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N0KFQ > TODAY 04.05.14 16:42l 50 Lines 2139 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 19568_N0KFQ
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - May 4
Path: IZ3LSV<IK2XDE<DB0RES<DB0ANF<CX2SA<ZL2BAU<N9PMO<N0KFQ
Sent: 140504/1440Z 19568@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.60
May 4, 1886:
A riot breaks out in Haymarket Square
What begins as a peaceful labor protest in Haymarket Square in
Chicago, Illinois, turns into a riot, leaving more than 100
wounded and 8 police officers dead. After Chicago authorities
arrested and detained nearly every anarchist and socialist in
town, eight men, who were either speakers in or organizers of the
protest, were charged with murder.
The day before the riot, a couple of people were killed and
others were wounded in an unprovoked attack by police officers
firing into a crowd of striking workers at the nearby McCormick
Reaper Works. Despite tension the following day, the crowd at
Haymarket Square was listening quietly to speakers advocating a
mandatory eight-hour workday for employees. As the final speaker
was winding the rally down, police officers forced their way
toward the stage to disperse the crowd, provoking someone to
throw a bomb into the crowd.
After the explosion, officers began firing wildly in all
directions, inciting a riot among protestors. About sixty police
officers were wounded and eight died. Although the public was
later led to believe that the deaths resulted from the bomb,
seven of the eight fatalities and the great majority of the
injuries were caused by shots fired by fellow officers during the
confusion.
Despite the lack of evidence linking the eight anarchists to the
bomb, Chicago authorities clamped down on the radicals with the
full support of the public. The defendants were widely believed
to be guilty before the trial began. In fact, jury selection at
the trial took a full 21 days. Not a single juror was accepted in
the first eight days because virtually every one was convinced
that the defendants were guilty.
Seven of the eight defendants received death sentences. On
November 11, 1887, four of the defendants were hanged. One man,
also scheduled for execution, killed himself the day before.
Governor John Atgeld pardoned the remaining three defendants in
1893, after they had served seven years in prison.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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