USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -On May 4, 1886 several police officers were killed when a bomb exploded at a Chicago labor rally. The so-called Haymarket Affair saw eight avowed anarchists sentenced to death for the bombing. When Illinois Governor John Altgeld pardoned several of the condemned men, he effectively ended his own political career.

Detailed explanation-2: -Following the confrontation, in which several police officers and demonstrators were killed and scores injured, August Spies and seven other labour leaders were tried and convicted of murder. Four of them, including Spies, were hanged; one committed suicide; and three were eventually pardoned by Illinois Gov.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Haymarket Riot increased union membership. Organized labor was still relatively new at the time, and in the months after the May 1886 Riot, the nation’s largest labor union, the Knights of Labor, added over 40, 000 members.

Detailed explanation-4: -On May 4, 1886, a bomb detonates near Haymarket Square in Chicago after police arrive to break up a rally in support of striking workers. This protest is one of a number of strikes, demonstrations, and other events held by workers and their supporters in Chicago from May 1-4 to advocate for an eight hour workday.