Homework 2/17 Option 1

1.   The Haymarket Square Riot. The Haymarket Riot was an organized riot to reduce work hours for workers at the McCormick Harvesting Machine Co. A pipe bomb was thrown into the crowd of officers and seven were killed and many more injured.

2. In the period of 1870-1900, labor unions and organizations were rarely successful in achieving their goals primarily because of problems with being able to organize large numbers of American Workers. The rare victories for labor were isolated incidents because there were no labor organizations on a national or even state-wide basis... due to the Haymarket Square Bombing, which was associated with anarchists, and confirmed the public's opinion when several people were killed in the riot. Continued apathy and opposition by the public, management, and the government forced labor to organize to protect its interests. Although union demonstrations resulted in workers being injured, dead, or fired they set the way for unions in the future to be successful in their endeavors. These demonstrations were successful in the fact that they showed management and companies that the American worker can unite and be heard as one voice rather than a mass of passive workers.
3. This essay tells about the labor unions and organizations of the sort. It tells us that they are rarely successful. The Haymarket Riot relates to this essay because of the lack of labor organizations around the country. It also mentions the Riot in the text (in the middle). I think that the workers of McCormick Harvesting Machine Co. (the rioters) had the right idea in mind to do what they did. They, though could have done it in a non-harmful way. They could have threatened to quit if working time wasn’t cut down, or even go as a small group once in a while to protest. Both these ways were less violent than a riot and proved your point, plus it would nag the owner that you keep visiting him to cut down on your hours of work. To view where this essay is typed, visit http://www.writework.com/essay/failed-farm-and-labor-organizations-late-19th-century/q/haymarket+square+riot