"SOUVENIR HAYMARKET MASSACRE CHICAGO" RARE LABOR TOKEN WITH PIECE OF THE BOMB.
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Winning Bid:
$4,315.85
(Includes 18% Buyer's Premium)
Bidding Ended:
Tuesday, July 26, 2022 9:00:00 PM (20 Minute Clock Begins At Tuesday, July 26, 2022 9:00:00 PM)
Item Description
1" (25mm). Brass, holed for suspension. Fragment of the bomb on verso at top of illustration of explosion w/text "Anarchist Bomb Exploded May 4, '86" around lower rim. Light wear from limited use w/sharp details. Exc. The infamous labor event memorialized on this token ignited the first red scare in the US. Many workers suspected that agents of the notorious Pinkerton agency, known for its violent strikebreaking efforts, were responsible for the bombing. A subsequent trial of eight anarchists on charges of conspiracy, including August Spies, produced seven sentences of death by hanging. Spies last words were 'The Time Will Come When Our Silence Will Be More Powerful Than The Voices You Strangle Today.' No actual bomber was ever brought to trial and their identity remains a mystery to this day. While the initial moments after the Haymarket Affair set the 8-hour-work movement back, in the face of repression laborers united across nationalities and political backgrounds. The Knights Of Labor nearly doubled membership in the summer of 1886. By 1889 Samuel Gompers and the AFL rallied international support for a single day of demonstration for the 8-hour workday and chose May 1 in part to commemorate the workers who lost their lives at the Haymarket. See two preceding lots for related material.
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