On May 4, 1886, a bomb exploded at a Chicago labor rally, wounding dozens of policemen, seven of whom eventually
died. Coming in the midst of the largest national strike Americans had ever seen, the bombing created mass hysteria
and led to a sensational trial, which culminated in four controversial executions. The trial seized headlines across
the country, created the nation's first red scare and dealt a blow to the labor movement from which it would take
decades to recover." "Death in the Haymarket brings these remarkable events to life, re-creating a tempestuous
moment in American social history. James Green recounts the rise of the first great labor movement in the wake
of the Civil War and brings to life the epic twenty-year battle for the eight-hour workday. He shows how the movement
overcame numerous setbacks to orchestrate a series of strikes that swept the country in 1886, positioning the unions
for a hard-won victory on the eve of the Haymarket tragedy." "As he captures the frustrations, tensions
and heady victories, Green also gives us a rich portrait of Chicago, the Midwestern powerhouse of the Gilded Age.
We see the great factories and their wealthy owners, including men such as George Pullman, and we get an intimate
view of the communities of immigrant employees who worked for them. Throughout, we are reminded of the increasing
power of newspapers as, led by the legendary Chicago Tribune editor Joseph Medill, they stirred up popular fears
of the immigrants and radicals who led the unions." Death in the Haymarket is an important addition to the
history of American capitalism and a moving story about the class tensions at the heart of Gilded Age America.