Life of Albert R. Parsons. With Brief History of the Labor Movement in America. Also Sketches of the Lives of A. Spies, Geo. Engel, A. Fischer and Louis Lingg. Second Edition.
Chicago: Mrs. Lucy E. Parsons, 1903. Second edition, expanded to include sections on Spies, Engel, Fischer and Lingg. . Frontisportraits of both Lucy Parsons and A.R. Parsons; thirteen other portrait and facsimile plates. Binding extremities very lightly worn, front hinge a little loose. A very good, clean copy. Original red cloth, decoratively stamped in gilt, black, and blind. Octavo. [2], 315 pp. Item #14233
Parsons (1848-1887) was born in Alabama and raised in Texas. He served in the Texas Confederate Cavalry. When the Civil War ended, he because a pro-Reconstruction Republication, married an African-American woman, Lucy Parsons (1853-1942), and moved north to Chicago, where he became involved in union and socialist movements. He was a founder of the Eight-Hour League and editor of the weekly journal, The Alarm. In 1886, he became a leader of what was conceived as a peaceful demonstration for the eight-hour work day in the Haymarket area. The police, with a force of 200 officers, converged on the protesters, ordering them to disperse. A bomb was thrown somewhere at this point, killing eleven people, including seven police officers. The police opened fire on the crowd, killing dozens. Ultimately, the police arrested a number of demonstrators in connection with the bombing, and seven, including Parsons, Spies, Fischer and Engel, were charged. Even though no evidence was ever discovered linking them to the bomb, the men were found guilty and hung. This event was a pivotal one in American labor history. The demonstration came to be known as the Haymarket Riot. (See D.A.B.).
Lucy Parsons lived over half a century after her husband died, became an important figure in the Chicago labor and Communist movements. She was one of the founders of the I.W.W. (Industrial Workers of the World) and was editor of The Liberator.
Price: $350.00