Albert Richard Parsons (June 20, 1848 – November 11, 1887) was a pioneering American

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and later

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

newspaper editor, orator, and labor activist. As a teenager, he served in the military force of the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...

in Texas, during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. After the war, he settled in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, and became an activist for the rights of former slaves, and later a Republican official during

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

. With his wife

Lucy Parsons Lucy E. Parsons ( – March 7, 1942) was a US social anarchist and later anarcho-communist, well-known throughout her long life for her fiery speeches and writings. She was a founding member of the Industrial Workers of the World. There are d ...

, he then moved to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

in 1873 and worked in newspapers. There he became interested in the rights of workers. In 1884, he began editing ''

The Alarm The Alarm are a Welsh rock band that formed in Rhyl, Wales in 1981. Initially formed as a punk band, the Toilets, in 1977 under lead vocalist Mike Peters, the group soon embraced arena rock and included marked influences from Welsh language ...

'' newspaper. Parsons was one of four Chicago radical leaders controversially convicted of conspiracy and hanged following a bomb attack on police remembered as the

Haymarket affair The Haymarket affair, also known as the Haymarket massacre, the Haymarket riot, the Haymarket Square riot, or the Haymarket Incident, was the aftermath of a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration on May 4, 1886 at Haymarket Square (C ...

Early years

Parsons was born June 20, 1848, in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...

, one of the ten children of the proprietor of a shoe and leather factory who had originally hailed from

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

.Albert R. Parsons
of Albert R. Parsons: With Brief History of the Labor Movement in America.''
Chicago: Lucy E. Parsons, 1889; pg. 6. Parsons claimed to be the scion of pioneer

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

immigrants, with "the first Parsons family" arriving at

Narragansett Bay Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering , of which is in Rhode Island. The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. S ...

in what is now the state of

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

in 1632. One of the Tompkins on his mother's side was with

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

in the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

and fought at the

Battle of Brandywine The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American Continental Army of General George Washington and the British Army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777, as part of the Am ...

. He was also a descendant of Major General

Samuel Holden Parsons Samuel Holden Parsons (May 14, 1737 – November 17, 1789) was an American lawyer, jurist, generalHeitman, ''Officers of the Continental Army'', 428. in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and a pioneer to the Ohio Countr ...

of Massachusetts, another officer in the Revolution, as well as a Captain Parsons who received wounds at the

Battle of Bunker Hill The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Boston, Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peri ...

. Albert's parents both died when he was a small child, leaving the boy to be raised by his eldest brother, William Henry Parsons (1826–1907), who was married and the proprietor of a small newspaper in

Tyler, Texas Tyler, officially the City of Tyler, is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, United States. As of 2020, the population is 105,995. Tyler was the List of municipalities in Texas, 38th most populous city in Texas (as well as the m ...

, the ''Tyler Telegraph.''Parsons, ''Life of Albert R. Parsons,'' pg. 7. In the middle of the 1850s, the family moved from Tyler to Johnson County, living on the frontier for three years. Thereafter, they moved again to the

Texas Hill Country The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region of Central and South Texas, forming the southeast part of the Edwards Plateau. Given its location, climate, terrain, and vegetation, the Hill Country can be considered the border between the Ame ...

, establishing a farm in the valley of the

Brazos River The Brazos River ( , ), called the ''Río de los Brazos de Dios'' (translated as "The River of the Arms of God") by early Spanish explorers, is the 14th-longest river in the United States at from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater ...

. In 1859, at the age of 11, Albert left his brother's household to go live with a sister in

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and Interstate 35, I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin, Texas, Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 popul ...

. Parsons attended school for about a year before leaving to become an

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...

at the

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

'' Daily News,'' a relationship that Parsons characterized as being "

indenture An indenture is a legal contract that reflects an agreement between two parties. Although the term is most familiarly used to refer to a labor contract between an employer and a laborer with an indentured servant status, historically indentures we ...

d" for seven years in order to learn the printers' trade.

