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Fischer, who were implicated in the possession of bombs. Spies testified he first obtained the dynamite out of curiosity. "I wanted to experiment with dynamite just the same as I would take a revolver and go out and practice." He kept the explosives on hand to impress reporters. "The reporters used to bother me a good deal, and they were always up for a sensation and when they came to the office I would show them these Giant cartridges…they would go away and write up some big sensational article." (Giant Powder was a brand of dynamite.)
302:. When the end-of-the-workday bell sounded, however, a group of workers surged to the gates to confront the strikebreakers. Despite calls by Spies for the workers to remain calm, gunfire erupted as police fired on the crowd. In the end, two McCormick workers were killed (although some newspaper accounts said there were six fatalities). Spies would later testify, "I was very indignant. I knew from experience of the past that this butchering of people was done for the express purpose of defeating the eight-hour movement."
441:
399:), the more extreme defendants alleged to have attended a planning meeting in the Greif's Hall basement the night before the bombing. However, defense attorney William A. Foster shocked his colleagues and Spies by telling the judge the motion of severance musn't delay the trial and was merely perfunctory. Spies passed a note to another attorney that read, "What in the hell does Foster mean? I thought our motion was meant seriously."
414:, an anarchist author of a how-to pamphlet on dynamite. Most's letter said he would proxy Spies 20 or 25 lbs. of "medicine," which prosecutors said was code for dynamite. In their appeal, the defense argued that police seized the letter from Spies' desk without a warrant, but the appellate judge said he could not pursue the matter because defense lawyers had not objected to the letter's admission during the trial.
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Frontis illustration from Spies' autobiography (left), published by his wife in
January 1887. Reference of this drawing was a photograph taken by Levin & Maul's Studio, circa 1886. Studio was joint workplace of Henry Levine and Jacob Maul. Later in 1887 studio split into two different labels, and
417:
Gottfried Waller, a fellow anarchist, testified that at the meeting at Greif's Hall, two of the Monday Night
Conspirators agreed that the code word "Ruhe" would be published in the Arbeiter Zeitung to call anarchists to arms. The word appeared in the newspaper's "Letterbox" section on May 4, the day
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Thompson said the two were joined by a third man who
Thompson later identified as Rudolph Schnaubelt, the lead suspect as the bomb thrower and Schwab's brother in law. Spies handed something to Schnaubelt, who stuffed it in his pocket, Thompson testified. Witness Harry Gilmer testified he saw Spies
270:
in 1877. He emerged as a leader of the SLP's radical faction; this faction provoked a split in the party by parading through the streets in military uniforms and shouldering muskets. After the
English-speaking section of the SLP attempted to combine with the reformist Greenback Labor Party in 1880,
459:
At his sentencing, Spies denounced the police and prosecution witnesses. "There was no evidence produced by the State to show or even indicate that I had any knowledge of the man who threw the bomb, or that I myself had anything to do with the throwing of the missile, unless, of course, you weight
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Spies later recalled that he had a pleasant and privileged childhood, one filled with recreation and study. He was educated by private tutors and trained for a career following in his father's footsteps as a government forester. His father died suddenly in 1871, however, ending the comfortable
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bookkeeper, testified that Ruhe was written in the hand of August Spies. Malvern
Thompson, a grocer, testified he observed Spies preparing for the Haymarket rally in Crane's alley, where he heard Spies ask Michael Schwab, "Do you think one is enough or hadn't we better go and get more?" and a
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would later turn himself in and all eight defendants were tried as a group. Spies would maintain his innocence and, despite the costly courtroom mistake, showed solidarity with his comrades through the trial, appeals, and at the gallows. Spies was one of three defendants, along with Lingg and
409:
During the trial, the jury was allowed by the judge to consider as evidence articles written by the defendants in support of political violence, conversations about their desire for revolution, and other past materials. On the stand, Spies confirmed he had received an 1884 letter from
297:
Speaking to a rally outside the McCormick
Harvesting Machine Plant on May 3, 1886, Spies advised the striking workers to "hold together, to stand by their union, or they would not succeed." Well-planned and coordinated, the general strike to this point had remained largely
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Spies was put on trial for conspiracy in the murder of
Officer Mathias Degan with seven other men. The defense initially sought to split the defendants into two groups. Spies was to stand trial with three others
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from its list of party organs, Spies led the formation of a revolutionary alternative to the SLP. In 1883, Spies was a leader in the
Revolutionary Congress held in Pittsburgh that formally launched the
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Spies helped engineer a takeover of the party's executive committee and ousted the compromisers. When the national leadership of the SLP denounced the
Chicago radicals and removed their newspaper the
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for libel for repeating Spies' claim of bribery, denying he was told to leave town. Legner said he asked Spies before leaving the city if he should testify and was told he would not be needed. The
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Some sources report Spies' last words as "The day will come when our silence will be more powerful than the voices you are throttling today." This version is inscribed at the base of the
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financial situation for his mother, and August determined to set out for a new life in
America, a country in which he already had a number of financially successful relatives.
