The Progressive Movement and the Haymarket Riot

The Progressive Movement

The Progressive Movement was a period of social and political reform largely driven by the middle class.

It initially began within the Republican Party but quickly spread across the political spectrum. A primary goal was to combat political corruption and limit the excessive control of businesses over American political institutions, such as the Senate.

Reform efforts also focused on improving the lives of the American working class, who faced very bad working and living conditions, including widespread illnesses and child labor.

Theodore Roosevelt was a prominent figure during this era, known for his efforts to establish a balance between business interests and the rights of workers, as well as his earlier fame as a national hero in the Spanish-American War and the association with the teddy bear.

The Haymarket Riot

The Haymarket Riot took place in Haymarket Square. The events began on May 1st with a strike demanding an eight-hour workday.

On May 1, 1886 (later known as May Day), labor unions in Chicago organized a strike to advocate for an eight-hour workday. By 21st-century standards, working conditions in the city were miserable. Most workers toiled for ten to twelve hours a day, often six days a week, under dangerous conditions. On May 3, striking workers gathered near the Cyrus McCormick reaper plant. Chicago police attacked the strikers without warning, killing two, wounding several others, and sparking outrage throughout the city's working community.

Local anarchists distributed flyers calling for a rally at Haymarket Square, a bustling commercial center (also called the Haymarket) near the corner of Randolph Street and Des Plaines Avenue in what later became Chicago's West Loop. These flyers alleged that police had murdered the strikers on behalf of business interests and urged workers to seek justice. One flyer insisted they fight back with weapons: "To arms, we call you, to arms!"

However, few copies of this version are known to have been distributed. The rally began peacefully under a light rain on the evening of May 4. Anarchist leader August Spies addressed the large crowd from an open wagon on a side street. According to many witnesses, Spies stated he was not there to incite anyone. Meanwhile, a large number of on-duty police officers watched from nearby. The crowd was so calm that Mayor Carter Harrison, Sr., who had stopped by to observe, went home early. Sometime later, the police ordered the rally to disperse and began marching in formation towards the speakers' wagon. A lit, fused bomb was thrown, landing near the police line, killing twelve people, including a policeman, Mathias J. Degan (seven other policemen later died from their injuries). The police immediately opened fire on the crowd, injuring dozens. Many of the wounded were afraid to seek medical treatment for fear of being arrested. In total, eleven people died.

The press had a strong influence on the decisions made after the riot. The biased way in which they presented the events is clear, mainly in the cartoons they published but also in the photographs and drawings they included.