Civil War and Reconstruction

The coming of the

in 1861, or "the slave-holders' Rebellion," as he later called it, led Parsons to leave what he described as the "

printer's devil A printer's devil was a young apprentice in a printing establishment who performed a number of tasks, such as mixing tubs of ink and fetching type. Notable writers including Benjamin Franklin, Walt Whitman, Ambrose Bierce, Bret Harte, and Mar ...

": the position of newsboy. At 13 years old, Parsons volunteered to fight for the forces of the

in an irregular unit known as the " Lone Star Greys." Parsons' first military exploit was aboard the passenger steamer ''Morgan'' which ventured into the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

to intercept and capture the forces of General David E. Twiggs, who had evacuated

en route to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Upon his return, Parsons sought to enlist in the regular

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

, an idea ridiculed by his employer and guardian at the time, publisher Willard Richardson of the Galveston ''Daily News.''Parsons, ''Life of Albert R. Parsons,'' pg. 8. Parsons left his job at the paper, joining an

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

company at a hastily constructed fort at

Sabine Pass, Texas Sabine Pass is a neighborhood in Port Arthur, Texas. It had been incorporated in 1861 before being formally annexed by Port Arthur in 1978. However, Sabine Pass retains its own distinct identity with its own school district, post office, and po ...

, where an elder brother was the captain of an

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

company. For a year, Parsons participated in military drill and served as a "

powder monkey A powder boy or powder monkey manned naval artillery guns as a member of a warship's crew, primarily during the Age of Sail. Their chief role was to ferry gunpowder from the powder magazine in the ship's hold to the artillery pieces, either i ...

" for the cannoneers. Upon the expiration of his first enlistment, Parsons left Fort Sabine to join the

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

unit of the brother who had previously brought him to Texas, the 12th Regiment of the Texas Cavalry, also known as "Parsons' Mounted Volunteers." Albert Parsons was a member of the "McInoly Scouts" and saw battle during three separate campaigns. After the war, Parsons returned to Waco, Texas and traded his mule for of standing corn. He hired ex-slaves to help with the harvest and netted a sufficient sum from the sale of the crop to pay for six months' tuition at Waco University, today known as Baylor, a private

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

college. After his time in college, Parsons left to take up the printing trade, first working in a printing office before launching his own newspaper, the Waco ''Spectator,'' in 1868. In his paper, Parsons took the unpopular position of accepting the terms of surrender and Reconstruction measures aimed at securing the political rights of former slaves.Parsons, ''Life of Albert R. Parsons,'' pg. 9. This proved to be a pivotal moment in the 20-year-old's life, as he later recalled in his memoirs:

I became a Republican, and, of course, had to go into politics. I incurred thereby the hate and contumely of many of my former army comrades, neighbors, and the
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...
. My political career was full of excitement and danger. I took the stump to vindicate my convictions. The lately enfranchised slaves over a large section of country came to know and idolize me as their friend and defender, while on the other hand I was regarded as a political heretic and traitor by many of my former associates.

In 1869, having left the printing trade, Parsons got a job as a traveling correspondent and business agent for the Houston ''Daily Telegraph,'' during which time he met Lucy Ella Gonzales (or Waller), a woman of multi-ethnic heritage. The pair married in 1872 and

later became famous in her own right as a radical political activist.Parsons, ''Life of Albert R. Parsons,'' pg. 10. In 1870, Parsons was the beneficiary of Republican

political patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

when he was appointed Assistant Assessor of United States Internal Revenue under the administration of

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

. He also worked as a secretary of the

Texas State Senate The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, with the Texas House of Representatives functioning as the lower house. Together, they form the state legislature of the state of Texas. The Senate is made up of 31 members, where eac ...

before being appointed Chief Deputy Collector of United States Internal Revenue at

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, a position which he held until 1873. In the summer of 1873, Parsons travelled extensively through the Midwestern United States as a representative of the Texas ''Agriculturalist,'' getting a broader view of the country, deciding to settle with his wife in

. With his move to the metropolis, a new chapter of Parsons' life was begun.

Chicago years

Socialist period (1874–1879)

In Chicago, Parsons obtained a job as a typesetter for the ''

Chicago Times The ''Chicago Times'' was a newspaper in Chicago from 1854 to 1895, when it merged with the ''Chicago Herald'', to become the ''Chicago Times-Herald''. The ''Times-Herald'' effectively disappeared in 1901 when it merged with the ''Chicago Recor ...

