Standing Fast In the Face of Death:
The Haymarket Defendants and the Fight for the Rights of Workers
Hyun-seok Chang
Senior Division
Historical Paper
Word Count: 2451
1
“The day will come when our silence will be more powerful than the voices you strangle today!”
--August Spies
Bombers, anarchists, defendants, labor advocates and martyrs: these are all words that
define the eight men convicted of the Haymarket Bombing. To some, they were cowards and
terrorists that plagued the nation. To others, they were brave men who were judicially murdered
for advocating for their beliefs. While their stand may be seen as a failure because it did not lead
to immediate victories, few events in labor history holds quite as much weight as the trial,
conviction and execution of these men, who took a stand for the rights of workers and refused to
be silenced, even when they were facing death.
The Haymarket Affair
The Haymarket Affair was set into motion on May 3rd 1886 amidst a citywide strike in
1
Chicago for an eight hour workday. ​ The initially peaceful strike, which started on May 1st, saw
a violent turn when striking workers at the McCormick Harvester Plant were killed at the hands
of the police. The killing prompted a peaceful rally at Haymarket Square to denounce such
2
brutality. ​ As the rally was concluding, the police arrived to disperse the crowd on accounts of
incendiary speech. As the speaker stepped down from his wagon, a dynamite bomb was thrown
at the police from an alley and exploded among their ranks. The square turned into a warzone.
The bomb and the confused gunfire discharged by the police in the aftermath of the explosion
​James Green, ​Death in the Haymarket: A Story of Chicago, the First Labor Movement and the Bombing
That Divided Gilded Age America. (New York, NY: Anchor Books, 2006), 211.
2
Eric Chase, “The Brief Origins of May Day,” 1993, https://iww.org/history/library/misc/origins_of_mayday.
1
2
3
resulted in the death of seven police officers and an unknown number of civilians. ​ The bomb
thrower was never identified and eight high profile labor movement advocates, who based their
ideals on anarchism, were arrested and indicted for their alleged role played in the bombing at
Haymarket Square.
4
The Eight defendants -- August Spies, Adolph Fischer, George Engel, Louis Lingg,
Michael Schwab, Oscar Neebe, Albert Parsons and Samuel Fielden -- stood trial on June 21,
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1886 for the murder of Officer Mathias J. Degan, the only direct casualty of the bomb. ​ As the
trial progressed, it became apparent that the defendants were not being prosecuted for actually
throwing the bomb but for being the people who “abetted encouraged and advised” the bomb
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thrower through their advocacy of force. ​ From a modern standpoint, the trial was anything but
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impartial as a biased judge, packed jury, and general hysteria ruled the court. ​In the end, seven
of the defendants were sentenced to death and the remaining person (Neebe) was sentenced to 15
8
years in prison.
The Ideals of Anarchism
The post Civil War era saw a dramatic industrialization of the United States as new
technical innovations, factory mechanization and a large volume of immigrants spurred the
​Henry David, ​The History of the Haymarket Affair: A Study in the Social Revolutionary and Labor
Movements (New York, NY: Russell & Russell, 1958), 206.
4
​Illinois vs. August Spies et al, Volume O 107-114. N.d.
5
James Green, ​Death in the Haymarket: A Story of Chicago, the First Labor Movement and the Bombing
That Divided Gilded Age America. (New York, NY: Anchor Books, 2006), 211.
6
Ibid., 250; Bernard Kogan, ​The Chicago Haymarket Riot: Anarchy on Trial (Boston, MA: D. C. Heath and
Company, 1959), 50.
7
Peter A. Altgeld, ​Reasons for Pardoning Fielden, Neebe, and Schwab (Chicago IL: s.n, 1893).
8
​Illinois vs. August Spies et al, Volume O 144-152. N.d.
3
3
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growth of industry. ​ As the number of factories increased, the wage system naturally became the
norm. However, the new wage system also caused income inequality to skyrocket. While
wealthy factory owners became increasingly stronger, richer and more influential, the common
laborer was required to endure dreadful working conditions and long hours of work in order to
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scrape together a living, which labor advocates called ‘wage slavery.’ ​ As more and more
workers were integrated into the wage system and the iron grip of their employers, the tension
between two classes rose dramatically. As a result, new ideals, including anarchism, gained
prominence.
