Blog #33

One of the most interesting resources that I find was this website right here. I loved this one because it provided me with biographies of the eight anarchists charged with the bombing at the Haymarket Square. It also provided the testimony from the trial which was helpful for my article because I talked about the trial of the four anarchists.

The most interesting story I have learned about when researching for the Industrialization Newspaper project was about the Haymarket Affair. What shocked and stuck with me the most was the fact that four of the anarchists that were charged with the bombing at the Haymarket Square and hung. Since I interned with a criminal defense attorney I have become more familiar with the law and very interested in it. For me this was shocking to know that four people were hung without sufficient evidence to even link them to the actual bombings. There were witnesses that said there was never any talk of bombing at the meetings with the anarchists. This showed me that it took a lot less to convict and kill someone more than a hundred years ago than it does now. It seems as that if the prosecution thinks you are guilty, than you are. Whatever they charge you with, is the crime you committed, regardless of evidence. The hangings seemed to be overkill, pardon my choice of words, because the evidence does not seem to directly link the anarchists to the bombing.  

The new opinions I now have from the research is how lucky I am and all I take for granted. I sometimes forget what sacrifices the American people had to make to allow us to even have an eight hour work day. I know that I take normal things for granted, not even realizing that things weren't always this way. Like I said before, the ability to only have to work eight hours a day. People used to work as much as sixteen hours a day. It was only due to their protests and ability to stand up for change that I am able to have that privilege. It has made me aware that many things that I have, have not been this way. It seems like a given that people would be allowed breaks and basic safety precautions. But it took the deaths of Americans and their perseverance to get what I know have.