Labor's Martyrs: Haymarket 1887, Sacco and Vanzetti 1927

In Short

This political treatise connects two historic legal tragedies: the 1887 execution of the Haymarket leaders in Chicago and the 1927 execution of Sacco and Vanzetti in Massachusetts. Framed by an introduction by William Z. Foster and written by Vito Marcantonio, the text argues that both cases were orchestrated frame-ups designed to destroy working-class organization. By detailing the police aggression, judicial bias, and fabricated evidence in both trials, the book depicts these fallen figures as vital martyrs whose sacrifice paved the way for modern industrial unionism and ongoing civil rights defense.

The Story

The narrative opens with an analytical introduction framing the fifty-year span between the Haymarket affair of 1886 and the labor developments of 1937. The initial focus centers on the national movement for an eight-hour workday, which culminated in a massive general strike on May 1, 1886. In Chicago, labor leaders such as Albert Parsons and August Spies organized peaceful parades and rallies, drawing thousands of workers into the streets despite intense hostility from the press.

Tension escalates on May 3 at the McCormick Reaper Plant when police fire into a crowd of striking workers, killing and wounding pickets. In response, labor activists call a protest meeting for the following evening at Haymarket Square. Mayor Carter Harrison attends the gathering, observes its orderly nature, and instructs the police to stand down. However, as the meeting draws to a close amidst falling rain, an armed police squad advances to disperse the remaining crowd. An unknown person hurls a bomb into the police ranks, killing one officer and injuring dozens, which triggers immediate chaos and widespread arrests of prominent radicals.

The text then details the legal campaign launched against the accused labor leaders. Eight men face conspiracy charges under Judge Gary, who abiertly demonstrates prejudice against anarchists and socialists while selecting a hostile jury. Conservative defense attorneys attempt to prove innocence, even arranging for Parsons to voluntarily surrender to demonstrate good faith, but prosecutor Grinnell presents perjured testimony and inflammatory past writings. The jury returns guilty verdicts, sentencing seven men to death and one to prison. Despite national appeals and protests, Parsons, Spies, Adolph Fischer, and George Engel are hanged on November 11, 1887, while Louis Lingg dies in his cell under suspicious circumstances.

The argument then shifts forward forty years to examine the cases of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, two Italian immigrant workers operating during the post-World War I Red Scare. Following the suspicious death of their associate Andrea Salsedo while in federal custody, Sacco and Vanzetti are arrested in May 1920 and accused of a fatal payroll robbery in South Braintree, Massachusetts.

During their trial, Judge Webster Thayer displays blatant xenophobia and anti-radical bias. Alibis provided by Italian neighbors and official consular testimony are ignored, as is ballistic evidence suggesting the fatal bullet did not come from Sacco's gun. Appeals to the Massachusetts Supreme Court, Governor Fuller, a special commission headed by the president of Harvard, and justices of the U.S. Supreme Court all fail. On August 22, 1927, Sacco and Vanzetti are executed in the electric chair. The narrative concludes by linking these historical executions to the ongoing efforts of organizations like the International Labor Defense to protect modern union organizers and civil rights campaigners.

How It Unfolds

The strike begins Labor organizers organize the national eight-hour day movement, culminating in peaceful mass demonstrations across Chicago on May 1, 1886.

Violence at McCormick Police attack striking workers at the McCormick Reaper Plant on May 3, prompting August Spies to publish a fiery leaflet calling for a protest assembly.

The Haymarket explosion An unknown party throws a bomb into a dispersing crowd as police attack a peaceful protest meeting at Haymarket Square on May 4.

Judicial railroading Eight radicals face trial before a biased judge and jury, resulting in death sentences based on public hysteria rather than direct evidence of bomb-throwing.

Execution of the leaders Four Haymarket organizers are executed on November 11, 1887, leaving behind a legacy that inspires future trade union structures.

Immigrants under suspicion Italian radicals Sacco and Vanzetti are swept up in a 1920 payroll robbery arrest amidst nationwide anti-radical hysteria driven by the Department of Justice.

The trial and executions Despite solid alibis, consular testimony, and conflicting ballistics, Judge Thayer secures murder convictions, leading to their execution on August 22, 1927.

The People

• Albert Parsons: A thirty-six-year-old printer, union organizer, and orator who spends over a decade recruiting workers for the eight-hour day before surrendering to face trial and eventual execution.
• August Spies: A German metal worker and editor of the Arbeiter-Zeitung who addresses the McCormick strike and speaks at Haymarket, remaining defiant through his execution.
• Nicola Sacco: An Italian shoe-worker arrested in Massachusetts who maintains his innocence while facing a court hostile to his immigrant background and radical beliefs.
• Bartolomeo Vanzetti: An Italian immigrant and fish peddler who organized labor strikes in Plymouth before being arrested, tried, and executed alongside Sacco.
• Judge Gary: The Chicago judge who presides over the Haymarket trial, permitting prejudiced jurors to sit and instructing them to convict based on conspiracy.
• Judge Webster Thayer: The Massachusetts judge who presides over the Sacco and Vanzetti trial, openly expressing bias against foreign radicals while denying defense motions.

In Its Own Voice

"There will come a time when our silence will be more powerful than the voices you are strangling today."

August Spies speaks these final words while standing on the gallows with the hangman's noose around his neck.

"I am suffering because I am a radical, and indeed I am a radical; I have suffered because I was an Italian, and indeed I am an Italian..."

Bartolomeo Vanzetti reflects on the root causes of his prosecution just prior to receiving his death sentence on April 10, 1927.

"The men died bravely, like the heroes that they were."

Vito Marcantonio characterizes the steadfast demeanor of the executed Haymarket organizers as they faced their final moments.

What It's Really About

The text presents the argument that the American legal system has repeatedly been weaponized by capitalist interests to suppress organized labor and radical political dissent. Rather than treating the Haymarket bombing or the South Braintree robbery as isolated criminal trials, the work frames them as intentional, state-sanctioned frame-ups meant to intimidate the broader working class. It explores how systemic xenophobia, anti-anarchist hysteria, and judicial prejudice work in tandem to deny constitutional protections to vulnerable leaders. Ultimately, the book asserts that labor rights, such as the eight-hour workday and industrial unionism, were not granted by benevolent institutions, but were won through the sacrifices of activists who faced imprisonment and death.

Why Read It Today

This work appeals to readers interested in labor history, civil liberties, and political advocacy. The prose is direct, urgent, and unadorned, reflecting its origins as a mid-twentieth-century organizational pamphlet designed to rally public support for legal defense funds. It provides a sharp, partisan perspective on historical events, intentionally written from the viewpoint of the American labor defense movement. Readers should expect an unabashedly political tone that skips neutral exposition in favor of passionate advocacy. What remains with the reader is the stark depiction of how anti-radical sentiment and xenophobia can distort judicial processes, alongside the historical memory of individuals who went to the gallows for their economic and political convictions.