.'' In 1874 Parsons became interested in the labor politics as a byproduct of grassroot efforts to force the Chicago Relief and Aid Society to account for millions of dollars of relief aid raised by the group on behalf of victims of the

Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago, Illinois during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left mor ...

of October 1871. Commercial newspapers came to the aid of the Relief and Aid Society, denouncing its working-class critics as, among other things, "Communists" — a term given new currency after the rise and fall of the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...

during the first half of 1871 — prompting Parsons to begin to study the essence of the charges. Parsons later recalled that this study had convinced him that "the complaints of the working people against the society were just and proper" and led him to draw parallels between the treatment of poor people in both the urban North and the Reconstruction South. "It satisfied me there was a great fundamental wrong at work in society and in existing social and industrial arrangements," he later declared. In 1875, Parsons left the Republican Party's orbit and joined the ephemeral Social-Democratic Party of North America (SDP).Parsons, ''Life of Albert R. Parsons'', p. 11. Parsons attended the 2nd Convention of the SDP, held in Philadelphia from July 4–6, 1875, and was one of the group's leading English-speaking members in Chicago, joined by another able speaker, George A. Schilling.Morris Hillquit, ''The History of Socialism in the United States''. New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1903; p. 208. As an interested observer, Parsons attended the final convention of the

National Labor Union The National Labor Union (NLU) was the first national labor federation in the United States. Founded in 1866 and dissolved in 1873, it paved the way for other organizations, such as the Knights of Labor and the AFL ( American Federation of Labor ...

(NLU), held in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

in April 1876. At this convention the dying NLU divided, with its radical wing exiting to establish the

Workingmen's Party of the United States The Workingmen's Party of the United States (WPUS), established in 1876, was one of the first Marxist-influenced political parties in the United States. It is remembered as the forerunner of the Socialist Labor Party of America. History On Jul ...

— a group that soon merged with the SDP to which Parsons belonged. This organization later renamed itself the

Socialist Labor Party of America The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 192 ...

at its December 1877 convention in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, which Parsons attended as a delegate.Parsons, ''Life of Albert R. Parsons'', p. 15. Parsons was also elected as one of two Chicago delegates to the organization's 2nd national Convention, held in

Allegheny City, Pennsylvania Allegheny City was a municipality that existed in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1788 until it was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907. It was located north across the Allegheny River from downtown Pittsburgh, with its southwest border formed by ...

, at the end of 1879. Parsons was also involved with the Knights of Labor during its embryonic period. He joined the

Knights of Labor The Knights of Labor (K of L), officially the Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, was the largest American labor movement of the 19th century, claiming for a time nearly one million members. It operated in the United States as well in ...

, known then as "The Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor," on July 4, 1876, after having been invited to speak at a mass meeting of workers. Parsons remained a member of the order until his death more than a decade later. Not long after joining the Knights of Labor, Parsons and his friend George Schilling co-founded the first Chicago order of the Knights, later dubbed the "Old 400". In the fall of 1876, Parsons was nominated for Chicago City Alderman by the Workingmen's Party of the United States. He received an impressive one-sixth share of the vote. In the spring of 1877, the Workingmen's Party ran a full slate of candidates in

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40 percent of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. ...

, including Chicago. The organization elected three of its members to the

Illinois State Legislature The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 181 ...

and one to the

Illinois State Senate The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under th ...

