Haymarket massacre: The reason behind observance of International Workers’ Day on May 1

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Haymarket massacre: The reason behind observance of International Workers’ Day on May 1

Author

Swapnajit Kundu

Updated On:

01 May 2023 13:25:PM

Haymarket massacre: The reason behind observance of International Workers’ Day on May 1

A sculpture of the wagon and labour leaders on it in Haymarket Square to propagate the eight-hour working day. (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

While the United States had witnessed several protests by labourers at that time for better working conditions, the Haymarket massacre had a major impact on the subsequent course of events.

New Delhi: Labours have always formed the basis of human civilisation by ensuring that the motion of the wheel of progress always remains on the path of progress. Throughout history, labours have fought and protested for their rights, and to honour that struggle, every year, May Day, also called Workers’ Day or International Workers’ Day is celebrated on May 1 in many countries of the world. While we look back at the struggles and movements of the labourers on this day, it is important that we take a look at the Haymarket massacre, which began on May 1 and ended on May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square in Chicago, United States, a protest that altered the course of labour movements.

The prelude to the protest

The US saw an industrial expansion after the Civil War and the Long Depression with Chicago being the industrial hub where several German and Bohemian immigrants used to work. The American workers used to work for an average of 60 hours, during a six-day work week. The labourers protested for improved working conditions, and those were brutally suppressed by the employers, who were aided by the mainstream newspapers.

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Subsequently, movements intensified for the 8-hour work day, and even the anarchists operated a militant revolutionary force with an armed section who believed that success against the police and the seizure of major industrial centres would change the entire scenario for the labour class and make it better.

The protest began on May 1

In October 1884, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions chose May 1, 1886, to start the standardisation of eight-hour work day.

On May 1, thousands of labourers began massive strikes all over the US. On May 3, August Spies, an anarchist, urged the labourers to stay united. The strike was well-planned and largely nonviolent But at the end of the day, some workers confronted the strikebreakers and the police fired on the crowd, killing some workers.

It angered the labourers who decided to organise a strike on May 4 at Haymarket Square. It was peaceful at first, but then, late at night, the police force arrived and ordered the rally to disperse. A homemade bomb with was thrown at the police and it killed one policeman.

The police and workers clashed, and it reportedly killed seven policemen and at least four workers. To date, in the history of the Chicago Police Department, it remains the single most deadly incident of officers being killed in the line of duty, and around 60 policemen were injured.

The legacy of the incident

The Haymarket Affair is said to be the reason behind the observance of International Workers’ Day on May 1. It also marked a culmination of social chaos among the US working class which is known as the Great Upheaval.

In 1992, the site became a designated landmark in Chicago, in 2004, the place got a sculpture. Also, in 1997, the Haymarket Martyrs’ Monument became a National Historic Landmark at the defendants’ burial site in Forest Park