Rapid Industrialization In The Late 19th Century

It’s the evening of May 4th, 1886 in Chicago, Illinois. A bomb is thrown by an unknown figure in the protesting crowd at the forceful police trying to calm the mass, killing seven members of the armed forces. To this day it is unknown who threw the bomb and why they did it but this event was one that defined a period of rapid industrialization and great corruption in the United States. The conditions that defined this era in the history of still young country, where the graves still lay fresh from civil war and with the seams that were broken barley mended back together, would become the clamor of the nineteenth century. This riot was not just a random outbreak during a labor demonstration but rather a boiling over of a culmination of many factors that were building up in the late 19th century.
The industrial revolution changed basically every aspect of urban life in America’s swiftly expanding cities.
Although industrialization and mechanization began in Britain in the late 18th century it quickly spread across the Atlantic and by the 1840’s it began to boom in the United States. Urbanization in America’s cities during the era of industrialization manifested in which direction America was heading. The United States transformed from a mostly rural agricultural society to quickly advancing urban nation. A prime example of America’s recent urban explosion at the time would be Chicago. What was once a small northwestern outpost quickly became one on the Unites States’ most urban cities. Chicago owed this great expansion to the creation of the Erie and Michigan canals and the coming of the Transatlantic Railroad. With all this growing came many new people, most of Chicago’s population growth came from immigrants mostly German and Irish. This great mass of immigrants living in Chicago held mostly hardworking blue-collar jobs and with terrible working
conditions. All of this change brought on instability not only to Chicago but also to the Nation as a whole. This instability was due mostly to the ever-widening gap between the ultra-rich and the working poor. Unfortunately for America’s working class the upper class controlled everything in their lives, which would help widen the gap between the two classes. This persistent pounding of the poor working class even farther down the social ladder resulted in the formation of labor unions against the unfair working conditions, unfair pair, and unfair working hours. The Panic of 1873 brought widespread unemployment and even more widespread poverty to America’s now bustling metropolises. The panic was to become a major blow to the labor unions and the working class. Because of the great amount of people seeking jobs if any worker were to step out of line or complain they would be immediately fired and immediately replaced. This was basically the end of any chance for the labor unions to get better working conditions and fairer hours and wages. All of this instability, corruption, and poor living conditions led to the infamous Haymarket Riot. The day began as a peaceful labor protest in Haymarket Square, Chicago but soon turned violent. The police were called into to get the crowd under control; a bomb was thrown at the police in an attempt to retaliate the unfair stop the police were trying to put to the demonstration. The bomb resulted in gunfire and the death of seven officers, and countless civilians. Eight of the rioting “anarchists” as they were called were put on trial for treason and murder. Four of the rioters were put to death and one committed suicide. This display of violence was not just simply a demonstration gone wrong but the working class attempt to stand up for what they believed that they deserved.