The Haymarket Affair - 2094 Words

The Haymarket Affair For many, America is not just the country they happen to live in but also it is a place of freedoms, liberties and independencies and even a refuge for some people. In 1886 though, a group of people attempted to share their opinion in Haymarket Square, Chicago, which led to a dangerous riot and a series of trials with convictions and executions. Throughout the affair, innocent lives were lost, people were wrongly accused, and the judicial system was revealed as flawed. Throughout the trial, Constitutional rights were overlooked in the name of prejudice and because of fear, just to please the public. The Haymarket Affair involved a violent riot caused by overbearing police officers; it also involved unfair trials†¦show more content†¦At the close of trial proceedings, the judge informed the jury that they could find the eight accused to be guilty even if the crime was committed by someone who was not charged. He also said that it was not necessary for the state to know the i dentity of the bomber or to prove that the bomber had read any of the articles or poster of the charged anarchists. Though the judge, prosecutor, and jury can be considered misguided in their bias and actions of injustice, some of the witnesses against the accused are widely acknowledged as liars. In comparison to the eyewitnesses of the defendants, every part of their details went against those of the witnesses of the police. Though the defendants faced prejudice and discrimination, they kept on with their cases and appeals until the verdicts were determined. The attorneys of the accused were Black and Swett. Along with the allegation that Grinnell’s witnesses were lying, the defending lawyers said that none of the eight had intended for any form violence and they even offered proof that some of the accused were not even near Haymarket Square on May 4th. Furthermore along with their apparent innocence, six of the eight were not present when the bomb went off, and the two that were there, Spies and Samuel Fielden were both in plain view of the crowd and police. Despite the logic of the defendant’s case, passion and prejudice led the jury to conclude that the bombing was a direct result of a deliberate conspiracy. On August 20,Show MoreRelatedThe Gilded Age : Fear Of Reform1351 Words   |  6 Pages Finnley Maier Hist 423 Death in Haymarket: Fear of Reform in the Gilded Age The Gilded Age was an important time in America’s development. Chicago was a zeitgeist for the Gilded Age, with railroads flowing in and out from all over the country; its no wonder Chicago became a hub for both economic productivity and turmoil. It was a period of both prosperity and poverty. The Gilded Age was marred by tensions over the wealth gap, political corruptionRead MoreCivil Railroad Strike : The Pullman Strike976 Words   |  4 PagesHomestead strike inspired many workers, but it also revealed how difficult it was for any union to win against the combined power of the corporation and the government. Haymarket Affair: The Haymarket affair (also known as the Haymarket Massacre or Haymarket riot) was a bombing at a labor strike on Tuesday May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square in Chicago. A bomb was thrown at some policemen trying to disperse the labor rally. The police acted and shot into the crowd, killing several people in the crowdRead MoreLabor Unions in the Late 1800s Essay820 Words   |  4 Pageseight-hour workday, ridiculously low pay and unfair company town practices were often the fuses that lit explosive conflicts between unions and monopolistic industrialists. Some of the most violent and important conflicts of the time were the Haymarket Affair and the Pullman strike. Each set out to with similar goals and both ended with horrifying consequences. The movement for the eight-hour workday was one of the most violent struggles for laborers. Their struggle is defined by protests that wereRead MoreVictorianism And Anti Victorianism At War1188 Words   |  5 Pagessystem had failed. The tensions were finally manifested in a series of strikes with a violent ending. The Haymarket uprising in 1876 was a tragic affair that influenced the labor history ever since. On Chicago’s’ Haymarket square, a bomb was thrown towards the crowd during a peaceful strike against the police violence of killing 4 workmen for going strike on the previous day. The notorious affair was brought to an end in an unfair way against the strikers. According to Mother Jones, â€Å"only those whoRead MoreDivisions Within Trade Unions And The United End Of The 19th Century1153 Words   |  5 Pagesunions as violent and aggressive. This was due to the poor reputation they had created for themselves. A major turning point which caused this reactionary attitude was the Haymarket affair in 1886. A strike at the McCormick Harvester Plant, Chicago, led to 4 workers being killed by the police. This then led to a protest rally in Haymarket Square were a bomb was thrown killing 7 policemen. The violence was blamed on German Anarchists who were a threat to the â€Å"American dream†. American society believed thatRead MoreTerrorism And Domestic Terrorism836 Words   |  4 Pagesin the perpetrator’s own country against their fellow citizens†. Throughout the years, America as a nation has experienced quite a few occurrences of both types. An early example of homegrown terrorism would be the Haymarket Affair which occurred May 