Dublin Core
Title
Albert Parsons
Subject
Labor Activist
Description
19th century Chicago labor activist, union leader, socialist, and anarchist instrumental in the push for an 8 hour workday in Chicago. Speaker before the Haymarket Affair and executed for conspiracy in reaction to the event.
Creator
Samuel Parsons
Elizabeth (Tompkins) Parsons
Date
1848-1887
Contributor
Stephen Petrie
Rights
N/A
Relation
Lucy Parsons
Language
English
Type
Person
Coverage
Gilded Age
Chicago Labor Movement
Person Item Type Metadata
Birth Date
June 20, 1848
Birthplace
Montgomery, Alabama
Death Date
November 7, 1887
Occupation
Labor Activist
Biographical Text
Socialsit, anarchist, labor activist during the Progessive Era in Chicago. Served in the Confederate Army for Texas before becoming Republican in support of increased rights for the formerly enslaved. Married Lucy Parsons and moved to Chicago where he became an instrumental part in the growing union and labor movement towards better working conditions, specifically the 8 hour workday. Noted orator, organizer, and publisher, ultimately blamed in the aftermath of the Haymarket Affair (May 4, 1886) due to an outpouring of anti-anarchist, anti-union sentiment and executed for conspiracy. Likely could have had his sentence commuted but refused to write the governor so as to not get the appearance of admitting guilt. Buried in Forrest Home Cemetery in Chicago.
Bibliography
Green, James. Death in the Haymarket: A Story of Chicago, the First Labor Movement and the Bombing that Divided Guilded Age America. New York: Anchor Books, 2006.