Anarchism is a political philosophy that calls for the abolishment authority and is based
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on the ideas of self-liberty and self-governance. ​ Often labeling themselves as the advocates of
the working class, anarchists called for an end to capitalism and government because they
believed that those two systems worked together to “confiscate the labor-product of the
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propertyless, non-possessing class, the wage workers.” ​ In the context of Haymarket affair, this
hate for the capitalist and the government system was not baseless because the defendants, who
subscribed to the ideals of anarchism, were first hand witnesses to the brutality and the hardships
13
that the common laborer had to endure. ​ The defendants initially joined the Socialists Labor
Party in an attempt to reform the current system by ballot. However, when their attempts at
David, ​The History of the Haymarket Affair: A Study in the Social Revolutionary and Labor Movements,
5–6.
10
Ibid., 16–17.
11
Colin Ward, ​Anarchism: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2004), 2–3.
12
Dave Roediger and Franklin Rosemont, ​Haymarket Scrapbook (Chicago, IL: Charles H. Kerr Publishing
Company, 1986), 28.
13
Ibid., 43; Philip S. Foner, ​The Autobiographies of the Haymarket Martyrs (New York, NY: Humanities
Press, 1969), 34, 70, 75, 117–118.
9
4
peaceful reform were repeatedly frustrated by voting fraud, the defendants believed that force
was necessary to free the worker. They loudly advocated for a social revolution.
14
This social revolution that they advocated called for the use of labor strikes as a medium to
achieve working class reform and the use of dynamite to fend of the police and militia that would
15
often interfere with these strikes ​ Their advocacy for a social revolution and the use of force
would later become the driving force behind their convictions.
The Anarchist’s Take a Stand
The immediate aftermath of the trial, saw the Haymarket defendants speaking on their
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own behalf before sentence was passed. ​ Instead of confessing their crimes or expressing sorrow
for their actions, as was customarily done at this allotted time, the Haymarket defendants held
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the floor for three days in order to take a stand. ​ Rather than being silenced by the trial as
authorities had hoped, the defendants defiantly spoke up for anarchism and made it clear that
they were willing to die for what they believed in. August Spies boldly concluded his address by
comparing himself to Jesus and Socrates, stating that “if death is the penalty for proclaiming the
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truth, then I will proudly and defiantly pay the costly price! Call your hangman!” ​ This
willingness to die was also echoed by Albert Parsons who spoke and boldly stated that: “I, a
Paul Avrich, ​The Haymarket Tragedy (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984), 48; Foner, ​The
Autobiographies of the Haymarket Martyrs, 41.
15
Avrich, ​The Haymarket Tragedy, 162, 183–184.
16
Green, ​Death in the Haymarket: A Story of Chicago, the First Labor Movement and the Bombing That
Divided Gilded Age America., 232.
17
Avrich, ​The Haymarket Tragedy, 249.
18
​The Accused and the Accusers: The Famous Speeches of the Eight Anarchists in Court. (Chicago IL:
Socialistic Publishing Society, n.d), 23.
14
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working man, stand here and to your face, in your stronghold of oppression, denounce … your
crimes against Humanity. It is for this I die but my death would not have been in vain.”
19
The stand taken by the defendants was not just restricted to simple rhetoric. The speeches
and the activism of several key defendants and sympathizers, most notably Lucy Parsons -- wife
of Albert Parsons, succeeded in garnering support for a movement of clemency (mercy) for the
Haymarket defendants. The thousands of letters pleas and petitions flooding into Springfield
swayed the governor to grant the Haymarket defendants a sentence commutation if they asked
20
for it. ​ However, only two of the seven condemned men truly appealed for, and later received,
21
clemency. ​ The other five defendants refused to appeal because doing so would mean admitting
wrongdoing. In his letter to the governor, Fischer wrote that unless he could obtain true justice,
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he would “prefer that the verdict be carried out as it stands.” ​ Engle insisted that he had
exercised his First Amendment rights and stated that the authorities “may murder me, but they
cannot legally punish me. I protest against a commutation of my sentence and demand either
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liberty or death. I renounce any kind of mercy.” ​ The condemned defendants further believed
that their deaths would constitute as their final stand against what they saw as a flawed capitalists
system and would awaken the working class to the horrors of capitalism. Engel wrote in a letter
to the citizens of Chicago and the US and stated that “I willingly sacrifice my life if in any
manner it will teach the working people who are their true friends and who are their enemies”.