. In this election, Parsons ran for

County Clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keepin ...

of Cook County, narrowly losing but polling nearly 8,000 votes. In the course of his life, Parsons ran three times for Chicago City Alderman, twice for Cook County Clerk, and once for

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

. Parsons was one of the foremost speakers in the English language on behalf of the socialist cause in Chicago in the 1870s. In 1877 a

Great Railroad Strike The Great Railroad Strike of 1877, sometimes referred to as the Great Upheaval, began on July 14 in Martinsburg, West Virginia, after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) cut wages for the third time in a year. The Great Railroad Strike of 187 ...

took place. On July 21, about a week after the beginning of the strike, Parsons was called upon to address a vast throng of perhaps 30,000 workers congregated at a mass meeting on Chicago's Market Street. Parsons gave a powerful speech to the assembled strikers and their friends on behalf of the Workingmen's Party — an action that cost Parsons his job at the ''Times'' the next day. After being terminated in the morning, Parsons made his way to the offices of the leading German-language socialist newspaper, the '' Chicagoer Arbeiter-Zeitung'' (Chicago Workers' News). He was found there and escorted to

Chicago City Hall The City Hall-County Building, commonly known as City Hall, is a 12-story building in Chicago, Illinois, that houses the Seat of government, seats of government of the Government of Chicago, City of Chicago and Cook County, Illinois, Cook Coun ...

, where he was ushered before the Chief of Police and about 30 of the city's "leading citizens". There Parsons was dressed down for about two hours, with the Chief of Police asking Parsons if he didn't "know better than to come here from Texas and incite the working people to insurrection."Parsons, ''Life of Albert R. Parsons'', p. 12. Parsons disclaimed any such notion, noting that he had urged the workers not to strike but to go to the polls to elect new representatives. With the agitated worthies present in the room audibly muttering such sentiments as "Hang him" and "Lynch him," the Chief of Police advised Parsons that his life was in danger and urged him to leave town. Parsons was allowed to leave, but he remained in Chicago despite the implied threat on his life. The afternoon Chicago papers trumpeted that "strike leader" Albert Parsons had been "arrested" that day — neither of which things were true. The Chicago strike of 1877 was ultimately violently repressed by the action of the police and militia.

Anarchist period (1880–1887)

At the turn of the decade, Albert Parsons withdrew from all participation in electoral politics. He later recalled his rationale in his memoirs, written shortly before his execution in 1887:

In 1879 I withdrew from all active participation in the political Labor Party, having been convinced that the number of hours per day that the wage-workers are compelled to work, together with the low wages they received, amounted to their practical disfranchisement as voters. ... My experience in the Labor Party had also taught me that bribery, intimidation, duplicity, corruption, and bulldozing grew out of the conditions which made the working people poor and the idlers rich, and that consequently the ballot-box could not be made an index to record the popular will until the existing debasing, impoverishing, and enslaving industrial conditions were first altered.Parsons, ''Life of Albert R. Parsons,'' pg. 18.

Parsons turned his activity to the growing movement to establish the 8-hour day. In January 1880, the Eight-Hour League of Chicago sent Parsons to a national conference in

, a gathering which launched a national lobbying movement aimed at coordinating efforts of labor organizations to win and enforce the 8-hour workday. In 1881, with the membership of the Socialist Labor Party in precipitous decline, a new organization was established, the International Revolutionary Socialists. Parsons was a delegate to the founding convention of this group.Parsons, ''Life of Albert R. Parsons,'' pg. 19. Two years later he was also a delegate to the October 1883 convention in

which established the anarchist

International Working People's Association The International Working People's Association (IWPA), sometimes known as the "Black International," and originally named the "International Revolutionary Socialists", was an international anarchist political organization established in 1881 at a ...

, the organization to which he owed his political allegiance for the rest of his life. In the fall of 1884, Parsons launched a weekly

newspaper in Chicago, ''

.'' The first issue was dated October 4, 1884, and was produced in a press run of 15,000 copies. The publication was a 4-page

broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of in height. Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper ...

with a cover price of 5 cents. ''The Alarm'' listed the International Working People's Association as its publisher and touted itself as "A Socialistic Weekly" on its page 2 masthead. Despite his use of the erstwhile

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

slogan on the front page, "Workingmen of All Countries, Unite!", Parsons' paper was unmistakably anarchist in content. Parsons wrote on the theme in a November 1884 issue: In the early months of 1886, the luck of the workers was rising as massive strikes were beginning to take place, crippling many industries into making concessions. Parsons called for a move to "Eight hours' work for ten hours' pay." Workers in some industries were even beginning to get this. As May approached, so did the day designated as the official day to strike for the

eight-hour work day The eight-hour day movement (also known as the 40-hour week movement or the short-time movement) was a social movement to regulate the length of a working day, preventing excesses and abuses of working time. The modern movement originated in ...