4, 1886 where in Chicago’s Haymarket Square, labor protesters detonated a bomb during a rally. Chicago police then responded by firing into the crowd, killing 12 people. A later occurrence of domestic terrorism would be the U.S Senate Bombing on NovemberRead More The Triangle Fire Essay1186 Words   |  5 Pagesworkers were not escape the burning building because the managers locked the doors to the stairwells and exits to enable the workers from leaving early or taking breaks. The Triangle Fire refers to the Gilded Age because the Homestead Strike, Haymarket Affair, and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire all correlate to how these events exemplify the unfair conditions these workers had face in the industrial work. Many immigrant women went to New York for industrial work in hope of serving their familiesRead MoreInventions In The Gilded Age1140 Words   |  5 Pages having no benefits, and absolutely no contracts. Labor unions were formed to protect American rights. With the Pullman Strike, there was the American Railroad Union (ARU), which was led by Eugene Debs. The Haymarket Affair was formed by McCormick Harvester (Company), with that the Haymarket Square was put together by labor radicals to protest the killing and wounding of several workers by the Chicago police. During a strike the day before these things were occurring at McCormick Reaper Works. MotherRead MoreAnarchism in the Early American Labor Movement2060 Words   |  9 Pagesothers, al l of them notable for their radical views and their contributions to American labor. Albert Parsons might best be known for his martyrdom for the cause of the American labor struggle, having been sentenced to death following the 1886 Haymarket Affair. Throughout his short life following the Civil War and his participation in politics, he was in strong opposition to the federal law at the time which favored corporate interest. He was particularly opposed to the 8-hour workday, which he feltRead MoreImportant Factors Leading to the Gilded Age Essay1749 Words   |  7 Pagesprotesting for eight hour days until suddenly dynamite was thrown at the police and killed or injured dozens of people due to the blast and ensuing fire; this became known as the Haymarket Square affair and inappropriately associated the Knights of Labor with anarchists. The Knights began to wither after the Haymarket affair partly due to the public image and also because of the inclusion of skilled and unskilled laborers. Skilled workers tired of being held back from their unskilled brethren b roke

Deception Point Page 27 Free Essays

The gaping hole in the ice now looked like a small swimming pool in the middle of the habisphere. The surface of the two-hundred-foot-deep pool of melted water sloshed for a while against the icy walls of the shaft and then finally grew calm. The waterline in the shaft was a good four feet beneath the glacier’s surface, the discrepancy caused by both the removal of the meteorite’s mass and ice’s property of shrinking as it melts. We will write a custom essay sample on Deception Point Page 27 or any similar topic only for you Order Now Norah Mangor immediately set up SHABA pylons all around the hole. Although the hole was clearly visible, any curious soul who ventured too close and accidentally slipped in would be in dire jeopardy. The walls of the shaft were solid ice, with no footholds, and climbing out unassisted would be impossible. Lawrence Ekstrom came padding across the ice toward them. He moved directly to Norah Mangor and shook her hand firmly. â€Å"Well done, Dr. Mangor.† â€Å"I’ll expect lots of praise in print,† Norah replied. â€Å"You’ll get it.† The administrator turned now to Rachel. He looked happier, relieved. â€Å"So, Ms. Sexton, is the professional skeptic convinced?† Rachel couldn’t help but smile. â€Å"Stunned is more like it.† â€Å"Good. Then follow me.† Rachel followed the administrator across the habisphere to a large metal box that resembled an industrial shipping container. The box was painted with military camouflage patterns and stenciled letters: P-S-C. â€Å"You’ll call the President from in here,† Ekstrom said. Portable Secure Comm, Rachel thought. These mobile communications booths were standard battlefield installations, although Rachel had never expected to see one used as part of a peacetime NASA mission. Then again, Administrator Ekstrom’s background was the Pentagon, so he certainly had access to toys like this. From the stern faces on the two armed guards watching over the PSC, Rachel got the distinct impression that contact with the outside world was made only with express consent from Administrator Ekstrom. Looks like I’m not the only one who is off-the-grid. Ekstrom spoke briefly with one of the guards outside the trailer and then returned to Rachel. â€Å"Good luck,† he said. Then he left. A guard rapped on the trailer door, and it opened from within. A technician emerged and motioned for Rachel to enter. She followed him in. The inside of the PSC was dark and stuffy. In the bluish glow of the lone computer monitor, Rachel could make out racks of telephone gear, radios, and satellite telecommunications devices. She already felt claustrophobic. The air inside was bitter, like a basement in winter. â€Å"Sit here, please, Ms. Sexton.