The Hay Market Riot
During the Labor Union Movement period, many events took place. One of those events is the Hay Market Riot on May 1st, 1886. It first started with a nationwide strike that wanted to reduce the work time to 8 hours. Soon police came to disperse the huge crowd from striking. When this a happened, someone threw a bomb that detonated in the crowd. This bomb had shrapnel in it (which is a lead ball with powder in it) and injured over 100 people and killed at least 10 people.
The thrower of this bomb was never identified so instead the Labor Unionists were blamed. They were blamed because the people believed that the Labor Unionists labor unions were the cause of it all. Arrests were made against them.
The thrower of this bomb was never identified so instead the Labor Unionists were blamed. They were blamed because the people believed that the Labor Unionists labor unions were the cause of it all. Arrests were made against them.
This is a newspaper front cover that shows the bombing at the Hay Market Riot. It shows that people were fighting and that many of them got injured.
So as a result of the Hay Market Riot, Labor in America as a whole was set back. Americans were distraught and confused over the entire thing. Following the Hay Market Riot however, a new Labor Group formed. They were called the American Federation of Labor.