The Haymarket Square Riot:
The year 1886 will be known as the year of the great uprising for labor reform: the Haymarket square riot. American workers had been agitating for shorter workdays for decades. In 1884, the demand resurfaced when the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions began a two-year campaign, resolving that eight hours shall constitute a legal day’s work from and after May 1, 1886, and calling for a general strike to begin that day. The federation, an alliance of eighteen national unions, had been formed in 1881 by local unionists who called for national organizing to deal with employers operating in national markets. At its peak in 1886, federation membership totaled as much as 300,000.

The national leadership of the Labor unions discouraged the demonstrations and strikes for the eight-hour day, but many held local campaigns, working with the socialists and anarchists who played a prominent role in the agitation. Although united in their challenge to the concept of private property, socialists and anarchists differed in their views of the role of government. Socialists advocated government ownership of factories and mines, whereas anarchists argued that organized government was by its very nature oppressive.

To the socialists who were Marxist in nature, capitalism was undemocratic it lacked communal ownership and control of means of production. They asserted that capitalism was corrupt and outdated that had to be replaced by a worldwide working-class revolution. However, the anarchists believed that all forms of governments are evil and world always conflict with the rights of the people. They sought to abolish private property and destroy all existing governments. The anarchist philosophers like Mikhail Bakunin, Karl Heinzen etc… preached “terror a means to achieve their goal.” And it’s not surprising that this aggressive attitude lead to the Haymarket square riot.


References:
George J and Wilcox L, Nazis, Communists, Klansmen, and Others on the Fringe, Buffalo NY, Prometheus, 1992, 445-447

Hewitt, Christopher. Understanding Terrorism in America: From the Klan to Al Qaeda.

Southern Poverty Law Center - Fighting Hate, Teaching Tolerance, Seeking Justice
http://www.splcenter.org/

Vohryzek-Bolden, M. Olson-Raymer, G. and Whamond,  J. O. Domestic Terrorism and Incident Management: Issues and Tactics. Springfilled, IL: Charles C. Thomas