24
The defendants who hung from the gallows on November 11, 1887 decided to give up their lives
19
Ibid., 173.
David, ​The History of the Haymarket Affair: A Study in the Social Revolutionary and Labor Movements,
427–28.
21
Avrich, ​The Haymarket Tragedy, 355–56.
22
Ibid., 358.
23
Ibid., 359.
24
Ibid.
20
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and roles as husbands, fathers, and friends in order to take a stand for their ideals of anarchism
and free speech in an hope to speed up the downfall of what they saw as a flawed capitalist
system.
Media Influence & Anarchist Perception
While the defendants were taking a stand for their beliefs, many opponents of both
anarchism and the labor movement were taking their own stand against their respective enemies.
In the immediate aftermath of the bombing, the public mind was molded by the media who
described anarchists as “Bloody Brutes,” “Red Ruffians,” “Dynamanarchists,” “Bloody
Monsters” and “Bomb Throwers.”25 The idea of anarchism was forever tainted as newspapers
and journals “uncovered” several gigantic anarchist conspiracies that could destroy the city of
26
Chicago. ​ The media was also quick to emphasize that all but one of the defendants were
immigrants and described them as the “offscourings of Europe” who “sought these shores to
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abuse the hospitality and defy the authority of the country.” ​ The negative image drawn by the
media, and the faulty or distorted information they printed, succeeded in morphing the public
mind. From that moment onward, anarchism became synonymous with terrorism, chaos, and
violence. Furthermore, the image of an anarchist was reduced to a thick bearded, shaggy looking
European immigrant with a dynamite bomb in hand, even though many anarchists were peaceful
visionaries and activists who attempted to reform society. A remarkable similarity can be drawn
between Haymarket incident on one hand and the 9/11 attacks and the Paris bombings on the
other. Just like Haymarket incident, both terrorist’s attacks, were committed by a small group
25
Ibid., 216
Ibid.
27
Ibid., 219.
26
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that created general public fear, leading to the alienation of a large group of innocent people
(muslims, syrian refugees, etc).
The stand taken by the opponents of the labor and anarchist movements could do nothing
to halt the events in the aftermath of the executions. Both anarchist, sympathizer, and clemency
advocate stood in united shock and anguish as the result of the killings. To some, the defendants
would be remembered as unfortunate victims who were executed because they exercised their
right of free speech and assembly. Others would see them as martyrs who took a stand for their
beliefs to the point of death. Popular support for them was quite substantial as the funeral
processions of the defendants attracted more mourners than Abraham Lincoln's procession
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through Chicago. ​Waldheim cemetery, their final resting place gained a pilgrimage status
29
among anarchists and socialists from the world over. ​ To the anarchists, the gallows would gain
a significance that was similar to the Christian holy cross and many wore silver and gold gallows
pins to show their support for the defendants.30 In anarchist meeting halls and homes around the
world, the portraits of the martyred defendants would be hung from the walls. On the anniversary
of their deaths, hundreds of mass meeting would be called all over the world to commemorate
31
the defendants and thousands would attend these mass meetings. ​ The death of the martyrs also
“awakened” many prominent radicals. Of these radicals, perhaps the most famous is Emma
Goldman who described the event as an eye opener, stating that “something new and wonderful
had been born in my soul. A great ideal, a burning faith, a determination to dedicate myself to
the memory of my martyred comrades, to make a cause of my own.” She would later become
Green, ​Death in the Haymarket: A Story of Chicago, the First Labor Movement and the Bombing That
Divided Gilded Age America., 275.
29
Avrich, ​The Haymarket Tragedy, 414.
30
Ibid., 411.
31
Ibid., 411.
28
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one of the most iconic advocates for the cause of anarchy and would take a stand for anarchism,
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peace, sexual liberty, reproductive rights, and freedom of expression​. ​ The stand made by the
Haymarket defendants did not seem to end with their deaths as thousands of workers continued
their work and stood for the ideals they died for.
