August Spies
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August Vincent Theodore Spies (, ; December 10, 1855November 11, 1887) was an American
upholsterer Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric or leather covers. The word also refers to the materials used to upholster something. ''Upholstery'' comes from the Middle English word ...
, radical
labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...
activist, and
newspaper editor An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...
. Spies is remembered as one of the
anarchists Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessari ...
in Chicago who were found guilty of
conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...
to commit murder following a bomb attack on police in an event remembered as the
Haymarket affair The Haymarket affair, also known as the Haymarket massacre, the Haymarket riot, the Haymarket Square riot, or the Haymarket Incident, was the aftermath of a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration on May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square (C ...
. Spies was one of four who were executed in the aftermath of this event.


Background

Spies was born on December 10, 1855, in a ruined castle converted into a government building on the mountain Landeckerberg in the
Electorate of Hesse The Electorate of Hesse (german: Kurfürstentum Hessen), also known as Hesse-Kassel or Kurhessen, was a landgraviate whose prince was given the right to elect the Emperor by Napoleon. When the Holy Roman Empire was abolished in 1806, its prin ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.August Spies,
''August Spies' Auto-Biography; His Speech in Court and General Notes.''
Chicago: Niña van Zandt, 1887; pg. 1.
His father was a government forestry official. 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 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.


In Chicago

Spies settled in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, where he became an upholsterer, involving himself in trade union activities. Due to the injustices he witnessed, Spies joined the Socialist Labour Party 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, 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 '' Arbeiter-Zeitung'' 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
International Working People's Association The International Working People's Association (IWPA), sometimes known as the "Black International," was an international anarchist political organization established in 1881 at a convention held in London, England. In America the group is best r ...
in America. Spies had joined the staff of the ''Arbeiter-Zeitung'' in 1880, becoming editor in 1884.


Haymarket Square

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
nonviolent Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
. 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."Green, ''Death in the Haymarket'', pp. 162–173. The next day, May 4, Spies spoke at the
Haymarket Square Haymarket Square may refer to: * Haymarket Square (Boston), in Boston * Haymarket Square (Chicago), in Chicago * Haymarket affair The Haymarket affair, also known as the Haymarket massacre, the Haymarket riot, the Haymarket Square riot, or ...
rally. Violence erupted and a bomb was thrown. The blast and ensuing
gunfire A gunshot is a single discharge of a gun, typically a man-portable firearm, producing a visible flash, a powerful and loud shockwave and often chemical gunshot residue. The term can also refer to a ballistic wound caused by such a discharg ...
resulted in the deaths of eight police officers and an unknown number of civilians. Seven men were arrested, including Spies. Later,
Albert Parsons Albert Richard Parsons (June 20, 1848 – November 11, 1887) was a pioneering American socialist and later anarchist newspaper editor, orator, and labor activist. As a teenager, he served in the military force of the Confederate States of Americ ...
turned himself in. Witnesses testified that none of the eight men charged threw the bomb. According to ''The Press on Trial'', Spies had finished his speech but was still on stage when the bomb went off. However, all eight were found guilty, and seven were sentenced to death. One,
Oscar Neebe Oscar William Neebe I (July 12, 1850 – April 22, 1916) was an anarchist, labor activist and one of the defendants in the Haymarket bombing trial, and one of the eight activist remembered on May 1, International Workers' Day. Early life He ...
, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.


Trial

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 (
Michael Schwab Michael Schwab (August 9, 1853 – June 29, 1898) was a German-American labor organizer and one of the defendants in the Haymarket Square incident. Biography Early years Michael Schwab was born in Bad Kissingen, Franconia in Germany in 1853. H ...
, Samuel Fielden and
Oscar Neebe Oscar William Neebe I (July 12, 1850 – April 22, 1916) was an anarchist, labor activist and one of the defendants in the Haymarket bombing trial, and one of the eight activist remembered on May 1, International Workers' Day. Early life He ...
), separated from the "Monday Night Conspirators" (
Louis Lingg Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...
,
George Engel George Engel (April 15, 1836November 11, 1887) was a labor union activist executed after the Haymarket riot, along with Albert Parsons, August Spies, and Adolph Fischer. Early life George Engel was born to an impoverished family with three ot ...
and Adolph Fischer), 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."
Albert Parsons Albert Richard Parsons (June 20, 1848 – November 11, 1887) was a pioneering American socialist and later anarchist newspaper editor, orator, and labor activist. As a teenager, he served in the military force of the Confederate States of Americ ...
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 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.) 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
Johann Most Johann Joseph "Hans" Most (February 5, 1846 – March 17, 1906) was a German-American Social Democratic and then anarchism, anarchist politician, newspaper editor, and orator. He is credited with popularizing the concept of "propaganda of the dee ...
, 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. 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 of the bombing. Theodore Fricke, the ''Arbeiter Zeitung's'' 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 reference to "pistols" and "police." Thompson said he heard Schwab tell Spies, "Now, if they come, we will give it to them." 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 climb down from the wagon and light the fuse for the bomb thrown by Schnaubelt. 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 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." 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 ''Arbeiter Zeitung'' 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 ''Arbeiter Zeitung'' agreed to print a retraction.) In 1887, Spies and his co-defendants appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court (122 Ill. 1), then to the
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
, where they were represented by John Randolph Tucker,
Roger Atkinson Pryor Roger Atkinson Pryor (July 19, 1828 – March 14, 1919) was a Virginian newspaper editor and politician who became known for his fiery oratory in favor of secession; he was elected both to national and Confederate office, and served as a gen ...
, General Benjamin F. Butler and
William P. Black William Perkins Black (November 11, 1842 – January 3, 1916) was a lawyer and veteran of the American Civil War. He received America's highest military decoration – the Medal of Honor – for his actions at the Battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, in ...
. The U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition for
certiorari In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of an English prerogative writ, issued by a superior court to direct that the record of ...
(writ of error) by unanimous decision (123 U.S. 131). In January 1887, while still in prison, Spies married Nina van Zandt (1862–1936). She was a graduate of
Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...
and the only child of a wealthy Chicago chemist. She published an article on the trial for the Chicago
Knights of Labor Knights of Labor (K of L), officially Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, was an American labor federation active in the late 19th century, especially the 1880s. It operated in the United States as well in Canada, and had chapters also ...
. 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.