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509:. After Spies' death she married Stephen A. Malato, an attorney, in 1895. They divorced in 1902, and she reverted to the surname Spies. Nina Spies died on April 12, 1936.
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the testimony of the accomplices of the State's Attorney and (Inspector John) Bonfield, the testimony of Thompson and Gilmer, by the price they were paid for it."
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August Spies, et al., Plaintiff vs. The People of the State of Illinois, Defendant: Error to the Criminal Court of Cook County: Abstract of Record.
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Spies also charged that one witness, Gustav Legner, could prove his alibi but was threatened by police and paid to leave Chicago. (Legner sued the
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The Accused the Accusers: The Famous Speeches of the Chicago Anarchists in Court: On October 7th, 8th, and 9th, 1886, Chicago, Illinois.
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resulted in the deaths of eight police officers and an unknown number of civilians. Seven men were arrested, including Spies. Later,
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266:, where he became an upholsterer, involving himself in trade union activities. Due to the injustices he witnessed, Spies joined the
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photographs related with Chicago anarchists (includes Spies' photograph) reprinted by Jacob Maul with the label "J. Maul" (right).
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reference to "pistols" and "police." Thompson said he heard Schwab tell Spies, "Now, if they come, we will give it to them."
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Spies was born on December 10, 1855, in a ruined castle converted into a government building on the mountain
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and the only child of a wealthy Chicago chemist. She published an article on the trial for the Chicago
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Photograph of August Spies, taken by John Joergen Kanberg in prison cell on May 3, 1887.
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in Forest Park, Illinois, where Spies and the other Haymarket martyrs are buried.
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to commit murder following a bomb attack on police in an event remembered as the
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918:"The accused, the accusers: the famous speeches of the eight Chicago anarchists"
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climb down from the wagon and light the fuse for the bomb thrown by Schnaubelt.
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230:. Spies was one of four who were executed in the aftermath of this event.
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Beyond the Martyrs: A Social History of Chicago's Anarchists, 1870–1900.
206:; December 10, 1855 – November 11, 1887) was an American
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rally. Violence erupted and a bomb was thrown. The blast and ensuing
988:
August Spies' Auto-Biography; His Speech in Court and General Notes.
663:
August Spies' Auto-Biography; His Speech in Court and General Notes.
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concealed in a cigar on November 10, 1887. Spies, Albert Parsons,
527:, the Forest Park, Illinois, gravesite of the executed defendants.
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Spies' appearance at the time of his conviction in 1886
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American people executed for murdering police officers
962:. Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 393.
498:(writ of error) by unanimous decision (123 U.S. 131).
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Emigrants from the German Empire to the United States
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Messer-Kruse, Timothy (2011). "Preparing for Trial".
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The Press on Trial: Crimes and Trials as Media Events
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German people convicted of murdering police officers
1028:. Chicago: Barnard and Gunthorp, Law Printers, 1887.
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387:), separated from the "Monday Night Conspirators" (
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1035:New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1988.
547:, were pardoned and released on June 26, 1893, by
494:. The U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition for
250:. His father was a government forestry official.
808:. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 41–44.
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722:. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 12–13.
1008:Chicago: Socialistic Publishing Society, n.d. .
997:Corvallis, OR: 1000 Flowers Publishing, 2012.
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577:As he faced his demise on the gallows, Spies
574:were hanged the next day, November 11, 1887.
8:
1341:19th-century executions by the United States
857:Messer-Kruse. "Road to the Supreme Court".
1336:19th-century executions of American people
1223:Monuments relating to the Haymarket affair
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783:. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 44.
280:International Working People's Association
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1346:Burials at Forest Home Cemetery, Chicago
938:Messer-Kruse. "The Elements of a Riot".
305:The next day, May 4, Spies spoke at the
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521:Spies' final words are engraved on the
328:, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
1326:People executed by Illinois by hanging
1321:People convicted of murder by Illinois
940:The Trial of the Haymarket Anarchists
904:The Trial of the Haymarket Anarchists
889:The Trial of the Haymarket Anarchists
874:The Trial of the Haymarket Anarchists
859:The Trial of the Haymarket Anarchists
844:The Trial of the Haymarket Anarchists
806:The Trial of the Haymarket Anarchists
720:The Trial of the Haymarket Anarchists
666:Chicago: Niña van Zandt, 1887; pg. 1.
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598:to commemorate the Haymarket affair.
