On May 1, Chicago saw the maximum number of workers going on strike, with this number reaching over 300,000 across the entire country. All the labor unions, affirming the eight-hour day demand, geared up for a general strike on this day. This period is characterized by the prominent eight-hour day movement, which pushed for ‘eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest’.įederation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions had, in an 1884 convention, decided to be the day when the movement for eight-hour day across the nation would commence. The incident, also known as the Haymarket Massacre or Haymarket Affair, is considered to be an important landmark in the history of the labor movement, not just in the United States, but the world over.
The labor unions and the movement for the rights of industrial workers were gaining momentum during the 1880s. Their leaders included August Spies, Albert Parsons, and Samuel Fielden. Some socialist and anarchist organizations were active too. The ‘Knights of Labor’ was a favored union with a membership reaching around 700,000 by the year 1886. Given such a huge workforce, Chicago also saw the development of groups and unions demanding better working conditions. Chicago was a major center of industrial activity, and also home to many German immigrants. Many of the accused who were tried after the riots were not even present at the Haymarket assembly, but were arrested just because they organized the unions.Īfter the Depression of the 1870s, industrial production began to flourish in the United States.
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