† The technician produced a rolling stool and positioned Rachel in front of a flat-screen monitor. He arranged a microphone in front of her and placed a bulky pair of AKG headphones on her head. Checking a logbook of encryption passwords, the technician typed a long series of keys on a nearby device. A timer materialized on the screen in front of Rachel. 00:60 SECONDS The technician gave a satisfied nod as the timer began to count down. â€Å"One minute until connection.† He turned and left, slamming the door behind him. Rachel could hear the bolt lock outside. Great. As she waited in the dark, watching the sixty-second clock slowly count down, she realized that this was the first moment of privacy she’d had since early that morning. She’d woken up today without the slightest inkling of what lay ahead. Extraterrestrial life. As of today, the most popular modern myth of all time was no longer a myth. Rachel was just now starting to sense how truly devastating this meteorite would be to her father’s campaign. Although NASA funding had no business being on a political par with abortion rights, welfare, and health care, her father had made it an issue. Now it was going to blow up in his face. Within hours, Americans would feel the thrill of a NASA triumph all over again. There would be teary-eyed dreamers. Slack-jawed scientists. Children’s imaginations running free. Issues of dollars and cents would fade away as petty, overshadowed by this monumental moment. The President would emerge like a phoenix, transforming himself into a hero, while in the midst of the celebration, the businesslike senator would suddenly appear small-minded, a penny-pinching Scrooge with no American sense of adventure. The computer beeped, and Rachel glanced up. 00:05 SECONDS The screen in front of her flickered suddenly, and a blurry image of the White House seal materialized on-screen. After a moment, the image dissolved into the face of President Herney. â€Å"Hello, Rachel,† he said, a mischievous glint in his eye. â€Å"I trust you’ve had an interesting afternoon?† 29 The office of Senator Sedgewick Sexton was located in the Philip A. Hart Senate Office Building on C Street to the northeast of the Capitol. The building was a neo-modern grid of white rectangles that critics claimed looked more like a prison than an office building. Many who worked there felt the same. On the third floor, Gabrielle Ashe’s long legs paced briskly back and forth in front of her computer terminal. On the screen was a new e-mail message. She was not sure what to make of it. The first two lines read: SEDGEWICK WAS IMPRESSIVE ON CNN. I HAVE MORE INFORMATION FOR YOU. Gabrielle had been receiving messages like this for the last couple of weeks. The return address was bogus, although she’d been able to track it to a â€Å"whitehouse.gov† domain. It seemed her mysterious informant was a White House insider, and whoever it was had become Gabrielle’s source for all kinds of valuable political information recently, including the news of a covert meeting between the NASA administrator and the President. Gabrielle had been leery of the e-mails at first, but when she checked out the tips, she was amazed to find the information consistently accurate and helpful-classified information on NASA overexpenditures, costly upcoming missions, data showing that NASA’s search for extraterrestrial life was grossly overfunded and pathetically unproductive, even internal opinion polls warning that NASA was the issue turning voters away from the President. To enhance her perceived value to the senator, Gabrielle had not informed him she was receiving unsolicited e-mail help from inside the White House. Instead, she simply passed the information to him as coming from â€Å"one of her sources.† Sexton was always appreciative and seemed to know better than to ask who her source was. She could tell he suspected Gabrielle was doing sexual favors. Troublingly, it didn’t seem to bother him in the least. Gabrielle stopped pacing and looked again at the newly arrived message. The connotations of all the e-mails were clear: Someone inside the White House wanted Senator Sexton to win this election and was helping him do it by aiding his attack against NASA. But who? And why? A rat from a sinking ship, Gabrielle decided. In Washington it was not at all uncommon for a White House employee, fearing his President was about to be ousted from office, to offer quiet favors to the apparent successor in hopes of securing power or another position after the changeover. It seemed someone smelled Sexton victory and was buying stock early. The message currently on Gabrielle’s screen made her nervous. It was like none other she had ever received. The first two lines didn’t bother her so much. It was the last two: EAST APPOINTMENT GATE, 4:30 P.M. COME ALONE. Her informant had never before asked to meet in person. Even so, Gabrielle would have expected a more subtle location for a face-to-face meeting. East Appointment Gate? Only one East Appointment Gate existed in Washington, as far as she knew. Outside the White House? Is this some kind of joke? Gabrielle knew she could not respond via e-mail; her messages were always bounced back as undeliverable. Her correspondent’s account was anonymous. Not surprising. How to cite Deception Point Page 27, Essay examples

Conflict in Lord of the Flies free essay sample

