate=February 29, 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 8, 1886}}</ref> An atmosphere of hysteria prevailed. 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. Casting legal niceties such as search warrants aside, Chicago police squads subjected the labor activists of Chicago to an eight-week shakedown, ransacking their meeting halls and places of business, arresting scores of suspects, many only remotely related to the Haymarket agitation or violence. The emphasis was on the speakers at the Haymarket rally and the newspaper, ''Arbeiter-Zeitung''. A small group of self-identified Anarchists, twenty-two year-old Louis Lingg, William Seliger, owner of the home where Lingg was a |
Hounded by the police who accosted them on sight, arresting them, entering their homes, and ransacking them in their search for weapons, explosives, socialistic literature, and bomb making instructions, the anarchists, who had previously been quite bold, were soon nowhere to be found in public spaces.<ref name=NYTMay8>{{cite news|title=The Anarchists Cowed|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B02E4D71638E533A2575BC0A9639C94679FD7CF|accessdate=February 29, 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 8, 1886}}</ref> An atmosphere of hysteria prevailed. 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. Casting legal niceties such as search warrants aside, Chicago police squads subjected the labor activists of Chicago to an eight-week shakedown, ransacking their meeting halls and places of business, arresting scores of suspects, many only remotely related to the Haymarket agitation or violence. The emphasis was on the speakers at the Haymarket rally and the newspaper, ''Arbeiter-Zeitung''. A small group of self-identified Anarchists, twenty-two year-old Louis Lingg, William Seliger, owner of the home where Lingg was a boarder, and few helpers were discovered to have been engaged in making bombs on the same day as the incident, including round ones like the one used in the bombing.<ref name=Manhunt>Avrich (1984), pp. 221–32.</ref> |
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The earliest press reports assumed that the anarchist agitators were to blame for the riot, a theory adopted by the public, then amplified by the press. As |
The earliest press reports assumed that the anarchist agitators were to blame for the riot, a theory adopted by the public, then amplified by the press. As |
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===Trial=== |
===Trial=== |
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The trial, which began on June 21, 1886, and went on until August 11, was presided over by Judge [[Joseph Gary]]. The defense counsel included [[Sigmund Zeisler]], [[William P. Black|William Perkins Black]], William Foster, and Moses Salomon. 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.<ref>Avrich, ''The Haymarket Tragedy'', pp. 271–272.</ref> The jury heard the testimony of |
The trial, which began on June 21, 1886, and went on until August 11, was presided over by Judge [[Joseph Gary]]. The defense counsel included [[Sigmund Zeisler]], [[William P. Black|William Perkins Black]], William Foster, and Moses Salomon. 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.<ref>Avrich, ''The Haymarket Tragedy'', pp. 271–272.</ref> 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' brother claimed there was evidence linking the [[Pinkerton National Detective Agency|Pinkertons]] to the bomb. This reflected a widespread belief among the strikers.<ref name=Pinkerton/> |
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====Evidence==== |
====Evidence==== |
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[[File:Lingg bomb.jpg|thumb|right|alt=A unexploded dynamite bomb with fuse.|Exhibit 129a from the Haymarket trial: Chemists testified that the bombs found in Lingg's apartment, including this one, resembled the chemical signature of shrapnel from the Haymarket bomb.]] |
[[File:Lingg bomb.jpg|thumb|right|alt=A unexploded dynamite bomb with fuse.|Exhibit 129a from the Haymarket trial: Chemists testified that the bombs found in Lingg's apartment, including this one, resembled the chemical signature of shrapnel from the Haymarket bomb.]] |
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=====Prosecution testimony===== |
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======July 16====== |
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#At 11 AM, Friday, July 16, the prosecution led off with the testimony of an architectural draftsman who had prepared a map of Haymarket Square and floor plans of three meeting halls. They were admitted as [http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/transcript/trialtoc.htm#PEOPLE People's exhibits 1-4].<ref name = "ArchDraft" >[http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/transcript/volumei/000-050/I002-018.htm Testimony of Felix V. Bushick (first appearance), 1886 July 16.] Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection</ref> |
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#Police Inspector John Bonfield testified that, following orders, between 10:00 and 10:30 PM he led a force of about 180 Chicago police who had been assembled at the Desplaines Street Station adjacent to Haymarket Square to the Square where the Haymarket rally was underway. He testified that when the force was near the speaker's wagon the "statutory order to disperse" was given by Captain Ward. The speaker complied, descending from the wagon. Bonfield testified that he heard a hissing sound behind him followed by an explosion which wounded and killed a number of policemen. He testified that immediately after the explosion that gunfire was directed at the policemen, then returned by them. He testified that in a short time the crowd had fled from the square. He also testified that he had seen two posters, one a call for a mass meeting at Haymarket Square at 7:30 PM the evening of May 4 containing the language "Workingmen Arm Yourselves and Appear in Full Force" signed "The Executive Committee," admitted as [http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/transcript/exhibits/X000-050/X005000.htm Peoples' Exhibit 5] and the other entitled "Revenge! Workingmen to Arms!!!" admitted as [http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/transcript/exhibits/X000-050/X006000v.jpg People's Exhibit 6]<ref name = "Bonfield1" >[http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/transcript/volumei/000-050/I019-052.htm Testimony of John Bonfield (first appearance), 1886 July 16.] Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection</ref> |
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#Godfried Waller testified, in German through an interpreter, that he was a cabinet maker from Switzerland who had lived in the United States for 3 years. When asked if he was or had been a member of any "socialistic organizations", he testified, "A society called the "Lehr and Wehr Verein", a society for exercise in arms and instruction..." He testified that alerted by publication of the code letter "Y"-- "Come Monday night." in the ''Arbeiter Zeitung'' he attended a meeting of the "armed section" at Grief's Hall on May 3. He testified that 70 or 80 men attended and that he chaired the meeting. He testified regarding the content of the meeting and the decisions made. He testified as to what he was doing during the evening of May 4 during the Haymarket rally, the bombing, and thereafter.<ref name = "Waller1" >[http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/transcript/volumei/051-100/I053-075.htm Testimony of Godfried Waller (first appearance), 1886 July 16.] Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection</ref> |
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#When Waller was asked, "Mr. Waller, did you ever have any bombs?" the defense counsel, Mr. Foster, objected, but, after an extended discussion, the question was permitted.<ref name = "FosterWaller" >[http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/transcript/volumei/051-100/I075-095.htm Court discussion regarding the defense's objection to the admission of certain pieces of evidence, 1886 July 16.] Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection</ref> |
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#Waller resumed his testimony, testifying that he had received a pipe bomb from Fischer and that bombs had been distributed to others in the fall of 1883 prior to a mass meeting at Market Square on Thanksgiving Day. He testified that they were to be used if the police should attack the workingmen. He testified regarding the names of those who attended the meeting he chaired, but could remember only a few names.<ref name = "Waller2" >[http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/transcript/volumei/051-100/I096-100.htm Testimony of Godfried Waller (first appearance resumed), 1886 July 16.] Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection</ref> |
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======July 17====== |
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Saturday 10 A.M., July 17, A. D. 1886: |
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#Godfried Waller resumed his testimony testifying that had attended a meeting on May 2 at which a plan proposed by the defendant Engel was adopted. He testified that the plan was that if there was a conflict with the police that the police stations were to be bombed with dynamite bombs and that survivors were to be shot when they emerged from the stations. He testified, "...bombs should be thrown into the Police stations and the rifle men of the Lehr and Wehr Verein should post themselves in line in a certain distance and whoever would come out should be shot down. Q Come out of where? A All those that would come out of the station or stations, he had said: then it should proceed in that way until we would come to the heart of the city. Q What else? A That is about all. Within the city, of course the fight should commence in earnest." On cross-examination Waller testified in response to questions about when the Engel plan was to be employed. He testified that no attack by the police was anticipated at the Haymarket rally. He testified that he was not at the rally when the bomb was thrown, but that about two weeks after the bombing he was arrested and interviewed by Captain Shaack and Mr. Furthman. He testified that although he was under indictment that he had not been arrested but had returned to the police station a number of times. He testified that he had received money for rent and living expenses and help with obtaining employment. He testified that he had attended a meeting in early June at Foltz's Hall together with other workers who had been indicted. In response to the question, "Now were you not informed at that meeting that all of you were indicted for conspiracy, but Mr. Grinnell said that he had the [[Capias ad respondendum|capiases]] in his pocket, and would not have them used against you, would not have you arrested as long as you would do as he pleases and make those statements that you had made before?," Waller testified that speakers at that meeting, ethnic Germans, had advised him and the other indicted workers that they should cooperate with the police, "It was said there that we should tell the truth, that that would do us more good in a suit, or the proceedings against us than if we did not. Mr. SALOMON: He said: "We were all indicted." THE INTERPRETER: O, yes---that we were all indicted: that we should tell the truth; that we were all indicted for conspiracy, and that it would be of more benefit, of greater benefit to us in the proceedings against us if we would tell the truth than if we would lie---tell the contrary. Then we were asked who were in work---who had work and who had not. Then I think one of those gentlemen present gave work, provided work for one of those that had none, that were out of work. Mr. ZEISLER: Is that all that was said? A It was said that we could get further without such means, without the shedding of blood, and that we could have carried through our movement, our agitation in favor of the eight hour law without bloodshed; that they themselves were in favor of the eight hour day."<ref name = "Waller3" >[http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/transcript/volumei/101-150/I101-140.htm Testimony of Godfried Waller (second appearance), 1886 July 17.] Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection</ref> |
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#Bernardt Schrade, a carpenter and immigrant from Prussia who had lived in the United States for five years, testified through an interpreter that he had been a member of the Lehr and Wehr Verein, knew Godfried Waller and had attended the meeting Waller chaired on May 3 and the meeting on May 2 where it was said the workers should defend themselves if they were attacked by the police. He testified that he was at the Haymarket rally but had left when the shower started so was not there when the bomb was thrown.<ref name = "Schrade" >[http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/transcript/volumei/101-150/I140-167.htm Testimony of Bernardt Schrade, 1886 July 17.] Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection</ref> |
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#Police Lieutenant Edward J. Steele testified that he commanded a company of 25 police that were present at the time of the bombing. He testified that the police were armed but that had not drawn their arms when the order to disperse was given. He testified that immediately after the bomb exploded persons in the crowd fired on the police who then returned fire. He testified that Captain Ward who was in front of him gave the order to disperse, that the bomb landed behind, and that 7 of his men were wounded.<ref name = "Steele" >[http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/transcript/volumei/151-200/I168-183.htm Testimony of Edward J. Steele, 1886 July 17.] Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection</ref> |
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#Police Lieutenant Martin Quinn testified that he commanded a company of 24 police and was in the first rank of the police positioned to the left of Lt. Steele's company. He testified that his men were armed but had not drawn their weapons, that he heard Captain Ward tell the crowd: "I command you in the name of the People of the State of Illinois, as an unlawful assembly, to disperse, and I call upon citizens, you and you, present, to assist me in so doing", that immediately there was an explosion, and that he observed the crowd, including defendant Fielden whom he saw fire one shot, fire at the police. He testified that the police returned fire, that 14 of his men were injured either by bullets or shell fragments, and that two died.<ref name = "Quinn" >[http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/transcript/volumei/151-200/I184-214.htm Testimony of Martin Quinn (first appearance), 1886 July 17.] Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection</ref> |
