File:Haymarket Martyrs Monument (7402970314).jpg

The Haymarket Martyrs' Monument in Forest Park, a national landmark (1893). On May 1, 1886, the eight-hour maximum workday became standard as decreed by the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions. To ensure that employers took these new rules seriously, hundreds of thousands of workers went on strike. The epicenter of these strikes was in Chicago, where over 40,000 went on strike. Two days later, a gathering outside the McCormick Harvesting Machine Co. plant turned violent as police and workers exchanged gunfire, killing two workers. Anarchists quickly organized a rally at Haymarket Square the next day (the corner of Randpolph and Des Plaines Sts.). It was intended to be non-violent, but as the rally was ending, an unknown individual threw a pipe bomb at police, killing an officer and causing them to retaliate. At least eight policeman and four demonstrators were killed. Eight anarchist leaders were arrested and tried in court for organizing the rally. Despite little evidence directly connecting the leaders to the bombing, seven of the eight were sentenced to death as conspirators. The trial became a national sensation after the verdict, dividing American opinions on the results. On November 11, 1887, the four remaining anarchists sentenced to death (two of the seven were commuted to life in prison and another committed suicide the night before the execution) were hanged and buried in Waldheim Cemetery in Forest Park.

In 1888, the Chicago Tribune urged readers to donate to a fund to honor those in the Chicago Police Department who died during the Haymarket Affair. The fundraiser was a success, and $10,000 was raised for a memorial statue. The Pioneer Aid and Support Association, led by prominent anarchist Lucy Parsons, quickly responded with a statue of their own, and the Haymarket Martyrs' Monument was dedicated on June 25, 1893 in Waldheim Cemetery. Shortly thereafter, Illinois Governor (and labor advocate) John Peter Altgeld signed pardons for the surviving anarchists. The monument was the center of a large gathering on May 4, 1968 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Haymarket Affair and to protest the Vietnam War. Today, it is almost impossible to view the monument clean of anarchist vandalism.

This is an image of a place or building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States of America. Its reference number is 97000343.