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

German-language German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is also a ...

, radical

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, 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 p ...

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 state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

in 1877 by veterans of the

Great Railroad Strike of 1877 The Great Railroad Strike of 1877, sometimes referred to as the Great Upheaval, began on July 14 in Martinsburg, West Virginia, after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) cut wages for the third time in a year. This strike finally ended 52 day ...

. 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 and August Spies. 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 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 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 A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as " prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former conv ...

and hang the anarchists who were arrested in its wake. Its editor, August Spies, and a

typesetter Typesetting is the composition of text by means of arranging physical ''type'' (or ''sort'') in mechanical systems or '' glyphs'' in digital systems representing '' characters'' (letters and other symbols).Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random ...

, Adolph Fischer, 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 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, 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 in London and returned with her from Europe. In Chicago, he lived in her household shared with Mary and Abe Isaak 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 44,0 ...

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'', 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

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Notes

References

See also

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