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======July 19====== |
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Monday, July 19, 1886, 10 AM: |
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#Police Lieutenant James P. Stanton testified that he commanded a company of 18 police, that he was in the center of the formation in the second rank, and that the "shell" landed about four feet to his left in the center of his company. He testified that most, if not all, of his company were wounded and that two, including Methias J. Degan, died, and that he himself was wounded in eleven places and was hospitalized for over two weeks. He testified that he saw the bomb in the air and on the ground, that it was about three inches in diameter, about the size of a baseball, and that it had a fuse. He testified that the police were armed but had not drawn their weapons when the bomb exploded. He testified that he drew his weapon and returned fire after the bomb exploded.<ref name = "Stanton" >[http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/transcript/volumei/201-250/I215-231.htm Testimony of James P. Stanton, 1886 July 19.] Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection</ref> |
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#H.F. Krueger testified that he was a police officer in Lt. Steele's company, that he was at right front of the formation, and that after the explosion he saw Fielding fire two shots in the direction of the police.<ref name = "Krueger" >[http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/transcript/volumei/201-250/I231-249.htm Testimony of H. F. Krueger, 1886 July 19.] Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection</ref> |
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#John Wessler testified that he was a police officer in Lt. Bowler's company to the right in the second rank, that he saw the bomb, and that about 100 shots were fired by persons in the crowd at the police. He testified when he ran towards the speaker's wagon he saw Fielding shooting toward the police from the cover of the wagon and that he shot Fielding. He was closely cross-examined regarding his identification of Fielding as being the person he saw shooting as when he previously made his report he had not named the man he shot as Fielding.<ref name = "Wessler" >[http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/transcript/volumei/201-250/I250-266.htm Testimony of John Wessler (first appearance), 1886 July 19.] Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection</ref> |
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#Peter Foley testified that he was a police officer in Lt. Bowler's company on the right side of the formation, that he saw the bomb in the air and its lighted fuze, that immediately following the blast that persons in the crowd fired on the police, and that he, on orders, returned fire. He testified that after running forward he observed Wessler shooting at a person who was laying beneath the wagon.<ref name = "Foley" >[http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/transcript/volumei/251-300/I266-274.htm Testimony of Peter Foley, 1886 July 19.] Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection</ref> |
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#Luther Moulton testified that he was an official in the Knights of Labor in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He testified that in February, 1885 August Spies explained his theories of social revolution to him on the occasion of Spies and Moulton speaking at labor meeting and testified as to his recollection of those theories.<ref name = "Moultin" >[http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/transcript/volumei/251-300/I275-283.htm Testimony of Luther V. Moulton, 1886 July 19.] Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection</ref> |
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#George W. Shook testified that he was employed in a factory in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that he was a witness to a conversation between Luther Moulton and August Spies regarding Spies's theories of social revolution, the state of preparedness of the workers of Chicago, and plans for additional organization of workers. He testified as to his recollection of the conversation.<ref name = "Shook" >[http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/transcript/volumei/251-300/I283-288.htm Testimony of George W. Shook, 1886 July 19.] Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection</ref> |
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#Police Lieutenant James Bowler testified that he commanded a company of police which was in the second rank to the right of the formation, that he heard Captain Ward command the meeting to crease and disperse, that the bomb landed in the midst of his company, and that his company suffered 18 casualties, 15 wounded, 3 dead. He testified that the police were armed but had not drawn their weapons at the time of the explosion. He testified that after the explosion he saw firing from the vicinity of the speakers wagon and from the crowd and returned fire.<ref name = "Bowler" >[http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/transcript/volumei/251-300/I288-295.htm Testimony of James Bowler (first appearance), 1886 July 19.] Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection</ref> |
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#Louis C. Baumann testified that he was a police officer who was in the front of the police formation about sixth from the right and about three or four feet from the speaker's wagon when the notice to disperse was given and the bomb exploded. He testified that he saw Fielden speaking from the wagon then after the explosion saw him firing a revolver from a position on the sidewalk behind the wagon wheel. On cross-examination he admitted he had never seen Fielden before that night and that he had been told by other officers that the last speaker was Fielden, however he had seen his picture in the newspaper.<ref name = "Baumann" >[http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/transcript/volumei/251-300/I296-306.htm Testimony of Louis C. Baumann (first appearance), 1886 July 19.] Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection</ref> |
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#Edward John Hanley testified that he was a police officer in Lt. Steele's company in the first rank, fourth from the right, and about five feet from the speaker's wagon. He testified that after the explosion he saw Fielden firing a revolver and that Fielden then fled into the alley with other men who were also firing toward the police.<ref name = "Hanley" >[http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/transcript/volumei/301-350/I307-309.htm Testimony of Edward John Hanley (first appearance), 1886 July 19.] Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection</ref> |
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#James K. Magie testified that he had attended a public meeting at the Twelfth Street Turner Hall on October 11, 1885, that the meeting was attended by Fielden and August Spies, and that Spies had proposed a resolution which advocated the use of force which he, Magie, had opposed. However, he could not remember the contents of the resolution, testifying "that is the only point that is clear in my mind--that in substance the resolutions proposed force instead of reason or the ballot, and I spoke against the resolution." An objection to that answer was sustained and the witness was allowed to refresh his memory by reading the resolution in ''The Alarm'', a newspaper published by some of the defendants. The witness still unable to repeat the resolution but gave more detail about it containing language which said the force would be required to enforce the eight-hour day, that he had opposed it because in his opinion it advocated use of force, "I said that all reforms could be brought about by the ballot; I was opposed to force. I believed this was the best government that I know anything about. I spoke in general sympathy with the working men and that I was in favor of even less then eight hours, and six hours I thought was enough. I remember that I spoke ten minutes about in that tenor.". He testified that Spies had denounced him as "a political vagabond" and that the resolution had passed with almost universal support from the 500 people who were in attendance. He testified, <ref name = "Magie" >[http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/transcript/volumei/301-350/I310-324.htm Testimony of James K. Magie, 1886 July 19.] Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection</ref> |
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#John Wessler was recalled and again cross-examined regarding his identification of the man who was shooting from near the wagon the night of the explosion.<ref name = "Wessler2" >[http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/transcript/volumei/301-350/I325-325.htm Testimony of John Wessler (second appearance), 1886 July 19.] Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection</ref> |
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#Thomas Greif, operator of Greif's Hall, testified that he had rented the basement of his building on May 3 for a meeting of the "Ypsilon folks".<ref name = "Greif" >[http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/transcript/volumei/301-350/I325-335.htm Testimony of Thomas Greif, 1886 July 19.] Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection</ref> |
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#John E. Doyle testified that he was a police officer in Lt. Bowler's company, 11th from the right, that he was injured by 10 fragments of the bomb, that the explosion knocked him down, and that he saw a man in grey clothes shooting at the police. He testified that he was able to get off one shot himself but collapsed and was carried off.<ref name = "Doyle" >[http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/transcript/volumei/301-350/I335-341.htm Testimony of John E. Doyle, 1886 July 19.] Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection</ref> |
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#Charles Spierling testified that he was a police officer in Lt. Quinn's company in the first rank, thirteenth from the east, third from the west, about 12 feet from the speaker's wagon, and that he saw Fielden dismount from the wagon fire one shot a bit before the explosion. He testified that he drew his gun and fired two shots toward the wagon then three shots toward the crowd.<ref name = "Spierling" >[http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/transcript/volumei/301-350/I342-345.htm Testimony of Charles Spierling, 1886 July 19.] Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection</ref> |
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#James Bonfield testified that he was a police officer, the brother of Captain Bonfield the Inspector of Police, that he arrested August Spies and Schwab on [August 5] at the office of the ''Arbeiter Zeitung'' and found in the office a blasting cap, a piece of fuse, and a revolver, and that later he had seized a copy of the "Revenge Circular". He testified that that evening together with newspaper reporters he interviewed Spies. During Bonfield's testimony the "Revenge Circular," [http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/transcript/exhibits/X000-050/X006000v.jpg Peoples' exhibit 6] was introduced into evidence and the English portion read to the jury. Bonfield testified, regarding Spies, "He said he approved of the [m]ethod, but he thought it was a little premature, that the time had hardly arrived to start the revolution, or the warfare." Bonfield testified that he had questioned Fischer regarding a blasting cap found in his pocket when he was arrested and regarding the preparation of the "Attention Workingmen" circular, [http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/transcript/exhibits/X000-050/X005000.htm People's exhibit 5], which "he acknowledged it was he that got it up" and had printed. On cross-examination Bonfield admitted that he had no arrest or search warrants, only orders issued at the Central Police Station by Lt. Shea to arrest "Fielden's name given and Schwab and Spies and Parsons". On re-direct Bonfield testified that keys taken from Spies unlocked a drawer where dynamite was found and that he had seen Rudolph Schnaubelt at the newspaper office.[Objections were made to his testimony on re-direct and some of his answers were stricken out.]<ref name = "Bonfield1" >[http://www.chicagohs.org/hadc/transcript/volumei/301-350/I346-380.htm Testimony of James Bonfield (first appearance), 1886 July 19.] Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection</ref> |
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======July 20====== |
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Tuesday, 10 A.M., July 20th, 1886: |
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=====Physical evidence===== |
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A lead fragment from the wounds of one of the policeman was subjected to chemical analysis and found to be markedly different from commercial lead and similar to the casing of bombs found in the home of the defendant, Louis Lingg.<ref name=LaborBomb /> |
A lead fragment from the wounds of one of the policeman was subjected to chemical analysis and found to be markedly different from commercial lead and similar to the casing of bombs found in the home of the defendant, Louis Lingg.<ref name=LaborBomb /> |
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Revision as of 21:24, 5 March 2012
Haymarket Martyrs' Monument | |
Location | Forest Home Cemetery, Forest Park, Illinois |
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Built | dedicated June 25. 1893 |
NRHP reference No. | 97000343 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | February 18, 1997[1] |
Designated NHL | February 18, 1997[2] |
The Haymarket affair (also known as the Haymarket massacre or Haymarket riot) refers to a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration on Tuesday May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square[3] in Chicago. It began as a rally in support of workers striking for an eight-hour day. An unknown person threw a dynamite bomb at police as they dispersed the public meeting. The bomb blast and ensuing gunfire resulted in the deaths of seven police officers and at least four civilians, and the wounding of scores of others.