. On May 1, 1886, Parsons, with his wife Lucy and two children, led 80,000 people down Michigan Avenue, in what is regarded as the first-ever

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the Northern Hemisphere's March equinox, spring equinox and midsummer June solstice, solstice. Festivities ma ...

Parade, in support of the eight-hour work day. Over the next few days 340,000 laborers joined the strike. Parsons, amidst the May Day Strike, found himself called to Cincinnati, where 300,000 workers had struck that Saturday afternoon. On that Sunday he addressed the rally in Cincinnati of the news from the "storm center" of the strike and participated in a second huge parade, led by 200 members of The Cincinnati Rifle Union, with certainty that victory was at hand.

Haymarket Affair

Parsons addressed a rally at Haymarket Square on May 4. This rally was set up in protest of what happened a few days before. On May 1, 1886, the first May Day, a massive strike in support of the eight-hour work day occurred in Chicago. Two days later police fired on workers on strike at the huge McCormick Reaper Works, killing six. August Spies and others organized the rally at the Haymarket in protest of the police violence. Parsons originally declined to speak at the Haymarket fearing it would cause violence by holding the rally outdoors, but he changed his mind during the rally and eventually showed up while Spies was speaking. The mayor of Chicago was even there and noticed that it was a peaceful gathering, but he left when it looked like it was going to rain. Worried about his children when the weather changed, Albert Parsons,

Lizzie Holmes Lizzie Holmes (, Hunt; after first marriage, Swank; after second marriage, Holmes; pen name, May Huntley; December 21, 1850 – August 8, 1926) was an American anarchist, writer, and organizer of Chicago's working women during the late 19th cent ...

, his wife Lucy, and their children left for Zeph's Hall on Lake Street and were followed by several of the protesters. The event ended around 10 p.m. and at the end of the event, after Parsons had already left and as the audience was already drifting away, a large group of policemen came and forcefully told the crowd to disperse. At that point a bomb thrown into the square exploded, killing one policeman and wounding others. Gunfire erupted, resulting in 7 deaths and many others wounded. No one knew who threw the bomb but chaos emerged as police began firing into the crowd. Numerous protestors and policemen died, with most of the police receiving wounds from friendly fire. Parsons was drinking a schooner of beer at Zeph's Hall when he saw a flash and heard the explosion followed by gunfire. Authorities apprehended seven men in the days after the events in the Haymarket. These men were ones that had connections to the anarchist movement and many people thought them to be promoters of radical ideas, meaning that they could have been involved in a conspiracy. Parsons avoided arrest and moved to Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he remained until June 21; afterward, he turned himself in to stand in solidarity with his comrades. William Perkins Black, a corporate lawyer, led the defense, despite inevitably becoming ostracized from his peers and losing business for this choice. Witnesses testified that none of the eight threw the bomb. However, all were found guilty, and only

Oscar Neebe Oscar William Neebe I (July 12, 1850 – April 22, 1916) was an anarchist, labor activist and one of the defendants in the Haymarket bombing trial, and one of the eight activists remembered on May 1, International Workers' Day. Early life H ...

was sentenced to 15 years in prison, while the rest of them were sentenced to death. Samuel Fielden and Michael Schwab asked for clemency and their sentences were commuted to life in prison on November 10, 1887, by Governor

Richard James Oglesby Richard James Oglesby (July 25, 1824April 24, 1899) was an American soldier and Republican politician from Illinois, who served three non-consecutive terms as Governor of Illinois (from 1865 to 1869, for ten days in 1873, and from 1885 to 188 ...

, who lost popularity for this decision. These three men received pardons from Illinois Governor

John Peter Altgeld John Peter Altgeld (December 30, 1847 – March 12, 1902) was an American politician and the 20th Governor of Illinois, serving from 1893 until 1897. He was the first Democrat to govern that state since the 1850s. A leading figure of the Prog ...