It is quite clear that conflict can trigger many emotions in a human. Conflict has a direct influence on the human mind and the way that people act. Written by William Golding, Lord of the Flies is a perfect example of how peoples’ decisions are influenced by a source of conflict. Different types of conflict push different significant events in the novel. External conflict tears the boys’ unity apart. Fear of the ‘beastie:’ evolves from internal conflict, and physical conflict worsens as the story progresses, creating a dangerous environment on the island. What appears as a democratic, organized government, soon turns into unorganized chaos. The chaos and incoordination was a result of external conflict. The collapse of the government and the boys’ unity can be hinted halfway through the novel. Ralph calls an assembly and says, â€Å"Things are breaking up. I don’t understand why. We began well; we were happy. And then-† (115). This quote describes how the boys’ efforts in keeping the atmosphere of the island civilized is influenced by a source of external conflict. In this case, the external conflict is what they believe to be the beastie.The boys begin to diverge when Jack and Ralph share their opinions on what they believe is more important, hunting the beastie or fire. Jack expresses his opinion on how important hunting is and says, â€Å"I’m going off by myself. He can catch his own pigs. Anyone who wants to hunt when I do can come too. †(183). This occurs when you can see the two tribes beginning to form. After jack hunts a pig, they boys realize that Jack is right all along and decide to join his feast. Now the boys are completely separated. There are two distinct tribes; Ralphs’ tribe and Jacks’ tribe.This source of external conflict (the beastie) is extremely significant to the story because the beastie is what caused the boys to split into two tribes. The tribe that feeds its’ hunger off of savagery, and the tribe that maintains its civilization, and acts sensibly. It creates an irrational atmosphere among Jacks’ tribe, and a sense of awareness upon Ralphs’ tribe. Internal conflict is what creates the irrational fear of the beastie. Internal conflict changes the boys’ mindset and causes them to think illogically. This internal conflict is what keeps the boys up at night, and what breaks their unity.It’s a fragment of their imagination; it’s a dead pilot. What started as a ‘snake thing’ evolves into a ‘ghost’, and then becomes a ‘monster’. The beastie washes away their sanity and becomes their worst nightmare. It is the thing they fear the most on the island. The boys’ image of the beast becomes worse, and worse. At the beginning the beastie is described as, â€Å"A snake-thing. Ever so big†(48) and towards the end, â€Å"The beast had teeth. and big black eyes. †(178). This contrast shows how the depth of their internal conflict grew. Internal conflict between them and the beastie is requited.The beastie influences their actions, and they influence the beasties’ image. For instance, as the boys’ fear of the beastie become more irrational, so does their image of the beastie. Perhaps the boys enjoy the beasties company, and perhaps it feeds their hunger for savagery. Internal conflict is always complex to comprehend, but one thing for certain is that it has an influence on the boys’ behaviour. There are several examples of physical conflict in Lord of The Flies. The physical conflict seems to correlate with the boys’ image of the beastie.As the boys’ image of the beastie becomes more farfetched, the physical conflict worsens. A physical conflict seen near the beginning of the story is the boys’ re-enactment of the pig hunt. Simon is in the middle, and is used as the pig. What started out as a fun game, almost gets Simon killed. This is the first event in the novel in which savagery can be truly seen among the boys. The next major conflict took place on the beach. The two tribes, now being separated, have a feast together. When they hear something in the bushes while chanting in a circle, they immediately think it’s the beastie and tear him apart.The beast is described as small, and â€Å"was on its knees in the center, its arms folded over its face. It was crying out against the abominable noise something about a body on the hill. The beast struggled forward, broke the ring and fell over the steep edge of the rock to the sand by the water. At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws† (219). While this scene took place, it was dark and loud. Considering the circumstances of this event, the event itself can be considered as an accident.The next physical conflict which took place involves death, but not accidental death. It was Piggys’ murder . This took place while Ralph and Jack were duelling. This event is significant because now that Simon and Piggy are dead, Ralph is the only character left with a sense of civilization. Now Ralph is the only character who hasn’t conformed, and cares about getting rescued. Physical conflict clearly escalates when humans are deprived of their basic needs. At first Simon is injured, then he is killed, and towards the end, Piggy is murdered.The escalation of physical conflict can clearly be seen in this chronological scheme of events. The longer the boys have been on the island for, the more the physical conflict grew. As seen in the novel, conflict has a great impact on the plot of this story. Different conflicts push different events. In this novel, Lord of the Flies, conflict lead to the breakdown of the boys’ government, irrational fear of the beastie, and Piggys’ murder. William Golding has flawlessly displayed what conflict can do the human mind. Conflict in Lord of the Flies. Amanda El-Beheisi Eng2D