In the internationally publicized legal proceedings that followed, eight anarchists were convicted of conspiracy although the prosecution conceded none of the defendants had thrown the bomb. Seven were sentenced to death and one to a term of 15 years in prison. The death sentences of two of the defendants were subsequently commuted to terms of life in prison and another committed suicide in jail rather than face the gallows. The other four were hanged on November 11, 1887.
The Haymarket affair is generally considered significant as the origin of international May Day observances for workers.[4][5] In popular literature, this event inspired the caricature of "a bomb-throwing anarchist."
The site of the incident was designated a Chicago Landmark on March 25, 1992.[6] The Haymarket Martyrs' Monument in nearby Forest Park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark on February 18, 1997.[2]
Strife and confrontation
May Day parade and strikes
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.[7] As the chosen date approached, U.S. labor unions prepared for a general strike in support of the eight-hour day.[8]
On Saturday, May 1, rallies were held throughout the United States. Estimates of the number of striking workers across the U.S. range from 300,000[9] to half a million.[10] In New York City the number of demonstrators was estimated at 10,000 [11] and in Detroit at 11,000.[12] In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, some 10,000 workers turned out.[12] In Chicago, the movement's center, an estimated 30 to 40,000 workers had gone on strike[9] and there were perhaps twice as many people out on the streets participating in various demonstrations and marches,[13][14] as, for example, a march by 10,000 men employed in the Chicago lumber yards.[10] Though participants in these outdoor events added up to 80,000, it is unclear if there was ever a single, massive march of that number down Michigan Avenue led by anarchist Albert Parsons, founder of the International Working People's Association [IWPA] and his wife Lucy and their children.[9][15]
On May 3, striking workers in Chicago met near the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company plant. Union molders at the plant had been locked out since early February and the predominantly Irish-American workers at McCormick had come under attack from Pinkerton guards during an earlier strike action in 1885. This event, along with the eight-hour militancy of McCormick workers, had gained the strikers some respect and notoriety around the city. By the time of the 1886 general strike, strikebreakers entering the McCormick plant were under protection from a garrison of 400 police officers. Although half of the replacement workers defected to the general strike on May 1, McCormick workers continued to harass strikebreakers as they crossed the picket lines.
Speaking to a rally outside the plant on May 3, August Spies advised the striking workers to "hold together, to stand by their union, or they would not succeed."[16] Well-planned and coordinated, the general strike to this point had remained largely nonviolent. When the end-of-the-workday bell sounded, however, a group of workers surged to the gates to confront the strikebreakers. Despite calls by Spies for the workers to remain calm, gunfire erupted as police fired on the crowd. In the end, two McCormick workers were killed (although some newspaper accounts said there were six fatalities).[17] Spies would later testify, "I 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."[16]
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, the fliers alleged police had murdered the strikers on behalf of business interests and urged workers to seek justice. The first batch of 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 of the fliers were destroyed, and new fliers were printed without the offending words.[18] More than 20,000 copies of the revised flier were distributed.[19]
Rally at Haymarket Square
The rally began peacefully under a light rain on the evening of May 4. August Spies, editor of the German-language Arbeiter-Zeitung ("Workers' Times"), spoke to a crowd estimated variously between 600 and 3,000[21] while standing in an open wagon adjacent to the square on Des Plaines Street.[6] A large number of on-duty police officers watched from nearby.[6]
Paul Avrich, an 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 for the purpose of inaugurating 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 the general situation of the eight-hour movement and to throw light upon various incidents in connection with it."[22]
Following Spies' speech, the crowd was addressed by Albert R. Parsons, the Alabama-born editor of the radical English-language weekly The Alarm.[23] 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 the last speaker of the evening, Samuel Fielden, who delivered a brief 10 minute address.[23] A New York Times article, with the dateline May 4th 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.".[24]The same New York Times article (also datelined May 4), headlined "Anarchy’s Red Hand" and dated May 6, is reproduced on the University of Missouri at Kansas City Law School website. The article opens: "The villainous teachings of 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." It refers to the strikers as "a mob" and uses quotation marks around the term "workingmen".
The bombing and gunfire
At about 10:30 pm, just as Fielden was finishing his speech, police arrived en masse, marching in formation towards the speakers' wagon, and ordered the rally to disperse.[25] Their commander, Police Inspector Bonfield, proclaimed:
I command you [addressing the speaker] in the name of the law to desist and you [addressing the crowd] to disperse.[24]
A home-made bomb with a brittle metal casing[26] filled with dynamite and ignited by a fuse,[27] was thrown into the path of the advancing police. Its fuse briefly sputtered, then the bomb exploded, killing policeman Mathias J. Degan with flying metal fragments and mortally wounding six other officers.[21][24]
Witnesses maintain that immediately after the bomb blast there was an exchange of gunshots between police and demonstrators.[28] According to the May 4th New York Times (which was manifestly hostile to the strikers) demonstrators began firing at the police, who then returned fire.[24] Others, notably historian Paul Avrich, point out that accounts vary widely as to how many returned fire at the police. He maintains that the police fired on the fleeing demonstrators, reloaded and then fired again, killing four and wounding as many as 70 people.[29] What is not disputed is that in less than five minutes the square was empty except for the casualties.[28] Policemen than carried their wounded comrades and some wounded demonstrators into the adjacent police station. Other wounded demonstrators found aid where they could. The exact number of dead and wounded among the demonstrators is unknown.[30][24][31]
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".[32] An anonymous police official told the Chicago Tribune, "A very large number of 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."[33]
About 60 officers were wounded in the incident, along with an unknown number of civilians. In all, seven policemen and at least four workers were killed, with one other policeman dying two years after the incident from complications related to injuries received on that day.[34][35] It is unclear how many civilians were wounded since many were afraid to seek medical attention, fearing arrest. Police captain Michael Schaack wrote the number of wounded workers was "largely in excess of that on the side of the police".[36] The Chicago Herald described a scene of "wild carnage" and estimated at least fifty dead or wounded civilians lay in the streets.[37]
Aftermath and red scare
Hounded by the police who accosted them on sight, arresting them, entering their homes, and ransacking them in their search for weapons, explosives, socialistic literature, and bomb making instructions, the anarchists, who had previously been quite bold, were soon nowhere to be found in public spaces.[38] An atmosphere of hysteria prevailed. 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. Casting legal niceties such as search warrants aside, Chicago police squads subjected the labor activists of Chicago to an eight-week shakedown, ransacking their meeting halls and places of business, arresting scores of suspects, many only remotely related to the Haymarket agitation or violence. The emphasis was on the speakers at the Haymarket rally and the newspaper, Arbeiter-Zeitung. A small group of self-identified Anarchists, twenty-two year-old Louis Lingg, William Seliger, owner of the home where Lingg was a boarder, and few helpers were discovered to have been engaged in making bombs on the same day as the incident, including round ones like the one used in the bombing.[39]
The earliest press reports assumed that the anarchist agitators were to blame for the riot, a theory adopted by the public, then amplified by the press. As time passed press reports and illustrations of the riot became more elaborate, even fantastic, with The New York Herald-Tribune reporting three bombs had been thrown. Coverage was national, then international. Among property owners, the press, and other respectable elements of society, 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.[40] Many workers, on the other hand, considered the Pinkerton agency to have been somehow responsible.[41]
Legal proceedings
Investigation
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, a typesetter. A search of the premises resulted in the discovery of the "Revenge Poster" and other evidence considered incriminating by the prosecution.[42]
On May 7 police searched the premises of Louis Lingg where they found a number of bombs and bomb-making materials.[43] Lingg's landlord William Seliger was also arrested but cooperated with police and identified Lingg as a bomb maker and was not charged.[44] An associate of Spies, Balthasar Raus, suspected of being the bomber, was traced to Omaha. He was offered an opportunity to cooperate and returned to Chicago. His statement included the information that he had accompanied August Spies, Schwab, Neebe, Engel, and Schnaubel on a trip where Engel and Schnaubel had experimented with dynamite bombs. Questioned about the use of code words such as "Y" and "Ruhe" in the Arbeiter-Zeitung he stated that they were code words calling the armed section of the anarchists to meetings or to events, in the case of "Ruhe" to the Haymarket Square rally.[42]
Consultation with physicians who had tended the wounded yielded a nut used to bolt the bomb together and fragments of the casing which were turned over to chemists for analysis together with the bombs recovered from Lingg. Comparison showed a rough match with respect to the proportion of metals in the samples.[42] Interviews revealed a long history of failed, semi-successful, and finally, successful experiments with dynamite and other explosives by some labor activists. Over a period of several years the design of bombs had been refined until the very effective bomb used at Haymarket had been developed.[42]
The Defendants
