The Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions of the United States and Canada was a federation of labor unions created on November 15, 1881, at Turner Hall in Pittsburgh. It changed its name to
AFL Founding Convention historical marker, Pittsburgh
Haymarket affair
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The Haymarket Affair was a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration on May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square in Chicago. The rally began peacefully in support of workers striking for an eight-hour
Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions
…Chicago on May 4, a bomb was set off—killing one policeman immediately (seven others later died of their injuries. In what later became known as the Haymarket Riot, police opened fire on the crowd. Another 11 people were killed, and dozens more wounded. A large number of the unions participating in the strike on…
This 1886 engraving was the most widely reproduced image of the Haymarket massacre. It shows Methodist pastor Samuel Fielden speaking, the bomb exploding, and the riot beginning simultaneously; in reality, Fielden had finished speaking before the explosion.
The revenge flyer
Engraving of police officer Mathias J. Degan, who was killed by the bomb blast
Engraving of the seven anarchists sentenced to die for Degan's murder. An eighth defendant, Oscar Neebe, not shown here, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.