The factory grew over time but Cyrus still managed to know all his employees. Cyrus McCormick owned the company and was a kind gentleman that knew all 43 of his employees by name. The company made various farming equipment which included the reaper. It all started with one company in the 1840's called McCormick Harvester Works. This reached attention nationwide after a questionnaire was sent out to employers. In the summer of 1884 the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions began talking about creating a national strike for an eight hour work day. Unfortunately that law didn't stick because workers were working well over eight hours a day. Since 1867, a law was passed for federal employees and workers in Illinois that supposedly protected employees for an eight hour a day. Skilled labor workers were favored more than the unskilled workers during the labor movement that is why unskilled workers joined unions to protest. Most of the immigrants were not skilled workers who would work for cheap wages and long hours. Immigrants made up a significant percentage of the workers during this time and they came to America for a job to provide for their families. Workers were not considered to have rights or protection.
American workers have been protesting as early as the 1760's for better working conditions. After the Knights of Labor reputation was lost, the American Federation of Labor gained popularity and soon became the most dominate labor union in America. After the riot the Knights of Labor were held liable for the occurrence and eight of the leaders were convicted for being part of the Haymarket Square Riot. During this time the Knights of Labor were very popular and maintained a respectable status. "There's nothing in it for the capitalist class," he said.In 1886 in the windy city of Chicago an important event occurred in the history of the United States called the Haymarket Riot.
I think it'll be exciting to pay attention to see the ways in which its history is remembered."įor a day that celebrates reform and revolution, political discussions and petitions, said Linebaugh, there's something in it for everyone. "Some of the workers of Czarist Russia also celebrated May Day, but quickly within 10 years, say by the 1930s, it becomes the Soviet Union a day to display military hardware, military weapons," Linebaugh said.Īs for Americans this year, he mused, "How it will be celebrated this day?" In the former Soviet Union, May Day was an occasion to honor workers' contributions with giant parades in Red Square, a tradition that has dwindled in the decades since - a fading remnant of the Bolshevik Revolution that's lost its meaning in modern Russia. That day as many as a half-million workers may have walked off their jobs. As part of a campaign to establish an eight-hour workday planned two-years prior a national strike and protest was scheduled for Saturday, May 1, 1886.
origins, said Linebaugh, many Americans, still view May Day as strictly a holiday enjoyed by "communist countries." The answer is piece of Chicago history pointing to the events culminating at Haymarket Square on May 4th, 1886. Who Shares Its Economic Growth? It's not just a "communist" holidayĭespite International Labor Day's U.S. "Even though no evidence was ever produced that any of them had any relationship to this bomb, and four of them were eventually hanged despite a worldwide campaign in England, Europe, Mexico to save their lives."
MCCORMICK REAPER WORKS STRIKE 1886 TRIAL
"There was a trial of eight men who were found guilty of conspiracy to murder," Linebaugh said. Again, the police intervened, said Linebaugh, triggering clashes that killed both officers and civilians.Ī bomb exploded among police ranks in the melee, but historians say it's unclear whether it was intended for the police or the crowd of civilians. The police arrived but the mob refused to disperse and started showering the police with stones.
MCCORMICK REAPER WORKS STRIKE 1886 WINDOWS
The strikers armed with stones shattered the windows of the factory. The next day about 12,000 strikers gathered at the McCormick Reaper Works on Western Avenue, Chicago. The following day, a meeting held in the city's Haymarket Square turned even bloodier. Haymarket Riot for kids: Monday May 3, 1886. 1886, striking workers clashed with Chicago police officers outside the. By May 3, the protests turned violent when police - "which were basically the armed force of the capitalist masters," according to historian Linebaugh - attacked workers demonstrating near the McCormick Reaper plant. The strike at the McCormick Reaper Factory, which preceded the Haymarket Riot, was part of a coordinated labor movement. On that May date, anarchists and labor activists in Chicago began a multi-day strike in what became known as the Haymarket affair of 1886. The Two-Way May Day Marchers Around The World Celebrate Workers, Immigrants
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