Rudolf Schnaubelt, the police’s lead suspect as the bomb thrower, was indicted and arrested twice early on, but was released, and by May 14, when it became apparent he had had a significant role in the event, he had fled the country.[42][45] William Seliger was initially arrested but turned state's evidence and testified for the prosecution and was not charged. Eight other suspects, however, were indicted and stood trial for being accessories to the murder of Degan. Of these, only two had been present when the bomb exploded. Newspaper editor August Spies had spoken at the rally and was stepping down from the speaker's wagon in compliance with police orders to disperse just before the bomb went off, as was also the English-born union organizer and last to speak Samuel Fielden (later pardoned). Two others had been present at the beginning of the rally but had left and were at nearby Zepf's Hall at the time of the explosion. They were: Arbeiter-Zeitung typesetter Adolph Fischer and the well-known activist Albert Parsons, who had spoken for an hour at the Haymarket rally. Parsons, who believed that the evidence against the other defendants was weak, subsequently voluntarily turned himself in in solidarity with the accused.[42] A third man, Spies's assistant editor Michael Schwab (who was the brother-in-law of Schnaubelt) was speaking at another rally at the time of the bombing (he was also later pardoned). Not directly tied to the demonstration but arrested because notorious for their militant radicalism were George Engel (who was 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 was associated with the Arbeiter-Zeitung and had attempted to revive it in the aftermath of the trial. (Neebe was convicted but was ultimately pardoned).[46] Of the eight defendants, five – Spies, Fischer, Engel, Lingg and Schwab – were German-born immigrants; a sixth, Neebe, was a U.S.-born citizen of German descent. Only the remaining two, Parsons and Fielden, born in the U.S. and England, respectively, were of British heritage.[47]
Trial
The trial, which began on June 21, 1886, and went on until August 11, was presided over by Judge Joseph Gary. The defense counsel included Sigmund Zeisler, William Perkins Black, William Foster, and Moses Salomon. 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.[48] 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' brother claimed there was evidence linking the Pinkertons to the bomb. This reflected a widespread belief among the strikers.[41]
Evidence
Prosecution testimony
July 16
- At 11 AM, Friday, July 16, the prosecution led off with the testimony of an architectural draftsman who had prepared a map of Haymarket Square and floor plans of three meeting halls. They were admitted as People's exhibits 1-4.[49]
- Police Inspector John Bonfield testified that, following orders, between 10:00 and 10:30 PM he led a force of about 180 Chicago police who had been assembled at the Desplaines Street Station adjacent to Haymarket Square to the Square where the Haymarket rally was underway. He testified that when the force was near the speaker's wagon the "statutory order to disperse" was given by Captain Ward. The speaker complied, descending from the wagon. Bonfield testified that he heard a hissing sound behind him followed by an explosion which wounded and killed a number of policemen. He testified that immediately after the explosion that gunfire was directed at the policemen, then returned by them. He testified that in a short time the crowd had fled from the square. He also testified that he had seen two posters, one a call for a mass meeting at Haymarket Square at 7:30 PM the evening of May 4 containing the language "Workingmen Arm Yourselves and Appear in Full Force" signed "The Executive Committee," admitted as Peoples' Exhibit 5 and the other entitled "Revenge! Workingmen to Arms!!!" admitted as People's Exhibit 6[50]
- Godfried Waller testified, in German through an interpreter, that he was a cabinet maker from Switzerland who had lived in the United States for 3 years. When asked if he was or had been a member of any "socialistic organizations", he testified, "A society called the "Lehr and Wehr Verein", a society for exercise in arms and instruction..." He testified that alerted by publication of the code letter "Y"-- "Come Monday night." in the Arbeiter Zeitung he attended a meeting of the "armed section" at Grief's Hall on May 3. He testified that 70 or 80 men attended and that he chaired the meeting. He testified regarding the content of the meeting and the decisions made. He testified as to what he was doing during the evening of May 4 during the Haymarket rally, the bombing, and thereafter.[51]
- When Waller was asked, "Mr. Waller, did you ever have any bombs?" the defense counsel, Mr. Foster, objected, but, after an extended discussion, the question was permitted.[52]
- Waller resumed his testimony, testifying that he had received a pipe bomb from Fischer and that bombs had been distributed to others in the fall of 1883 prior to a mass meeting at Market Square on Thanksgiving Day. He testified that they were to be used if the police should attack the workingmen. He testified regarding the names of those who attended the meeting he chaired, but could remember only a few names.[53]
July 17
Saturday 10 A.M., July 17, A. D. 1886:
- Godfried Waller resumed his testimony testifying that had attended a meeting on May 2 at which a plan proposed by the defendant Engel was adopted. He testified that the plan was that if there was a conflict with the police that the police stations were to be bombed with dynamite bombs and that survivors were to be shot when they emerged from the stations. He testified, "...bombs should be thrown into the Police stations and the rifle men of the Lehr and Wehr Verein should post themselves in line in a certain distance and whoever would come out should be shot down. Q Come out of where? A All those that would come out of the station or stations, he had said: then it should proceed in that way until we would come to the heart of the city. Q What else? A That is about all. Within the city, of course the fight should commence in earnest." On cross-examination Waller testified in response to questions about when the Engel plan was to be employed. He testified that no attack by the police was anticipated at the Haymarket rally. He testified that he was not at the rally when the bomb was thrown, but that about two weeks after the bombing he was arrested and interviewed by Captain Shaack and Mr. Furthman. He testified that although he was under indictment that he had not been arrested but had returned to the police station a number of times. He testified that he had received money for rent and living expenses and help with obtaining employment. He testified that he had attended a meeting in early June at Foltz's Hall together with other workers who had been indicted. In response to the question, "Now were you not informed at that meeting that all of you were indicted for conspiracy, but Mr. Grinnell said that he had the capiases in his pocket, and would not have them used against you, would not have you arrested as long as you would do as he pleases and make those statements that you had made before?," Waller testified that speakers at that meeting, ethnic Germans, had advised him and the other indicted workers that they should cooperate with the police, "It was said there that we should tell the truth, that that would do us more good in a suit, or the proceedings against us than if we did not. Mr. SALOMON: He said: "We were all indicted." THE INTERPRETER: O, yes---that we were all indicted: that we should tell the truth; that we were all indicted for conspiracy, and that it would be of more benefit, of greater benefit to us in the proceedings against us if we would tell the truth than if we would lie---tell the contrary. Then we were asked who were in work---who had work and who had not. Then I think one of those gentlemen present gave work, provided work for one of those that had none, that were out of work. Mr. ZEISLER: Is that all that was said? A It was said that we could get further without such means, without the shedding of blood, and that we could have carried through our movement, our agitation in favor of the eight hour law without bloodshed; that they themselves were in favor of the eight hour day."[54]
- Bernardt Schrade, a carpenter and immigrant from Prussia who had lived in the United States for five years, testified through an interpreter that he had been a member of the Lehr and Wehr Verein, knew Godfried Waller and had attended the meeting Waller chaired on May 3 and the meeting on May 2 where it was said the workers should defend themselves if they were attacked by the police. He testified that he was at the Haymarket rally but had left when the shower started so was not there when the bomb was thrown.[55]
- Police Lieutenant Edward J. Steele testified that he commanded a company of 25 police that were present at the time of the bombing. He testified that the police were armed but that had not drawn their arms when the order to disperse was given. He testified that immediately after the bomb exploded persons in the crowd fired on the police who then returned fire. He testified that Captain Ward who was in front of him gave the order to disperse, that the bomb landed behind, and that 7 of his men were wounded.[56]
- Police Lieutenant Martin Quinn testified that he commanded a company of 24 police and was in the first rank of the police positioned to the left of Lt. Steele's company. He testified that his men were armed but had not drawn their weapons, that he heard Captain Ward tell the crowd: "I command you in the name of the People of the State of Illinois, as an unlawful assembly, to disperse, and I call upon citizens, you and you, present, to assist me in so doing", that immediately there was an explosion, and that he observed the crowd, including defendant Fielden whom he saw fire one shot, fire at the police. He testified that the police returned fire, that 14 of his men were injured either by bullets or shell fragments, and that two died.[57]
July 19
Monday, July 19, 1886, 10 AM:
- Police Lieutenant James P. Stanton testified that he commanded a company of 18 police, that he was in the center of the formation in the second rank, and that the "shell" landed about four feet to his left in the center of his company. He testified that most, if not all, of his company were wounded and that two, including Methias J. Degan, died, and that he himself was wounded in eleven places and was hospitalized for over two weeks. He testified that he saw the bomb in the air and on the ground, that it was about three inches in diameter, about the size of a baseball, and that it had a fuse. He testified that the police were armed but had not drawn their weapons when the bomb exploded. He testified that he drew his weapon and returned fire after the bomb exploded.[58]
- H.F. Krueger testified that he was a police officer in Lt. Steele's company, that he was at right front of the formation, and that after the explosion he saw Fielding fire two shots in the direction of the police.[59]
- John Wessler testified that he was a police officer in Lt. Bowler's company to the right in the second rank, that he saw the bomb, and that about 100 shots were fired by persons in the crowd at the police. He testified when he ran towards the speaker's wagon he saw Fielding shooting toward the police from the cover of the wagon and that he shot Fielding. He was closely cross-examined regarding his identification of Fielding as being the person he saw shooting as when he previously made his report he had not named the man he shot as Fielding.[60]
- Peter Foley testified that he was a police officer in Lt. Bowler's company on the right side of the formation, that he saw the bomb in the air and its lighted fuze, that immediately following the blast that persons in the crowd fired on the police, and that he, on orders, returned fire. He testified that after running forward he observed Wessler shooting at a person who was laying beneath the wagon.[61]
- Luther Moulton testified that he was an official in the Knights of Labor in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He testified that in February, 1885 August Spies explained his theories of social revolution to him on the occasion of Spies and Moulton speaking at labor meeting and testified as to his recollection of those theories.[62]
- George W. Shook testified that he was employed in a factory in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that he was a witness to a conversation between Luther Moulton and August Spies regarding Spies's theories of social revolution, the state of preparedness of the workers of Chicago, and plans for additional organization of workers. He testified as to his recollection of the conversation.[63]