418:of the bombing. Theodore Fricke, the
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995:"Pages from an Editor's Sketchbook,"
1266:People from the Electorate of Hesse
562:killed himself in his cell with a
476:Supreme Court of the United States
289:in 1880, becoming editor in 1884.
285:Spies had joined the staff of the
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1351:1886 murders in the United States
999:—Excerpt from 1887 autobiography.
902:Messer-Kruse. "The Prosecution".
887:Messer-Kruse. "The Prosecution".
872:Messer-Kruse. "The Prosecution".
478:, where they were represented by
449:His wife by proxy Nina Van Zandt.
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594:May 1 was selected to celebrate
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608:August Spies in the 1880 Census
471:agreed to print a retraction.)
1261:People from Hersfeld-Rotenburg
991:Chicago: Niña van Zandt, 1887.
16:American anarchist (1855–1887)
1:
1356:Trade unionists from Illinois
842:Messer-Kruse. "The Defense".
718:(2011). "The Investigation".
703:August Spies' Auto-Biography,
690:August Spies' Auto-Biography,
677:August Spies' Auto-Biography,
173:August Vincent Theodore Spies
45:August Vincent Theodore Spies
222:, Spies was found guilty of
1198:Haymarket Martyrs' Monument
634:Haymarket Martyrs' Monument
584:Haymarket Martyrs' Monument
524:Haymarket Martyrs' Monument
147:Conspiracy to commit murder
113:Haymarket Martyrs' Monument
70:November 11, 1887 (aged 31)
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1218:International Workers' Day
596:International Workers' Day
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1361:Executed trade unionists
1205:The Haymarket Conspiracy
777:Chiasson, Lloyd (1997).
166:Nina van Zandt (m. 1887)
558:Of the remaining five,
531:Two of the defendants,
747:Death in the Haymarket
543:. They, together with
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268:Socialist Labour Party
1212:The Haymarket Tragedy
1049:Spartacus Educational
959:The Haymarket Tragedy
830:The Haymarket Tragedy
764:The Haymarket Tragedy
716:Messer-Kruse, Timothy
541:Richard James Oglesby
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137:Socialist Labor Party
589:Forest Home Cemetery
553:governor of Illinois
484:Roger Atkinson Pryor
480:John Randolph Tucker
103:Forest Home Cemetery
93:Execution by hanging
60:German Confederation
1291:People from Chicago
1281:Executed anarchists
1276:American anarchists
317:turned himself in.
244:Electorate of Hesse
89:Cause of death
56:Electorate of Hesse
1296:Anarcho-communists
1182:(1893 gov. pardon)
1176:(some commutation)
942:. pp. 108–09.
549:John Peter Altgeld
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488:Benjamin F. Butler
420:Arbeiter Zeitung's
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322:The Press on Trial
1286:German anarchists
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1031:Bruce C. Nelson,
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969:978-0-691-00600-0
891:. pp. 72–73.
876:. pp. 59–60.
846:. pp. 95–96.
815:978-0-230-12077-8
790:978-0-313-30022-6
729:978-0-230-12077-8
262:Spies settled in
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1301:Upholsterers
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1180:John Altgeld
1143:August Spies
1142:
1128:
1099:George Engel
1032:
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954:Avrich, Paul
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923:December 30,
921:. Retrieved
912:
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832:, pp. 263-64
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23:August Spies
1256:1887 deaths
1251:1855 births
1168:Joseph Gary
1119:Oscar Neebe
1114:Louis Lingg
560:Louis Lingg
545:Oscar Neebe
412:Johann Most
389:Louis Lingg
385:Oscar Neebe
326:Oscar Neebe
208:upholsterer
123:Upholsterer
1245:Categories
1092:Defendants
614:References
496:certiorari
486:, General
300:nonviolent
258:In Chicago
234:Background
224:conspiracy
210:, radical
1130:The Alarm
767:, p. 190.
645:Footnotes
220:anarchist
109:Monuments
1026:Volume 2
1022:Volume 1
956:(1984).
828:Avrich,
692:pp. 7-8.
602:See also
1190:Related
1170:(judge)
745:Green,
701:Spies,
688:Spies,
675:Spies,
579:shouted
311:gunfire
264:Chicago
248:Germany
242:in the
966:
812:
787:
759:Avrich
726:
705:pg. 8.
679:pg. 7.
570:, and
551:, the
163:Spouse
1161:Trial
981:Works
619:Notes
332:Trial
218:. An
212:labor
202:SPEES
157:Death
1024:and
964:ISBN
925:2017
810:ISBN
785:ISBN
724:ISBN
535:and
490:and
395:and
383:and
67:Died
41:Born
587:in
1247::
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375:(
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191:s
185:p
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175:(
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