1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class. It's a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:08,000 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello everyone, I'm Eves and welcome to This 3 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:10,280 Speaker 1: Day and History Class, a podcast that brings you a 4 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:22,560 Speaker 1: new negative history. Every day Today is made fourth. The 5 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:27,240 Speaker 1: day was made fourth eighty six, a peaceful labor demonstration 6 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:30,479 Speaker 1: in Chicago turned into a riot after a bomb was 7 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:34,080 Speaker 1: set off. In the US in the late eighteen hundreds, 8 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:38,080 Speaker 1: industrial capitalism was on the rise and working conditions were poor. 9 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:42,800 Speaker 1: Tens of thousands of workers died in workplace accidents every 10 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:47,279 Speaker 1: year between eight and nineteen hundred, and work days were 11 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:50,680 Speaker 1: often twelve to fourteen hours long, six days a week. 12 00:00:51,960 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 1: Unions formed to protect workers rights and interests were also 13 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:59,240 Speaker 1: on the rise as more people took jobs in factories, minds, 14 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:05,399 Speaker 1: and mills. Factions of socialist, communists and anarchists were linked 15 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:09,360 Speaker 1: to the labor movement. The National Labor Union, founded in 16 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:12,959 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty six, pressed for labor reforms like the eight 17 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:17,000 Speaker 1: hour work day. It dissolved in eighteen seventy three. The 18 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:20,080 Speaker 1: Nights of Labor began as a secret organization in eighteen 19 00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:23,959 Speaker 1: sixty nine, but once it abandoned its secrecy a decade later, 20 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 1: membership grew quickly. By the eighteen eighties, strikes organized by 21 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:33,960 Speaker 1: labor unions were commonplace. In eighteen eighty four, the Federation 22 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:37,480 Speaker 1: of Organized Trades and Labor Unions, the predecessor of the 23 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:41,240 Speaker 1: American Federation of Labor, passed a resolution saying that a 24 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:44,520 Speaker 1: legal work day would be eight hours beginning May first, 25 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:48,240 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty six. Since the legislative action had failed to 26 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:51,120 Speaker 1: help them achieve this goal, the resolution called for a 27 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:55,560 Speaker 1: general strike. Chicago emerged as a national center for the 28 00:01:55,600 --> 00:01:59,360 Speaker 1: eight hour movement. As the city's mayor, Carter Harrison was 29 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:03,120 Speaker 1: sympathy to labor issues. During his time in office, he 30 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:06,440 Speaker 1: saw a lot of labor unrest, and he often restrained 31 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:10,560 Speaker 1: police from intervening in strikes. Despite the fact that many 32 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:15,000 Speaker 1: labor leaders opposed strikes, Thousands of workers participated in strikes 33 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:20,200 Speaker 1: and rallies across the US on May one, six in Chicago, 34 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:23,679 Speaker 1: the general strikes started off as peaceful, but on May third, 35 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:27,240 Speaker 1: a strike at the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company plant turned 36 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:32,120 Speaker 1: violent when strikers clashed with strike breakers. The Chicago police 37 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:36,040 Speaker 1: fired on the crowd, killing our wounding several of the demonstrators. 38 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:40,080 Speaker 1: In response to this, incident, labor activists called for a 39 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:44,240 Speaker 1: rally the next day at a Haymarket square. Mayor Harrison 40 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:47,680 Speaker 1: attended the rally on May fourth, where labor activist August 41 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:51,239 Speaker 1: Fees and anarchists Albert Parsons were some of the people 42 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:55,600 Speaker 1: to give speeches. Somewhere between several hundred and a few 43 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:59,000 Speaker 1: thousand people were in the crowd. Harrison declared that the 44 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:03,200 Speaker 1: rally was not at throw, but police officers remained nearby. 45 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:06,440 Speaker 1: By the time the Methodist preacher and labor activists Samuel 46 00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:09,200 Speaker 1: field In began to speak, the weather was getting worse 47 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:11,880 Speaker 1: and much of the crowd had already left, But near 48 00:03:11,919 --> 00:03:14,160 Speaker 1: the end of the rally a group of officers showed 49 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:17,840 Speaker 1: up to disperse the crowd. An unknown person through a 50 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:21,120 Speaker 1: dynamite bomb near the police, and the police began to 51 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:25,320 Speaker 1: fire into the crowd. In the chaos that ensued, seven 52 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:29,560 Speaker 1: officers and around four workers were killed. It's been estimated 53 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 1: that at least one people were injured in the Haymarket riot. 54 00:03:33,919 --> 00:03:38,880 Speaker 1: The incident triggered anti labor and anti immigrant sentiments. That August, 55 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:41,680 Speaker 1: eight men were sentenced to death or time in prison 56 00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:45,080 Speaker 1: for the bombing, even though no solid evidence linked them 57 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:49,520 Speaker 1: to the incident. The press depicted the men as violent anarchists. 58 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:53,680 Speaker 1: Some people condemned them as radical, while others viewed them 59 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:58,160 Speaker 1: as martyrs. Three of the men were later pardoned. People 60 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:00,280 Speaker 1: also began to blame the Knights of Labor for the 61 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:05,840 Speaker 1: Haymarket affair, associating the organization with violence and anarchism. Membership 62 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:08,640 Speaker 1: in the Nights declined as workers began flogging to the 63 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:13,240 Speaker 1: American Federation of Labor. The labor movement continued to advocate 64 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:17,159 Speaker 1: for the eight hour work day. Different industries reduced working 65 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:21,440 Speaker 1: hours until the New Deal's Fair Labor Standards Act provided 66 00:04:21,520 --> 00:04:26,560 Speaker 1: for a forty hour work week. In I'm Eve Jeff 67 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:29,360 Speaker 1: Cote and hopefully you know a little more about history 68 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:33,159 Speaker 1: today than you did yesterday. And if you have any 69 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:35,800 Speaker 1: suggestions for the show or any other comments, you can 70 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:38,719 Speaker 1: hit au sel on social media where at T D 71 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:41,880 Speaker 1: I HC Podcasts. You can also send us a note 72 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:45,800 Speaker 1: via email at this day at iHeart media dot com. 73 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:48,000 Speaker 1: Thanks again for listening to the show and we'll see 74 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:53,480 Speaker 1: you tomorrow. For more podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit the 75 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:56,200 Speaker 1: iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 76 00:04:56,200 --> 00:04:57,000 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.