- Police Lieutenant James Bowler testified that he commanded a company of police which was in the second rank to the right of the formation, that he heard Captain Ward command the meeting to crease and disperse, that the bomb landed in the midst of his company, and that his company suffered 18 casualties, 15 wounded, 3 dead. He testified that the police were armed but had not drawn their weapons at the time of the explosion. He testified that after the explosion he saw firing from the vicinity of the speakers wagon and from the crowd and returned fire.[64]
- Louis C. Baumann testified that he was a police officer who was in the front of the police formation about sixth from the right and about three or four feet from the speaker's wagon when the notice to disperse was given and the bomb exploded. He testified that he saw Fielden speaking from the wagon then after the explosion saw him firing a revolver from a position on the sidewalk behind the wagon wheel. On cross-examination he admitted he had never seen Fielden before that night and that he had been told by other officers that the last speaker was Fielden, however he had seen his picture in the newspaper.[65]
- Edward John Hanley testified that he was a police officer in Lt. Steele's company in the first rank, fourth from the right, and about five feet from the speaker's wagon. He testified that after the explosion he saw Fielden firing a revolver and that Fielden then fled into the alley with other men who were also firing toward the police.[66]
- James K. Magie testified that he had attended a public meeting at the Twelfth Street Turner Hall on October 11, 1885, that the meeting was attended by Fielden and August Spies, and that Spies had proposed a resolution which advocated the use of force which he, Magie, had opposed. However, he could not remember the contents of the resolution, testifying "that is the only point that is clear in my mind--that in substance the resolutions proposed force instead of reason or the ballot, and I spoke against the resolution." An objection to that answer was sustained and the witness was allowed to refresh his memory by reading the resolution in The Alarm, a newspaper published by some of the defendants. The witness still unable to repeat the resolution but gave more detail about it containing language which said the force would be required to enforce the eight-hour day, that he had opposed it because in his opinion it advocated use of force, "I said that all reforms could be brought about by the ballot; I was opposed to force. I believed this was the best government that I know anything about. I spoke in general sympathy with the working men and that I was in favor of even less then eight hours, and six hours I thought was enough. I remember that I spoke ten minutes about in that tenor.". He testified that Spies had denounced him as "a political vagabond" and that the resolution had passed with almost universal support from the 500 people who were in attendance. He testified, [67]
- John Wessler was recalled and again cross-examined regarding his identification of the man who was shooting from near the wagon the night of the explosion.[68]
- Thomas Greif, operator of Greif's Hall, testified that he had rented the basement of his building on May 3 for a meeting of the "Ypsilon folks".[69]
- John E. Doyle testified that he was a police officer in Lt. Bowler's company, 11th from the right, that he was injured by 10 fragments of the bomb, that the explosion knocked him down, and that he saw a man in grey clothes shooting at the police. He testified that he was able to get off one shot himself but collapsed and was carried off.[70]
- Charles Spierling testified that he was a police officer in Lt. Quinn's company in the first rank, thirteenth from the east, third from the west, about 12 feet from the speaker's wagon, and that he saw Fielden dismount from the wagon fire one shot a bit before the explosion. He testified that he drew his gun and fired two shots toward the wagon then three shots toward the crowd.[71]
- James Bonfield testified that he was a police officer, the brother of Captain Bonfield the Inspector of Police, that he arrested August Spies and Schwab on [August 5] at the office of the Arbeiter Zeitung and found in the office a blasting cap, a piece of fuse, and a revolver, and that later he had seized a copy of the "Revenge Circular". He testified that that evening together with newspaper reporters he interviewed Spies. During Bonfield's testimony the "Revenge Circular," Peoples' exhibit 6 was introduced into evidence and the English portion read to the jury. Bonfield testified, regarding Spies, "He said he approved of the [m]ethod, but he thought it was a little premature, that the time had hardly arrived to start the revolution, or the warfare." Bonfield testified that he had questioned Fischer regarding a blasting cap found in his pocket when he was arrested and regarding the preparation of the "Attention Workingmen" circular, People's exhibit 5, which "he acknowledged it was he that got it up" and had printed. On cross-examination Bonfield admitted that he had no arrest or search warrants, only orders issued at the Central Police Station by Lt. Shea to arrest "Fielden's name given and Schwab and Spies and Parsons". On re-direct Bonfield testified that keys taken from Spies unlocked a drawer where dynamite was found and that he had seen Rudolph Schnaubelt at the newspaper office.[Objections were made to his testimony on re-direct and some of his answers were stricken out.][50]
July 20
Tuesday, 10 A.M., July 20th, 1886:
Physical evidence
A lead fragment from the wounds of one of the policeman was subjected to chemical analysis and found to be markedly different from commercial lead and similar to the casing of bombs found in the home of the defendant, Louis Lingg.[27]
Verdict and contemporary reactions
The jury returned guilty verdicts for all eight defendants – death sentences for seven of the men, and a sentence of 15 years in prison for Neebe. The sentencing sparked outrage from budding labor and workers' movements, resulted in protests around the world, and elevated the defendants as international political celebrities and heroes within labor and radical political circles. Meanwhile the press published often sensationalized accounts and opinions about the Haymarket affair, which polarized public reaction.[72] In an article datelined May 4, entitled "Anarchy’s Red Hand", The New York Times described the incident as the "bloody fruit" of "the villainous teachings of the Anarchists."[73][74] 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".[75] The journalist George Frederic Parsons wrote 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.[76] Edward Aveling, Karl Marx's son-in-law, remarked, "If these men are ultimately hanged, it will be the Chicago Tribune that has done it."[77]
Appeals
The case was appealed in 1887 to the Supreme Court of Illinois,[78] 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.[79]
Commutations and suicide
After the appeals had been exhausted, Illinois Governor Richard James Oglesby commuted Fielden's and Schwab's sentences to life in prison on November 10, 1887. On the eve of his scheduled execution, Lingg committed suicide in his cell with a smuggled dynamite 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).[80]
Executions
The next day (November 11, 1887) four defendants, Spies, Parsons, Fischer and Engel 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 the last time, were arrested and searched for bombs (none were 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!"[81] 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.[81]
Identity of the bomber
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 in the conspiracy seem completely legitimate."[82] Some members of the anarchist movement later hinted they knew the bomber's identity but refrained from disclosing it.[citation needed] History professor Timothy Messer-Kruse believes the evidence at the trial points to Rudolph Schnaubelt, brother-in-law of Schwab, as the likely perpetrator. Howard Zinn, in A People's History of the United States also fingered Schnaubelt, suggesting he was a provocateur, posing as an anarchist, who threw the bomb so police would have a pretext to arrest leaders of Chicago's anarchist movement. This theory does not have wide support among historians.[citation needed]
Burial and memorial
Lingg, Spies, Fischer, Engel, and Parsons were buried at the German Waldheim Cemetery (later merged with Forest Home Cemetery) in Forest Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Schwab and Neebe were also buried at Waldheim when they died, reuniting the "Martyrs." In 1893, the Haymarket Martyrs' Monument by sculptor Albert Weinert was raised at Waldheim. Over a century later, it was designated a National Historic Landmark by the United States Department of the Interior, the only cemetery memorial to be noted as such.
Historical characterization
The trial has been characterized as one of the most serious miscarriages of justice in United States history.
A recent historian has criticized the defense for pleading the lesser charge of manslaughter for his clients.[83] Most working people believed Pinkerton agents had provoked the incident.[41] On June 26, 1893, Illinois Governor John Peter Altgeld signed pardons for Fielden, Neebe, and Schwab after having concluded all eight defendants were innocent. The governor said the reason for the bombing was the city of Chicago's failure to hold Pinkerton guards responsible for shooting workers.[84] The pardons were highly unpopular and ended his political career.
Effects on the labor movement and May Day
The Haymarket affair was a setback for American labor and its fight for the eight-hour day. However, despite the commonly expressed view that the bombing and its aftermath destroyed the Chicago labor movement, in the view of historian Nathan Fine trade union activities there continued to show signs of growth and vitality, culminating later in 1886 with the establishment of the Labor Party of Chicago.[85]
Fine observes:
"[T]he fact is that despite police repression, newspaper incitement to hysteria, and organization of 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 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."[85]
Popular pressure continued for the establishment of the 8-hour day. At 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 work day.[86]
In 1889, AFL president Samuel Gompers wrote to the first congress of the Second International, which was meeting in Paris. He informed the world's socialists of the AFL's plans and proposed an international fight for a universal eight-hour work day.[87] In response to Gompers's letter, the Second International adopted a resolution calling for "a great international demonstration" on a single date so workers everywhere could demand the eight-hour work day. In light of the Americans' plan, the International adopted May 1, 1890 as the date for this demonstration.[88]
A secondary purpose behind the adoption of the resolution by the Second International was to honor the memory of the Haymarket martyrs and other workers who had been killed in association with the strikes on May 1, 1886. Historian Philip Foner writes "[t]here is little doubt that everyone associated with the resolution passed by the Paris Congress knew of the May 1 demonstrations and strikes for the eight-hour day in 1886 in the United States ... and the events associated with the Haymarket tragedy."[88]
The first international May Day was a spectacular success. The front page of the New York World on May 2, 1890, was devoted to coverage of the event. Two of its headlines were "Parade of Jubilant Workingmen in All the Trade Centers of the Civilized World" and "Everywhere the Workmen Join in Demands for a Normal Day."[89] The Times of London listed two dozen European cities in which demonstrations had taken place, noting there had been rallies in Cuba, Peru and Chile.[90] Commemoration of May Day became an annual event the following year.