The Legacy of the Haymarket Affair
The Haymarket Affair and the stand of the eight defendants had a deep and resounding
impact in our lives 130 years later. The Affair was the driving force behind the founding of
International Working People’s Day or otherwise known as May Day on May 1st. Many
countries around the globe adopted this day as the day to celebrate worker’s rights and advocate
for continued improvements for the workers. On the other hand, public fear of anarchism and
xenophobia that formed in the aftermath of the Haymarket Affair in the U.S. was a driving factor
in President Grover Cleveland’s decision to celebrate labor day on the first monday of September
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instead of May 1st in order to disassociate the holiday from the Haymarket Affair. ​ But most
importantly, the death of the Haymarket defendants lead to a legal day’s work being set at eight
hours.
The negative connotations of the media also affect our lives today. The manipulation of
public memory by the press, coupled with the first red scare that was to follow, took many left
wing radicals out of action. The ideals of socialism, anarchism, and communism were forever
32
Ibid., 446.
Brendan I. Koerner, “Why Do We Get Labor Day Off?: Raise a Glass to the Desperate Politicking of
Grover Cleveland.,” 2010,
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2010/09/why_do_we_get_labor_day_off.html.
33
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branded as un-American ideals, and those words are still is used today to negatively label any
movement or person that aims at furthering the lives of workers or the needy.
All the working class’s problems did not fade with the death of the Haymarket
defendants. The tension and distrust between the wealthy privileged and the working class,
which fueled the Haymarket affair, continues today. The Great Recession in particular, which
stretched between late 2000s and early 2010s, created a perfect condition for the ideas of the
Haymarket defendants to flourish, albeit in more moderate terms. For example, in 2011, the
Occupy Wall Street protest gathered thousand to protest against the power and influence of the
wealthy elite over the government and demanded that the voice of the common worker be heard
in government, too. More recently, in 2016, one of the major promises made by Republican
candidate Donald Trump was to “drain the swamp” of Washington by ridding the capital of rich
lobbyists and returning control back to the people. This stance won him enough votes in key
states to win the presidency, showing that the working class people feel left out of the
government just as the workers in the gilded age. Another unresolved problem that dates from
the Haymarket Affair was the suppression of union rights by the government which continues
today. For example, in 2011 many states, most notably Wisconsin, decided to pass laws that
stripped the collective bargaining rights of state employed workers. This law was met with
strikes, protests, sit-ins, and general resistance by union workers until the bill was passed on
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March 11th 2011.
Steve Contorno, Dan Benson, and Ben Jones, “Police: Wisconsin Protest Saturday ‘One of Largest,’” ​USA
Today, 2011, http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-02-26-wisconsin-saturday-rally_N.htm.
34
10
Conclusion
Had the Haymarket defendants decided to bow their heads and withdraw from their stand
they could have avoided death and the Haymarket Affair could have been a single obscure event
on the long history of labor movements. Instead, the Haymarket defendants decided to stand,
even choosing to die so that their beliefs might live. Their deaths passed them into what many
people considered martyrdom, prompting others to take a stand of their own. The Haymarket
Affair has a vast reaching legacy that still touches us. No matter what label is used to describe
the event, it is difficult to argue that the stand of the defendants, the media’s influence, and the
inspiration that was prompted did nothing to change the world we live in today.
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Annotated Bibliography
Primary Sources
Altgeld, Peter A. ​Reasons for Pardoning Fielden, Neebe, and Schwab. Chicago IL: s.n, 1893.
In this primary source written by governor Altgeld to justify the full pardons he issued for
Fielden Neebe and Schwab. This source gave valuable insight Altgeld would believe that
the trial was unfair gives some valuable insight on why the reasons people at the time
thought the trial was biased and unfair.
Foner, Philip S. ​The Autobiographies of the Haymarket Martyrs. New York, NY: Humanities
Press, 1969.
The Autobiographies of the Haymarket Martyrs is the collection of the autobiographies
that each defendant wrote. By reading them I was able to get as close as I could to
understanding the minds of these defendants and lean what they decided to stand for.
Kogan, Bernard. ​The Chicago Haymarket Riot: Anarchy on Trial. Boston, MA: D. C. Heath and
Company, 1959.
This was just a small collection of Haymarket primary sources such as the opening and
closing statements of the defense and the prosecution as well as the newspaper articles
that reported the event. While I learned a lot about the media response to the bombing
and the thoughts of many labor leaders, the book was mainly used to cross reference my
research.
Illinois vs. August Spies et al. (Haymarket Affair Digital Collection, Dist. file Accessed November
7, 2017).