Death and legacy

Two of the defendants,
Michael Schwab Michael Schwab (August 9, 1853 – June 29, 1898) was a German-American labor organizer and one of the defendants in the Haymarket Square incident. Biography Early years Michael Schwab was born in Bad Kissingen, Franconia in Germany in 1853. H ...
and Samuel Fielden, asked for clemency and their sentences were commuted to life in prison on November 10, 1887, by Governor
Richard James Oglesby Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...
. They were pardoned and released on June 26, 1893, by
John Peter Altgeld John Peter Altgeld (December 30, 1847 – March 12, 1902) was an American politician and the 20th Governor of Illinois, serving from 1893 until 1897. He was the first Democrat to govern that state since the 1850s. A leading figure of the Progr ...
, the
governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by p ...
. Of the remaining five,
Louis Lingg Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...
killed himself in his cell with a
blasting cap A detonator, frequently a blasting cap, is a device used to trigger an explosive device. Detonators can be chemically, mechanically, or electrically initiated, the last two being the most common. The commercial use of explosives uses electri ...
concealed in a cigar on November 10, 1887. Spies, Albert Parsons, Adolph Fischer, and
George Engel George Engel (April 15, 1836November 11, 1887) was a labor union activist executed after the Haymarket riot, along with Albert Parsons, August Spies, and Adolph Fischer. Early life George Engel was born to an impoverished family with three ot ...
were hanged the next day, November 11, 1887. As he faced his demise on the gallows, Spies shouted, "The day will come when our silence will be more powerful than the voices you strangle today." The words are engraved on the ''
Haymarket Martyrs' Monument The ''Haymarket Martyrs' Monument'' is a funeral monument and sculpture located at Forest Home Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Dedicated in 1893, it commemorates the defendants involved in labor unrest who were blamed, conv ...
'' in
Forest Home Cemetery Forest Home Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in the Lincoln Village neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and is the final resting place of many of the city's famed beer barons, politicians and social elite. Both the cemetery and ...
in Forest Park, Illinois, where Spies and the other Haymarket martyrs are buried. May 1 was selected to celebrate
International Workers' Day International Workers' Day, also known as Labour Day in some countries and often referred to as May Day, is a celebration of labourers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labour movement and occurs every year on 1 May, ...
to commemorate the Haymarket affair.


See also

* August Spies in the 1880 Census


References


Notes


Footnotes


Works


''August Spies' Auto-Biography; His Speech in Court and General Notes.''
Chicago: Niña van Zandt, 1887.
"Pages from an Editor's Sketchbook,"
Corvallis, OR: 1000 Flowers Publishing, 2012. —Excerpt from 1887 autobiography.
''The Accused the Accusers: The Famous Speeches of the Chicago Anarchists in Court: On October 7th, 8th, and 9th, 1886, Chicago, Illinois.''
Chicago: Socialistic Publishing Society, n.d.
886 __NOTOC__ Year 886 ( DCCCLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March – A wide-ranging conspiracy against Emperor Basil I, led by John Kourkouas, is uncovered. * ...


Further reading

* ''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.'
Volume 1
an
Volume 2
Chicago: Barnard and Gunthorp, Law Printers, 1887. * Bruce C. Nelson, ''Beyond the Martyrs: A Social History of Chicago's Anarchists, 1870-1900.'' New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1988.


External links



Spartacus Educational, www.spartacus-educational.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Spies, August 1855 births 1887 deaths People from Hersfeld-Rotenburg People from the Electorate of Hesse German emigrants to the United States American anarchists Executed anarchists German anarchists People from Chicago Anarcho-communists Upholsterers Haymarket affair American people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by Illinois People executed by Illinois by hanging Executed people from Hesse 19th-century executions of American people 19th-century executions by the United States Burials at Forest Home Cemetery, Chicago 1886 murders in the United States