The association of May Day with the Haymarket martyrs has remained strong in Mexico. Mary Harris "Mother" Jones was in Mexico on May 1, 1921, and wrote of the "day of 'fiestas'" that marked "the killing of the workers in Chicago for demanding the eight-hour day".[91] In 1929 The New York Times referred to the May Day parade in Mexico City as "the annual demonstration glorifying the memory of those who were killed in Chicago in 1886."[92] The New York Times described the 1936 demonstration as a commemoration of "the death of the martyrs in Chicago."[93] In 1939 Oscar Neebe's grandson attended the May Day parade in Mexico City and was shown, as his host told him, "how the world shows respect to your grandfather".[94] An American visitor in 1981 wrote that she was embarrassed to explain to knowledgeable Mexican workers that American workers were ignorant of the Haymarket affair and the origins of May Day.[95]
The influence of the Haymarket affair was not limited to the celebration of May Day. Emma Goldman was attracted to anarchism after reading about the incident and the executions, which she later described as "the events that had inspired my spiritual birth and growth." She considered the Haymarket martyrs to be "the most decisive influence in my existence".[96] Alexander Berkman also described the Haymarket anarchists as "a potent and vital inspiration."[97] Others whose commitment to anarchism crystallized as a result of the Haymarket affair included Voltairine de Cleyre and "Big Bill" Haywood, a founding member of the Industrial Workers of the World.[97] Goldman wrote to Max Nettlau that the Haymarket affair had awakened the social consciousness of "hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people".[98]
Suspected bombers
While admitting none of the defendants was involved in the bombing, the prosecution made a weak argument that Lingg had built the bomb and two prosecution witnesses (Harry Gilmer and Malvern Thompson) tried to imply the bomb thrower was helped by Spies, Fischer and Schwab.[99][100] The defendants claimed they had no knowledge of the bomber at all.
Several activists, including Dyer Lum, Voltairine de Cleyre and Robert Reitzel, later hinted they knew who the bomber was.[101] Writers and other commentators have speculated about many possible suspects:
- Rudolph Schnaubelt (1863–1901) was an activist and the brother-in law of Michael Schwab. He was at the Haymarket when the bomb exploded. Schnaubelt was indicted with the other defendants but fled the city and later the country before he could be brought to trial. He was detectives' lead suspect and state witness Gilmer testified he saw Schnaubelt throw the bomb, identifying him from a photograph in court.[102] Schnaubelt later sent two letters from London disclaiming all responsibility, writing, "If I had really thrown this bomb, surely I would have nothing to be ashamed of, but in truth I never once thought of it."[103] He is the most generally accepted and widely known suspect and figured as the bomb thrower in The Bomb, Frank Harris's 1908 fictionalization of the tragedy. Written from Schnaubelt's point of view, the story opens with him confessing on his deathbed. However, Harris's description was fictional and those who knew Schnaubelt vehemently criticized the book.[104]
- George Schwab was a German shoemaker who died in 1924. German anarchist Carl Nold claimed he learned Schwab was the bomber through correspondence with other activists but no proof ever emerged. Historian Paul Avrich also suspected him but noted that while Schwab was in Chicago, he had only arrived days before. This contradicted statements by others that the bomber was a well-known figure in Chicago.[105][106]
- George Meng (b. around 1840) was a German anarchist and teamster who owned a small farm outside of Chicago where he had settled in 1883 after emigrating from Bavaria. Like Parsons and Spies, he was a delegate at the Pittsburgh Congress and a member of the IWPA. Meng's granddaughter, Adah Maurer, wrote Paul Avrich a letter in which she said that her mother, who was 15 at the time of the bombing, told her that her father was the bomber. Meng died sometime before 1907 in a saloon fire. Based on his correspondence with Maurer, Avrich concluded that there was a "strong possibility" that the little-known Meng may have been the bomber.[107]
- An agent provocateur was suggested by some members of the anarchist movement. Albert Parsons believed the bomber was a member of the police or the Pinkertons trying to undermine the labor movement. However, this contradicts the statements of several activists who said the bomber was one of their own. Lucy Parsons and Johann Most rejected this notion. Dyer Lum said it was "puerile" to ascribe "the Haymarket bomb to a Pinkerton."[108]
- A disgruntled worker was widely suspected. When Adolph Fischer was asked if he knew who threw the bomb, he answered, "I suppose it was some excited workingman." Oscar Neebe said it was a "crank."[109] Governor Altgeld speculated the bomb thrower might have been a disgruntled worker who was not associated with the defendants or the anarchist movement but had a personal grudge against the police. In his pardoning statement, Altgeld said the record of police brutality towards the workers had invited revenge adding, "Capt. Bonfield is the man who is really responsible for the deaths of the police officers."[110]
- Klemana Schuetz was identified as the bomber by Franz Mayhoff, a New York anarchist and fraudster, who claimed in an affidavit that Schuetz had once admitted throwing the Haymarket bomb. August Wagener, Mayhoff's attorney, sent a telegram from New York to defense attorney Captain William Black the day before the executions claiming knowledge of the bomber's identity. Black tried to delay the execution with this telegram but Governor Oglesby refused. It was later learned that Schuetz was the primary witness against Mayhoff at his trial for insurance fraud, so Mayhoff's affidavit has never been regarded as credible by historians.[111]
- Thomas Owen was a carpenter from Pennsylvania. Severely injured in an accident a week before the executions, Owen reportedly confessed to the bombing on his deathbed by saying, "I was at the Haymarket riot and am an anarchist and say that I threw a bomb in that riot." He was an anarchist and apparently had been in Chicago at the time but other accounts note that long before his accident he had said he was at the Haymarket and saw the bomb thrower. Owen may have been trying to save the condemned men.[112]
- Reinold "Big" Krueger was killed by police either in the melee after the bombing or in a separate disturbance the next day and has been named as a suspect but there is no supporting evidence.[113][114]
- A mysterious outsider was reported by John Philip Deluse, a saloon keeper in Indianapolis who claimed he encountered a stranger in his saloon the day before the bombing. The man was carrying a satchel and on his way from New York to Chicago. According to Deluse, the stranger was interested in the labor situation in Chicago, repeatedly pointed to his satchel and said, "You will hear of some trouble there very soon."[115] Parsons used Deluse's testimony to suggest the bomb thrower was sent by eastern capitalists.[116] Nothing more was ever learned about Deluse's claim.
Haymarket memorials
In 1889, a commemorative nine-foot (2.7 meter) bronze statue of a Chicago policeman by sculptor Johannes Gelert was erected in the middle of Haymarket Square with private funds raised by the Union League Club of Chicago.[117] The statue was unveiled on May 30, 1889, by Frank Degan, the son of Officer Mathias Degan.[118] On May 4, 1927, the 41st anniversary of the Haymarket affair, a streetcar jumped its tracks and crashed into the monument.[119] The motorman said he was "sick of seeing that policeman with his arm raised".[119] The city restored the statue in 1928 and moved it to Union Park.[120] During the 1950s, construction of the Kennedy Expressway erased about half of the old, run-down market square, and in 1956, the statue was moved to a special platform built for it overlooking the freeway, near its original location.[120]
The Haymarket statue was vandalized with black paint on May 4, 1968, the 82nd anniversary of the Haymarket affair, following a confrontation between police and demonstrators at a protest against the Vietnam War.[121] On October 6, 1969, shortly before the "Days of Rage" protests, the statue was destroyed when a bomb was placed between its legs. Weatherman took credit for the blast, which broke nearly 100 windows in the neighborhood and scattered pieces of the statue onto the Kennedy Expressway below.[122] The statue was rebuilt and unveiled on May 4, 1970, then blown up again by Weathermen on October 6, 1970.[121][122] The statue was again rebuilt, and Mayor Richard J. Daley posted a 24-hour police guard at the statue.[122] In 1972 it was moved to the lobby of the Central Police Headquarters, and in 1976 to the enclosed courtyard of the Chicago police academy.[121] For another three decades the statue's empty, graffiti-marked pedestal stood on its platform in the run-down remains of Haymarket Square where it was known as an anarchist landmark.[121] On June 1, 2007 the statue was rededicated at Chicago Police Headquarters with a new pedestal, unveiled by Geraldine Doceka, Officer Mathias Degan's great-granddaughter.[118]
During the late 20th century, scholars doing research into the Haymarket affair were surprised to learn that much of the primary source documentation relating to the incident (beside materials concerning the trial) was not in Chicago, but had been transferred to then-communist East Berlin.[123]
In 1992, the site of the speakers' wagon was marked by a bronze plaque set into the sidewalk, reading:
"A decade of strife between labor and industry culminated here in a confrontation that resulted in the tragic death of both workers and policemen. On May 4, 1886, spectators at a labor rally had gathered around the mouth of Crane's Alley. A contingent of police approaching on Des Plaines Street were met by a bomb thrown from just south of the alley. The resultant trial of eight activists gained worldwide attention for the labor movement, and initiated the tradition of 'May Day' labor rallies in many cities."
- Designated on March 25, 1992
- Richard M. Daley, Mayor
On September 14, 2004, Daley and union leaders—including the president of Chicago's police union—unveiled a monument by Chicago artist Mary Brogger, a fifteen-foot speakers' wagon sculpture echoing the wagon on which the labor leaders stood in Haymarket Square to champion the eight-hour day.[124] The bronze sculpture, intended to be the centerpiece of a proposed "Labor Park", is meant to symbolize both the rally at Haymarket and free speech. The planned site was to include an international commemoration wall, sidewalk plaques, a cultural pylon, a seating area, and banners, but as of 2007 construction had not yet begun.
Gallery
-
Rear of Haymarket Martyrs Monument.Note that the monument has been vandalized.
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Marker on Haymarket Martyrs Monument added in 1997.Note that the monument has been vandalized.
-
Workers finish installing Gelert's statue of a Chicago policeman in Haymarket Square, 1889.
-
Two activists at the statue-less pedestal of the police monument on the 100th anniversary of the Haymarket affair in May 1986. The pedestal has since been removed.
-
Plaque on the pedestal of Mary Brogger's Haymarket Memorial sculpture. Note that Mayor Richard M. Daley's name has been vandalized and the Seal of the City of Chicago[125] has been painted over by hand with a "circle-A," a symbol of anarchism.
See also
- Bay View Massacre (in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, May 5, 1886)
- Days of Rage
- Dyer Lum, close associate of the defendants who wrote an account of the case in 1891.
- First Red Scare of 1917-1920
- May Day Riots of 1894
- May Day Riots of 1919
- Palmer Raids of 1919
- Sacco and Vanzetti
- Wall Street Bombing of 1920
- List of massacres in Illinois
References
Footnotes
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 9, 2007. Warning: Template:NRISref used with invalid value for
version=
parameter (help). - ^ a b "Lists of National Historic Landmarks". National Historic Landmarks Program. National Park Service. 2004. Retrieved January 19, 2008.