I was able to aquire the case through the Haymarket digital collection, which was a
collection Haymarket sources that was maintained by the Chicago Historical Society.
However, the site was deleted or moved halfway during my research so I had to use the
internet archive to be able to study it again, This source was mainly used for cross
referencing the facts I find or my go to place if I have questions about the trial. As it was
a lengthy legal document, I did not read it all.
12
Roediger, Dave, and Franklin Rosemont. H
​ aymarket Scrapbook. Chicago, IL: Charles H. Kerr
Publishing Company, 1986.
The Haymarket Scrapbook was a large collection of primary sources bundled into a book
by Roediger and the other authors. By reading this book, I was able to understand a lot
more about the thoughts and ideals of the anarchists because it had a lot of their letters
and notes that I couldn't have found otherwise. I was also able to gauge the reactions of
certain people which made this book a very valuable primary source.
Sinclair, Upton. ​The Jungle. New York, NY: Doubleday Publishing, 1906.
When it comes describing the horrible life of an immigrant worker, T
​ he Jungle is
unsurpassable. Even though it is a work of fiction and is set after the time period that I
studied, Sinclair’s book was rooted in his own research and time in Chicago. Through
this book I was able to understand why the workers were so discontent about their
working conditions and why the labor advocates were using the term “wage slavery.”
The Accused and the Accusers: The Famous Speeches of the Eight Anarchists in Court.
Chicago IL: Socialistic Publishing Society, n.d.
This document recorded the speeches that the eight Haymarket anarchists gave in their
defense and gave me some very strong quotes that back up my argument that stated
that the Haymarket anarchists took a stand in court by refusing to admit wrongdoing and
hotly advocating anarchism.
Secondary Sources
Adelman, William J. "The Story Of the Haymarket Affair." The Story Of the Haymarket Affair.
Accessed January 3, 2017.
http://www.illinoislaborhistory.org/haymarket/the-story-of-the-haymarket-affair.html
In this short but dense web article on the Haymarket Affair, Adelman explains the
timeline of the Haymarket Affair. In addition to talking about the bombing and the trial,
Adelman skillfully contextualizes the bombing with the wider labor movement and
criticizes the fact that such an important event became forgotten, even as we live with
the effects of the events today (Note: I had to use the internet archive to read the article
as the article was taken down some time ago).
Avrich, Paul. ​The Haymarket Tragedy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984.
The Haymarket Tragedy was a very detailed book that follows the anarchists all the way
from their political youth to their death. Avrich skillfully explains why the defendants
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decided to become anarchists and contextualizes the Haymarket bombing in a manner
that is easy to understand. His book also sees a lot of quotes from various anarchists
that I could find nowhere else. His references were slightly lacking however, because
many of the quotes did not have a corresponding source to explore to glean more.
Chase, Eric. "The Brief Origins of May Day." The Brief Origins of May Day. 1993. Accessed
January 3, 2017. http://www.iww.org/history/library/misc/origins_of_mayday.
This web article explained the actions of unions as well as the Haymarket Affair to
explain the origins of May Day. The text was incredibly dense and I gleaned lots of
information from this source. However I had to read this source with caution as it was
written by the IWW, a labor union that was founded by Lucy Parsons (wife of Albert
Parsons) and many Haymarket anarchist supporters.
Contorno, Steve, Dan Benson, and Ben Jones. “Police: Wisconsin Protest Saturday ‘One of
Largest.’” ​USA Today, 2011.
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-02-26-wisconsin-saturday-rally_N.ht
m.
History is made much more exciting and relevant when it is connected to the current
events around us. The 2011 Wisconsin protests are a protest that I myself remember
very well and I saw some common themes between the Haymarket Affair and the
protests I used this brief news article, which describe the protests that happened in
Wisconsin, to hammer out some facts about the protests and connect the current event
to the past event in my paper.
David, Henry. ​The History of the Haymarket Affair: A Study in the Social Revolutionary and
Labor Movements. New York, NY: Russell & Russell, 1958.
The History of the Haymarket Affair seemed to focus more on the labor and industrial
struggles that gave rise to anarchism. Almost half the book is dedicated to gauging the
climate of the industrial workers and the anarchists support of anarchy, making the book
a rather dull read. Despite the dullness, I was able to extract many useful facts from this
book, especially the connections of anarchism with the labor movement.
