The Haymarket Conspiracy: Transatlantic Anarchist Networks

254 Pages·2014·1.85 MB·English

by  Timothy Messer-Kruse

T H E
TIMOTHY
MESSER–KRUSE
H AY -
MM AA RR KK EE TT
CC OO NN --
S P I R A C Y
Transatlantic Anarchist Networks
W A
C H
THE WORKING CLASS IN AMERICAN HISTORY
the haymarket conspiracy
the working class
in american history
Editorial Advisors
James R. Barrett
Alice Kessler-Harris
Nelson Lichtenstein
David Montgomery
The Haymarket
Conspiracy
Transatlantic Anarchist
Networks
timothy messer-kruse
university of illinois press
Urbana, Chicago, and Springfield
© 2012 by the Board of Trustees
of the University of Illinois
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
1 2 3 4 5 c p 5 4 3 2 1
∞ This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Messer-Kruse, Timothy.
The Haymarket conspiracy : transatlantic anarchist networks /
Timothy Messer-Kruse.
p. cm. — (The working class in American history)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-252-03705-4 (hard cover : acid-free paper) —
ISBN 978-0-252-07860-6 (pbk. : acid-free paper) —
ISBN 978-0-252-09414-9 (e-book)
1. Anarchists—Illinois—Chicago—History—19th century.
2. Haymarket Square Riot, Chicago, Ill., 1886.
3. Conspiracies—Illinois—Chicago—History—19th century.
I. Title.
HX846.C4M47 2012
977.3'11041—dc23 2011052785
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1
1. The Conspiracy 9
2. From Red to Black 27
3. The Black International 69
4. Dynamite 100
5. Anarchists, Trade Unions,
and the Eight-Hour Workday 137
6. From Eight Hours to Revolution 158
Epilogue 179
Notes 189
Index 229
Acknowledgments
There are many people who graciously lent to me their time, knowledge, and
skill to help me advance my research. Russell Lewis, Julie Katz, and Debbie
Linn of the Chicago Historical Society; Vincent Giroud, Morgan Swan, and
Timothy Young of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale
University; Jeffrey Dunn and Pannee Burckel at the Instrumentation Center
at the University of Toledo; and James O. Eckert Jr. of the Department of
Geology and Geophysics at Yale University all helped me get this project
off the ground. Joanne Hartough, Director of the Interlibrary Loan Depart-
ment of Carlson Library found many essential items for me over the years.
Barbara Floyd, Director of the Canaday Center for Archival Collections at
the University of Toledo, has been an indefatigable and reliable colleague.
Special thanks to Dorothy Brown, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook
County, and Phil Costello, Archivist, Circuit Court of Cook County, for
their gracious assistance and for making their well-maintained collection
of nineteenth-century legal records available to me.
I deeply appreciate Leon Fink’s open-minded interest in new approaches
to the field of labor history. Emily LaBarbera-Twarog helped in preparation
of an earlier article for publication in LABOR: Studies in Working-Class
History of the Americas.
Over the years I have benefited from the many conversations I have had
with my colleague Peter Linebaugh, whose informed skepticism and deep
knowledge of history has forced me to probe ever deeper into this material.
Mark Lause’s collegiality and encyclopedic knowledge of nineteenth-century
radical movements distinguish him as a truly great scholar, but I appreciate
him also as a fine friend. Gregory Miller has politely listened as I tried out
all my more far-flung theories on him. I’ve benefited from the criticisms and
viii acknowledgments
comments of David Montgomery, Tom Goyens, Melvyn Dubofsky, Rebecca
Edwards, Beverly Gage, and Allen Ruff, though I probably didn’t take them
as they were intended.
A very special thanks is reserved for Hank Browne, who, during my re-
search trips, not only let me have the run of his Chicago apartment (which
was just across the street from a police precinct station that stood at the time
of the Haymarket bombing) but also was a constantly constructive critic of
my work. I’ve also benefited from countless Sunday dinner conversations
with Alan and Geri Messer, who are not afraid to punch holes in ideas that
deserve a good poke now and then.
Stephanie Rader’s day-to-day efficiency in running the Department of
Ethnic Studies at Bowling Green State University allowed me to steal more
time than I should have for this project. A number of graduate assistants
slogged books back and forth from the library, copied articles, and assisted
in countless small ways, including Rachel Constance, Michael Brooks, and
Jerald MacMurray.
This project would not have been possible without the keen understand-
ing of the nuances of the German language and the efficient translation
skills of Jason Doerre and Claudia Schneider. Geoffrey Howes graciously
offered his expertise on antiquated German constructions and consulted on
the difficult and mysterious “fugitive letter to Ebersold.” Noreen T. Han-
lon expertly translated some important documents from French. Michael
Bryant guided me through the nuances of meaning in the reporting on the
McCormick strike in the Illinois Staats-Zeitung. Much of the research
into previously untapped German-language sources was supported by the
Office of Sponsored Programs and Research and the College of Arts and
Sciences of Bowling Green State University. The staff of the Jerome Library
at BGSU, especially Mary Keil of the Interlibrary Loan Department, were
able to track down many obscure titles for me. Thanks to Cynthia Price,
Donald Nieman, and Roger Thibault of BGSU for their consistent support.
Thanks also to Griffin Messer-Kruse for his help in converting a stack of
century-old industrial time sheets into usable data.
Many librarians and archivists assisted in tracking down rare and ephem-
eral materials. Thanks to William J. Shephard of the Catholic University of
America; Bill Gorman of the New York State Archives; Joanie Gearin of
the National Archives Northeast Region; Frederick J. Augustyn Jr. of the
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress; John Reinhardt of the Illinois
State Archives; Ella Molenaar of the International Institute of Social History,
Amsterdam; Julie Herrada of the Labadie Collection, University of Michi-
acknowledgments ix
gan Library; and Jackie Graziano of the Westchester County Records and
Archives Center. I very much appreciate Laurie C. Matheson’s confidence
in me and my work and Jill R. Hughes for her able copyediting
Finally, thanks to Griffin, Emmett, and Connor, who cheer me on. In the
end, I would never have gotten to where I could write my books without
the love and understanding of Diana Messer-Kruse.
the haymarket conspiracy