{{cite web}}
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ignored (help) - ^ Originally at the corner of Des Plaines and Randolph
- ^ Trachtenberg, Alexander (2002) [1932]. The History of May Day. Marxists.org. Retrieved January 19, 2008.
{{cite book}}
: Unknown parameter|month=
ignored (help) - ^ Foner, "The First May Day and the Haymarket Affair", May Day, pp. 27–39.
- ^ a b c "Site of the Haymarket Tragedy". City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development, Landmarks Division. 2003. Archived from the original on July 14, 2006. Retrieved January 19, 2008.
- ^ "How May Day Became a Workers' Holiday". The Guide to Life, The Universe and Everything. bbc.co.uk. October 4, 2001. Retrieved January 19, 2008.
(It is) Resolved ... that eight hours shall constitute a legal day's labor from and after May 1, 1886, and that we recommend to labor organizations throughout this district that they so direct their laws so as to conform to this resolution by the time named.
- ^ "How May Day Became a Workers' Holiday". The Guide to Life, The Universe and Everything. bbc.co.uk. October 4, 2001. Retrieved January 19, 2008.
- ^ a b c Avrich, The Haymarket Tragedy, p. 186.
- ^ a b Foner, May Day, p. 27.
- ^ Foner, May Day, pp. 27–28.
- ^ a b Foner, May Day, p. 28.
- ^ According to Henry David there were strikes by "no less than 30,000 men", and "perhaps twice that number (i.e., 80,000) were out on the streets participating in or witnessing the various demonstrations..."
- ^ David, The History of the Haymarket Affair, pp. 177, 188.
- ^ The existence of an 80,000 person march down Michigan Avenue, described by Avrich (1984), Foner (1986), and others, has been questioned by historian Timothy Messer-Kruse, who claims to have found no specific reference to it in contemporary sources and notes that David (1936) doesn't mention it.
- ^ a b Green, Death in the Haymarket, pp. 162–173.
- ^ Avrich, The Haymarket Tragedy, p. 190.
- ^ Avrich, The Haymarket Tragedy, p. 193.
- ^ Illinois vs. August Spies et al. trial transcript no. 1, 1886 Nov. 26. Vol. M. p. 255. Retrieved October 23, 2008.
- ^ "Act II: Let Your Tragedy Be Enacted Here, Moment of Truth". The Dramas of Haymarket. Chicago Historical Society. 2000. Retrieved January 19, 2008.
The details are factually incorrect, because by all accounts Fielden ended his speech before the bomb was thrown, and because the riot did not begin until after the explosion. In [this] depiction, the speech, the explosion, and the riot all take place at once.
- ^ a b Nelson, Bruce C. (1988). Beyond the Martyrs: A Social History of Chicago's Anarchists, 1870–1900. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press. p. 189. ISBN 0813513456.
- ^ In the Supreme Court of Illinois, Northern Grand Division. March Term, 1887. August Spies, et al. v. The People of the State of Illinois. Abstract of Record. Chicago: Barnard & Gunthorpe. vol. II, p. 129. OCLC 36384114.
{{cite book}}
: Unknown parameter|nopp=
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suggested) (help), quoted in Avrich, The Haymarket Tragedy, pp. 199–200. - ^ a b Nelson, Beyond the Martyrs, p. 188.
- ^ a b c d e "Rioting and Bloodshed in the Streets of Chicago" (PDF). The New York Times. May 5, 1886. Retrieved February 29, 2012. This is the same articlem datelined May 4th, reproduced elsewhere.
- ^ Avrich (1984), pp. 205–206.
- ^ "Chicago's Deadly Missile". The New York Times. May 14, 1886. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
- ^ a b "The Haymarket Bomb: Reassessing the Evidence". Labor: Studies in Working-Class History of the Americas. 2 (2). Duke University: 39–52. 2005. ISSN 1547-6715.
{{cite journal}}
: Unknown parameter|coauthors=
ignored (|author=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b Schaack, Anarchy and Anarchists, pp. 146–148.
- ^ Avrich (1984), pp. 208–209.
- ^ Schaack, Michael J. (1889), Anarchy and Anarchists, pp. 149–155.
- ^ Nelson, Beyond the Martyrs, pp. 188–189.
- ^ Bonfield, John (May 30, 1886). "Inspector John Bonfield report to Frederick Ebersold, General Superintendent of Police". Haymarket Affair Digital Collection. Chicago Historical Society. Retrieved January 19, 2008.
- ^ Chicago Tribune, June 27, 1886, quoted in Avrich, The Haymarket Tragedy, p. 209.
- ^ "Act II: Let Your Tragedy Be Enacted Here". The Dramas of Haymarket. Chicago Historical Society. 2000. Retrieved January 19, 2008.
- ^ Ward, William (May 24, 1886). "Letter from Captain William Ward to Inspector John Bonfield". Haymarket Affair Digital Collection. Chicago Historical Society. Retrieved January 19, 2008.
I saw a man, whom I afterwards identified as Fielding [sic], standing on a truck wagon at the corner of what is known as Crane's Alley. I raised by baton and in a loud voice, ordered them to disperse as peaceable citizens. I also called upon three persons in the crowd to assist in dispersing the mob. Fielding got down from the wagon, saying at the time, "We are peaceable," as he uttered the last word, I heard a terrible explosion behind where I was standing, followed almost instantly by an irregular volley of pistol shots in our front and from the sidewalk on the east side of the street, which was immediately followed by regular and well directed volleys from the police and which was kept up for several minutes. I then ordered the injured men brought to the stations and sent for surgeons to attend to their injuries. After receiving the necessary attention most of the injured officers were removed to the County Hospital and I highly appreciate the manner in which they were received by Warden McGarrigle who did all in his power to make them comfortable as possible.
- ^ Schaack, Michael J. (1889). "The Dead and the Wounded". Anarchy and Anarchists. A History of the Red Terror and the Social Revolution in America and Europe. Communism, Socialism, and Nihilism in Doctrine and in Deed. The Chicago Haymarket Conspiracy, and the Detection and Trial of the Conspirators. Chicago: F. J. Schulte & Co. p. 155. OCLC 185637808. Retrieved January 19, 2008.
After the moment's bewilderment, the officers dashed on the enemy and fired round after round. Being good marksmen, they fired to kill, and many revolutionists must have gone home, either assisted by comrades or unassisted, with wounds that resulted fatally or maimed them for life. ... It is known that many secret funerals were held from Anarchist localities in the dead hour of night.
{{cite book}}
: External link in
(help); Unknown parameter|chapterurl=
|chapterurl=
ignored (|chapter-url=
suggested) (help) - ^ Chicago Herald, May 5, 1886, quoted in Avrich (1984), pp.209–210.
- ^ "The Anarchists Cowed". The New York Times. May 8, 1886. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
- ^ Avrich (1984), pp. 221–32.
- ^ David, The History of the Haymarket Affair (1936), pages 178– to1 89
- ^ a b c Morn, Frank (1982). The Eye That Never Sleeps: A History of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press. p. 99. ISBN 0253320860.
- ^ a b c d e f Schaack, "Core of the Conspiracy", Anarchy and Anarchists, pp. 156–182.
- ^ Schaack, "My Connection with the Anarchist Cases", Anarchy and Anarchists, pp, 183–205.
- ^ Messer-Kruse, Timothy (2011) , page 21
- ^ Messer-Kruse (2011), pp. 18–21.
- ^ |"Meet the Haymarket Defendants" University of Missouri at Kansas City Law School website.
- ^ Messer-Kruse (2011), pp. 18–21.
- ^ Avrich, The Haymarket Tragedy, pp. 271–272.
- ^ Testimony of Felix V. Bushick (first appearance), 1886 July 16. Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection
- ^ a b Testimony of John Bonfield (first appearance), 1886 July 16. Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection Cite error: The named reference "Bonfield1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Testimony of Godfried Waller (first appearance), 1886 July 16. Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection
- ^ Court discussion regarding the defense's objection to the admission of certain pieces of evidence, 1886 July 16. Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection
- ^ Testimony of Godfried Waller (first appearance resumed), 1886 July 16. Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection
- ^ Testimony of Godfried Waller (second appearance), 1886 July 17. Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection
- ^ Testimony of Bernardt Schrade, 1886 July 17. Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection
- ^ Testimony of Edward J. Steele, 1886 July 17. Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection
- ^ Testimony of Martin Quinn (first appearance), 1886 July 17. Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection
- ^ Testimony of James P. Stanton, 1886 July 19. Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection
- ^ Testimony of H. F. Krueger, 1886 July 19. Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection
- ^ Testimony of John Wessler (first appearance), 1886 July 19. Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection
- ^ Testimony of Peter Foley, 1886 July 19. Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection
- ^ Testimony of Luther V. Moulton, 1886 July 19. Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection
- ^ Testimony of George W. Shook, 1886 July 19. Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection
- ^ Testimony of James Bowler (first appearance), 1886 July 19. Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection
- ^ Testimony of Louis C. Baumann (first appearance), 1886 July 19. Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection
- ^ Testimony of Edward John Hanley (first appearance), 1886 July 19. Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection
- ^ Testimony of James K. Magie, 1886 July 19. Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection
- ^ Testimony of John Wessler (second appearance), 1886 July 19. Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection
- ^ Testimony of Thomas Greif, 1886 July 19. Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection
- ^ Testimony of John E. Doyle, 1886 July 19. Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection
- ^ Testimony of Charles Spierling, 1886 July 19. Chicago Historical Society, Haymarket Affair Digital Collection
- ^ "Act III: Toils of the Law, Court of Public Opinion". The Dramas of Haymarket. Chicago Historical Society. 2000. Retrieved January 20, 2008.
From the time of the arrests following the riot to the hangings, the men held responsible for the bombing found the celebrity that they had been so eagerly seeking, if hardly on the terms they desired. ... In almost all instances, the accused achieved notoriety rather than fame, though reporters frequently remarked on their bravery in the face of the awesome fate awaiting them, and on their devotion to their families. Even these stories, however, emphasized their fanaticism and wrong-headed dedication to a dangerous and selfish cause that only hurt the ones they supposedly loved.