Green, James. ​Death in the Haymarket: A Story of Chicago, the First Labor Movement and the
Bombing That Divided Gilded Age America. New York, NY: Anchor Books, 2006.
In this book, Green takes a broader look at things and tells the Haymarket Affair with in
the broader context. The book analyses the influence of world events at that time such
as the Paris Commune and the eight hour movement. After contextualizing the events,
Green proceeds to keep a focused approach at the Haymarket Affair as his
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contextualization deepens the actions by the Haymarket Anarchists during the
Haymarket Affair. This book was the starting point of my research and served as the
background knowledge.
Green, James, and Jonathan Cutler. "The Haymarket Riot Remembered." Interview by Debbie
Elliott. Npr.org. April 26, 2006. Accessed January 3, 2017.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5369420.
This source is a very short interview that I listened to when I was first interested in the
Haymarket Affair where Debbie Elliott interviews Jonathan Culler and James Green
reads the hanging seen of his book D
​ eath in the Haymarket. The reading of the hanging
was not important as it was written in the book above, but the Q & A session about the
legacy of the Haymarket Affair got me very interested in the topic as it connected the
event with the real world today.
Greenwood, Janette Thomas. ​The Gilded Age: A History in Documents. New York, NY: Oxford
University Press, 2000.
In this book, Greenwood takes about the Gilded age, covering everything from the big
businesses and the slums. Greenwood had this interesting tendency to show rather than
tell as she used primary sources to walk the reader through the Gilded age. I used this
book to give myself a broad insight over the whole Gilded age period so that I could
research and understand my topic more.
Koerner, Brendan I. “Why Do We Get Labor Day Off?: Raise a Glass to the Desperate
Politicking of Grover Cleveland.,” 2010. Accessed December 20, 2016.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2010/09/why_do_we_get_lab
or_day_off.html.
In another instance of connecting the modern day to the events of the pass, I decided to
research to try to figure out the origins of labor day and to cross reference my sources to
see if labor day really happened because of the Haymarket Affair. This short article
confirmed the informations that I read elsewhere as it is consistent with the fact that
Grover Cleveland put it on the 1st monday of September because he was scared of the
association May Day had with the Haymarket Anarchists..
McLean, George M. ​The rise and fall of anarchy in America. From its incipient stage to the first
bomb thrown in Chicago. Chicago, IL: R. G. Bodoux & Co, 1888.
In this book, McLean writes the events of the Haymarket Affair like a novel, writing direct
conversations to supplement his writing. I honestly did not like it because I thought it
read like a novel but it did indicate the anarchists beliefs and even has their speeches in
court written down in the book.
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Messer-Kruse, Timothy. ​The Trial of the Haymarket Anarchists: Terrorism and Justice in the
Gilded Age. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
This book took a very unique stance in books that are written for the Haymarket Affair.
Instead of writing about the actual event, this book argued that the trial was fair for the
time and the anarchists deliberately lost the trial so that they could become martyrs.
While it was not very informative, it sort of pushed me towards the idea that the
anarchists were not just dragged into court but that they took a stand.
Smith, Laurajane, Paul A. Shackel, and Gary Campbell. ​Heritage, labour, and the working
classes. London: Routledge, 2011.
I only used chapter 3, which described the fight for the public memory of the Haymarket
defendants through the use of sculptures and monuments. My paper did not focus that much on
the monuments but the paper, had lots of good factual information and informed me that there is
a fight over who gets to control the legacy of the Haymarket Affair, showing how the
interpretation of the Haymarket Affair is so mixed among everybody.
Smith, Sharon. ​Subterranean Fire: A History of Working-Class Radicalism in the United States.
Chicago, IL: Haymarket Books, 2006.
While not about the Haymarket bombing in particular, this book talked a lot about the
radical elements of the labor movement and the strategies that the capitalist would use
to squash that anarchism. It did not yield a lot of information about the Haymarket
movement itself but did a good job clarifying why so little radicalism exists in the US
today.
Ward, Colin. ​Anarchism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2004.
This book gave me very short introduction of anarchism that was concise and right to the
point. In the book, Ward describes the ideals and rationals surrounding anarchist
thoughts. As many of other books already talked about the ideals and growth of
anarchism in the US, this source is in the bibliography for its value as a source to cross
reference other sources with.
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