4 maio 1886 ano - Haymarket Affair

Descrição:

A labour protest rally turned into a riot after someone threw a bomb at the police. Violence was a trend in early union activity in America and the authorities were violent back.

The rally was organised by labour radicals to protest the killing and wounding of several workers by the Chicago police during a strike the day before. The police had arrived at the rally to disperse it. The police (and possibly some members of the crowd) open fired and 7 policemen and 4 workers were killed. 8 were arrested and 5 executed. This was a setback for the unions as it further weakened and divided the labour movement and destroyed the reputation of the Knights of Labor. It also made white Americans even more suspicious of immigrants. In the 1880s during the Gilded Age, there was a lot of socialism associated with the increasing demand for workers rights.