- ^ "Anarchy's Red Hand: Rioting and Bloodshed in the Streets of Chicago". The New York Times. May 6, 1886. Retrieved January 21, 2008.
- ^ The New York Times, May [4] 6, 1886, quoted in Avrich, The Haymarket Tragedy, p. 217.
- ^ Avrich, The Haymarket Tragedy, p. 216.
- ^ Parsons, George Frederic (1886). "The Labor Question". The Atlantic Monthly. 58: 97–113.
{{cite journal}}
: Unknown parameter|month=
ignored (help) - ^ "Act III: Toils of the Law". The Dramas of Haymarket. Chicago Historical Society. 2000. Retrieved January 20, 2008.
- ^ 122 Ill. 1 (1887).
- ^ 123 U.S. 131 (1887).
- ^ "Lingg's Fearful Death". Chicago Tribune. November 11, 1887. p. 1.
{{cite news}}
:|access-date=
requires|url=
(help) - ^ a b Avrich, The Haymarket Tragedy, p. 393.
- ^ Messer-Kruse (2011). p. 181.
- ^ Messer-Kruse, The Trial of the Haymarket Anarchists, p. 128.
- ^ Morn. The Eye That Never Sleeps. p. 99. ISBN 0253320860. On April 9, 1885, Pinkertons shot and killed an elderly man at the McCormick Harvester Company Works in Chicago. On October 19, 1886, they shot and killed a man in Chicago's packinghouse district. More info.
- ^ a b Nathan Fine, Labor and Farmer Parties in the United States, 1828-1928. New York: Rand School of Social Science, 1928; pg. 53.
- ^ Foner, May Day, p. 40.
- ^ Foner, May Day, p. 41.
- ^ a b Foner, May Day, p. 42.
- ^ Foner, May Day, p. 45.
- ^ Foner, May Day, pp. 45–46.
- ^ Roediger, Dave, "Mother Jones & Haymarket", in Roediger and Rosemont, eds., Haymarket Scrapbook, p. 213.
- ^ Foner, May Day, p. 104.
- ^ Foner, May Day, p. 118.
- ^ Avrich, The Haymarket Tragedy, p. 436.
- ^ Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne (2005). Blood on the Border: A Memoir of the Contra War. Cambridge, Mass.: South End Press. p. 73. ISBN 0896087417.
How do I explain to my compañeros Mexicanos why May Day is not a holiday in the United States where it originated? They know about the Haymarket martyrs of Chicago, but workers in the United States do not.
- ^ Goldman, Emma (1970) [1931]. Living My Life. New York: Dover Publications. pp. 7–10, 508. ISBN 0486225437.
- ^ a b Avrich, The Haymarket Tragedy, p. 434.
- ^ Avrich, The Haymarket Tragedy, pp. 433–434.
- ^ Gilmer, Harry L. (July 28, 1886). "Testimony of Harry L. Gilmer, Illinois vs. August Spies et al". Haymarket Affair Digital Collection. Chicago Historical Society. Retrieved January 19, 2008.
- ^ Thompson, Malvern M. (July 27, 1886). "Testimony of Malvern M. Thompson, Illinois vs. August Spies et al". Haymarket Affair Digital Collection. Chicago Historical Society. Retrieved January 19, 2008.
- ^ After the hangings, Reitzel reportedly told Dr. Urban Hartung, another anarchist, "The bomb-thrower is known, but let us forget about it; even if he had confessed, the lives of our comrades could not have been saved." Letter from Carl Nold to Agnes Inglis, January 12, 1933, quoted in Avrich, The Haymarket Tragedy, p. 442.
- ^ Messer-Kruse, The Trial of the Haymarket Anarchists, p. 74.
- ^ Messer-Kruse, The Trial of the Haymarket Anarchists, p. 182.
- ^ Lucy Parsons stated that Harris's book "was a lie from cover to cover." Letter from Lucy Parsons to Carl Nold, January 17, 1933, quoted in David, The History of the Haymarket Affair, p. 435.
- ^ David, The History of the Haymarket Affair, p. 428.
- ^ Avrich, The Haymarket Tragedy, pp. 444–45.
- ^ Avrich, Paul, "The Bomb-Thrower: A New Candidate", in Roediger and Rosemont, eds., Haymarket Scrapbook, pp. 71–73.
- ^ Dyer Lum, quoted in David, The History of the Haymarket Affair, pp. 426–427.
- ^ David, The History of the Haymarket Affair, pp. 430–431.
- ^ Altgeld, John P. (June 26, 1893). "Reasons for Pardoning Fielden, Neebe and Schwab". Haymarket Affair Digital Collection. Chicago Historical Society. Retrieved January 19, 2008.
- ^ David, The History of the Haymarket Affair, pp. 428–429.
- ^ David, The History of the Haymarket Affair, p. 430.
- ^ David, The History of the Haymarket Affair, p. 431.
- ^ Avrich, The Haymarket Tragedy, pp. 444.
- ^ David, The History of the Haymarket Affair, pp. 429–430.
- ^ Parsons, Albert R. "Address of Albert R. Parsons". The Accused, The Accusers: The Famous Speeches of the Eight Chicago Anarchists in Court. Chicago Historical Society. Retrieved January 19, 2008.
{{cite book}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Adelman, Haymarket Revisited, pp. 38–39.
- ^ a b "Haymarket Statue Rededication Ceremony at Police Headquarters". Chicago Police Department weblog. Chicago Police Department. May 31, 2007. Archived from the original on December 18, 2007. Retrieved January 23, 2008.
- ^ a b Adelman, William J., "The True Story Behind the Haymarket Police Statue ", in Roediger and Rosemont, eds., Haymarket Scrapbook, pp. 167–168.
- ^ a b Adelman, Haymarket Revisited, p. 39.
- ^ a b c d Adelman, Haymarket Revisited, p. 40.
- ^ a b c Avrich, The Haymarket Tragedy, p. 431.
- ^ Foner, The Autobiographies of the Haymarket Martyrs, p. 13.
- ^ Kinzer, Stephen (September 15, 2004). "In Chicago, an Ambiguous Memorial to the Haymarket Attack". The New York Times. Retrieved January 20, 2008.
- ^ "The Chicago Corporate Seal". Chicago Public Library. Retrieved February 26, 2012.
Works cited
- Adelman, William J. (1986) [1976]. Haymarket Revisited (2nd ed.). Chicago: Illinois Labor History Society. ISBN 0916884031.
- Avrich, Paul (1984). The Haymarket Tragedy. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691006008.
- David, Henry (1963) [1936]. The History of the Haymarket Affair: A Study of the American Social-Revolutionary and Labor Movements (3rd ed.). New York: Collier Books. OCLC 6216264.
- Foner, Philip S., ed. (1969). The Autobiographies of the Haymarket Martyrs. New York: Pathfinder Press. ISBN 0873488792.
{{cite book}}
:|first=
has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Foner, Philip S. (1986). May Day: A Short History of the International Workers' Holiday, 1886-1986. New York: International Publishers. ISBN 0717806243.
- Green, James R. (2006). Death in the Haymarket: A Story of Chicago, the First Labor Movement and the Bombing that Divided Gilded Age America. New York: Pantheon Books. ISBN 0375422374.
- Messer-Kruse, Timothy (2011). The Trial of the Haymarket Anarchists: Terrorism and Justice in the Gilded Age. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9780230120778.
- Roediger, Dave (1986). Haymarket Scrapbook. Chicago: Charles H. Kerr Publishing. ISBN 0882861220.
{{cite book}}
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suggested) (help) - Schaack, Michael J. (1889). Anarchy and Anarchists. A History of the Red Terror and the Social Revolution in America and Europe. Communism, Socialism, and Nihilism in Doctrine and in Deed. The Chicago Haymarket Conspiracy, and the Detection and Trial of the Conspirators. Chicago: F. J. Schulte & Co. OCLC 185637808.
Further reading
- Bach, Ira J. (1983). A Guide to Chicago's Public Sculpture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226033996.
{{cite book}}
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ignored (|author=
suggested) (help) - Fireside, Bryna J. (2002). The Haymarket Square Riot Trial: A Headline Court Case. Berkeley Heights, N.J.: Enslow Publishers. ISBN 0766017613.
- Harris, Frank (1908). The Bomb. London: John Long. OCLC 2380272.
- Hucke, Matt (1999). Graveyards of Chicago: The People, History, Art, and Lore of Cook County Cemeteries. Chicago: Lake Claremont Press. ISBN 0964242648.
{{cite book}}
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ignored (|author=
suggested) (help) - Kvaran, Einar Einarsson. Haymarket — A Century Later.
{{cite book}}
:|format=
requires|url=
(help) - Riedy, James L. (1979). Chicago Sculpture: Text and Photographs. Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0252012550.
- Smith, Carl (1995). Urban Disorder and the Shape of Belief: The Great Chicago Fire, the Haymarket Bomb, and the Model Town of Pullman. Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226764168.
External links
- Haymarket Affair Digital Collection, Chicago Historical Society
- Table of Contents Haymarket Affair Digital Collection
- The Dramas of Haymarket, Chicago Historical Society
- The Haymarket Riot Trial, Famous Trials, University of Missouri–Kansas City Law School
- The Haymarket Affair (1886), Homicide in Chicago 1870-1930, Northwestern University
- The Haymarket Massacre Archive, Anarchy Archives
- Chicago Anarchists on Trial: Evidence from the Haymarket Affair 1886-1887, American Memory, Library of Congress
- 1886: The Haymarket Martyrs and Mayday, Libcom
- Haymarket affair texts at the Kate Sharpley Library
- The Haymarket Martyrs, Illinois Labor History Society (archived from the original on 2004-10-15)
- The Haymarket Tragedy, Illinois Labor History Society (archived from the original on 2004-06-04)
- Haymarket Martyrs' Monument, Graveyards of Chicago
- The Trial of the Haymarket Anarchists, Bowling Green State University (Ohio) blog
Encyclopedia of Chicago
- Haymarket and May Day
- Haymarket Riot Monument, 1889
- Haymarket Monument, Waldheim Cemetery
- Haymarket Memorial, 2005