, securing their freedom from incarceration on June 26, 1893. In the week before his execution, ''The Alarm'' was published again for the first time since the Haymarket events, with a page 2 letter by Albert Parsons written from Prison Cell 29 on death row. In his communique, Parsons named Dyer D. Lum as his editorial successor and offered final advice to his supporters: On November 10, 1887, condemned prisoner

Louis Lingg Louis Lingg (September 9, 1864 – November 10, 1887) was a Germans, German-born Americans, American Anarchism, anarchist who was convicted as a member of the criminal conspiracy behind the Haymarket affair, 1886 Haymarket Square bombing. Lingg ...

killed himself in his cell with a

blasting cap A detonator is a device used to make an explosive or explosive device explode. Detonators come in a variety of types, depending on how they are initiated (chemically, mechanically, or electrically) and details of their inner working, which of ...

hidden in a cigar. The next day, Parsons, August Spies,

Adolph Fischer Adolph Fischer (1858 – November 11, 1887) was an anarchist and labor union activist tried and executed after the Haymarket Riot. Early life Adolph Fischer immigrated to the United States in 1873 at the age of 15. He became an apprenti ...

, and George Engel were executed by hanging. Parsons likely could have had his sentence commuted to life in prison rather than death, but he refused to write the letter asking the governor to do so, as this would be an admission of guilt. Parsons' final words on the

gallows A gallows (or less precisely scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sa ...

, recorded for posterity by Dyer D. Lum in ''The Alarm,'' were: "Will I be allowed to speak, oh men of America? Let me speak, Sheriff Matson! Let the voice of the people be heard! O—" But the signal was given and Parsons' words were cut short by the springing of the trap-door.

Family

His wife,

, was noteworthy in her own right. She was a feminist, journalist, and labor leader, and one of the founders of the

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), whose members are nicknamed "Wobblies", is an international labor union founded in Chicago, United States in 1905. The nickname's origin is uncertain. Its ideology combines general unionism with indu ...

Legacy

A historical marker dedicated to Albert and

Lucy Lucy is an English language, English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings ar ...

Parsons was erected in 1997 by the City of Chicago at the location of their home, 1908 North Mohawk Street, in the

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

neighborhood.

Footnotes

Works

"Equal Rights,"
''The Alarm'' hicago vol. 1, no. 7 (November 15, 1884), pg. 2.
''The Accused the Accusers: The Famous Speeches of the Chicago Anarchists in Court: On October 7th, 8th, and 9th, 1886, Chicago, Illinois.''
Chicago: Socialistic Publishing Society, n.d.

886 __NOTOC__ Year 886 (Roman numerals, DCCCLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March – A wide-ranging conspiracy against Emperor Basil I, led by John Kourkouas (9t ...

*
Anarchism: Its Philosophy and Scientific Basis as Defined by Some of its Apostles.
' Chicago: Mrs. A.R. Parsons, 1887. *
Life of Albert R. Parsons, with Brief History of the Labor Movement in America.
' Chicago: Lucy E. Parsons, 1889.

External links

Albert Richard Parsons papers, 1876–1893
archives at the

Wisconsin Historical Society The Wisconsin Historical Society (officially the State Historical Society of Wisconsin) is simultaneously a state agency and a private membership organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of ...

''Autobiography of Albert Parsons,''
html format.

Spartacus Schoolnet.com. * Luke Tan
"A Song for Albert Parsons."

"Meet the Haymarket Defendants."
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parsons, Albert 1848 births 1887 deaths 19th-century executions by the United States 19th-century executions of American people 1886 crimes in the United States American anarchists American anti-capitalists American socialists Anarcho-communists American people executed for murdering police officers Burials at Forest Home Cemetery, Chicago Confederate States Army officers Executed anarchists Executed communists Executed trade unionists Executed people from Alabama Executed people from Illinois Haymarket affair Knights of Labor people Trade unionists from Alabama Members of the Socialist Labor Party of America Military personnel from Montgomery, Alabama Politicians from Chicago Politicians from Montgomery, Alabama Executed people from Texas People from Tyler, Texas People from Waco, Texas People convicted of murder by Illinois People executed by Illinois by hanging