__NOTOC__ The ''Arbeiter-Zeitung'', also known as the ''Chicagoer Arbeiter-Zeitung'' was a German-language, radical

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

started in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

in 1877 by veterans of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. It continued publishing through 1931. It was the first working-class newspaper in Chicago to last for a significant period, and sustained itself primarily through reader funding. The reader-owners removed several editors over its run due to disagreements over editorial policies. The ''Arbeiter-Zeitung'' was initially edited by German-American émigrés

Paul Grottkau Paul Grottkau (1846–1898) was a German-American socialist political activist and newspaper publisher. Grottkau is best remembered as an editor alongside Haymarket affair victim August Spies of the '' Chicagoer Arbeiter-Zeitung,'' one of the lea ...

and

August Spies August Vincent Theodore Spies (, ; December 10, 1855November 11, 1887) was an American upholsterer, radical labor activist, and newspaper editor. Spies is remembered as one of the anarchists in Chicago who were found guilty of conspiracy to commi ...

. Grottkau departed for

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

in 1883 to establish the ''Milwaukee Arbeiter-Zeitung,'' leaving the Chicago paper in the hands of Spies, who was officially named editor in 1884."Paul Grottkau, 1846-1898,"
Dictionary of Wisconsin HIstory, Wisconsin Historical Society, www.wisconsinhistory.org/ In the early months of 1886, membership in Chicago Internationals (militant unions) swelled to record levels while the ''Arbeiter-Zeitung'' and the anarchist publication ''The Alarm'' (edited by the Parsons) unleashed a steady stream of editorials railing against capitalism. Labor leaders focused on the

eight-hour work day The eight-hour day movement (also known as the 40-hour week movement or the short-time movement) was a social movement to regulate the length of a working day, preventing excesses and abuses. An eight-hour work day has its origins in the 16 ...

as the means to a better life for working people. The newspaper complained that as wealthy businessmen lived opulently, workers suffered, and unemployment rose. Even in companies where profits rose sharply, employers cut wages. Strikes became more common — and some led to violence. As a result of the

Haymarket Square bombing 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 in ...

of May 4, 1886, police arrested and investigated staff members of the ''Arbeiter-Zeitung''. Its offices were raided, and speeches and writings published in the paper were part of the evidence used to convict and hang the anarchists who were arrested in its wake. Its editor, August Spies, and a typesetter,

Adolph Fischer Adolph Fischer (1858 – November 11, 1887) was an anarchist and labor union activist tried and executed after the Haymarket Riot. Early life Adolph Fischer immigrated to the United States in 1873 at the age of 15. He became an apprentic ...

, were executed after a widely publicized, six-week trial; business manager

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 ...

and chief editorial assistant

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 ...

were sentenced to death, but later pardoned. Prosecutors showed that, the night before the bombing, Fischer had proposed that the paper should publish the word "Ruhe" (peace) — a call for armed men to assemble. The word did appear, highlighted in the May 4 edition. A staff member testified "Ruhe" was written in the hand of Spies. At his sentencing, Spies denounced the police and prosecution witnesses. He also charged that one witness, Gustav Legner, could prove his alibi but was threatened by police and paid to leave Chicago. Legner later 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 the early 1900s

Hippolyte Havel Hippolyte Havel (1871–1950) was a Czech-American anarchist who was known as an activist in the United States and part of the radical circle around Emma Goldman in the early 20th century. He had been imprisoned as a young man in Austria-Hungar ...

, a Czech anarchist from

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

edited the newspaper. He had met

Emma Goldman Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was a Russian-born anarchist political activist and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the ...

in London and returned with her from Europe. In Chicago, he lived in her household shared with Mary and

Abe Isaak Abraham Isaak (October 4, 1856 – December 10, 1937) was a newspaper editor and Russian anarchist. He was raised in the Mennonite village of Rosenthal, part of the Chortitza Colony, but later settled in the U.S. Biography Abraham Isaak was th ...

for a while. He later moved to New York, where he continued to edit anarchist papers. The library of the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

has several years' holdings of the ''Arbeiter-Zeitung'' on microfilm in its German-Americana Collection.

Notes

References

*"The First Anarchist Daily Newspaper: The ''Chicagoer Arbeiter-Zeitung''" by Jon Bekken. ''Anarchist Studies'' Volume 3, 2003 No.
abstract
*Edward B. Mittelman
Chicago Labor in Politics 1877-96
''

The Journal of Political Economy The ''Journal of Political Economy'' is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal published by the University of Chicago Press. Established by James Laurence Laughlin in 1892, it covers both theoretical and empirical economics. In the past, the ...

'', Vol. 28, No. 5 (May 1920), pp. 407–427.

External links

Drawing of the newspaper's office c. 1889
{{Authority control Publications established in 1877 Publications disestablished in 1931 1877 establishments in Illinois 1931 disestablishments in Illinois German-American history German-American culture in Chicago Defunct newspapers published in Chicago History of labor relations in the United States German-language newspapers published in Illinois Anarchist newspapers Defunct German-language newspapers published in the United States Working-class culture in the United States

See also

Notes

References

See also

External links