Jan. 13, 1874, the ‘Panic of 1873’ led to one of the worst
economic depressions in world history as it impacted all industrialized nations
and helped end the Reconstruction era in the United States. Conditions were bad
with millions out of work in the major cities and thousands facing eviction and
potential starvation. In New York City this came to a head this morning when
over 7,000 unemployed workers gathered in Tompkins Square in New York City to
protest and demand for more public spending and public works to get them back
to work.
Formed in December 1873, The Committee of Safety in New York
City was the main body to organize workers and tradesmen into cohesive groups
to work towards better contracts and conditions. The leadership of the group
had tried to organize a meeting with city officials but was denied any such
opportunity
Labor rights were the last thing on the minds of city leaders.
They were embroiled in personal and petty conflicts between the mayor and the
aldermen and with ongoing corruption by Tammany Hall. The mayor, William
Frederick Havemeyer, in his third term was battling to fill many civic offices.
This battle got so petty and personal at times that the aldermen sent a
petition to the governor the use emergency powers to remove Havemeyer from
office.
Newspapers of the day declared themselves neutral reporters
but in general continued to report that the worker demands were ‘Utopian’ and ‘impractical”
some like the New York Herald intoned that the organizers were ‘Communists
threatening to change the order of the nation’
Because some other protests and processions in recent weeks
had attracted violence and disorder the police commissioners decided to pull
the permit that the Committee of Safety had been granted, however, they failed
to tell the leaders of the group and they continued to promote and recruit so
that by 11 am there were 7,000 people in the park, and there were 1,600 police
both mounted and on the ground. Soon there were orders to disperse the crowd
and so the police descended on the group.
Police charged into the square, dispersing most of the crowds
with brutal force, beating thousands with clubs. Police on horseback rode
through the surrounding streets also beating people wherever they found them.
Hundreds of men, many from the German Tenth Ward Workingmen’s Association,
fought back, attempting to defend the people who were under attack.
Rumors spread panic across the city that day. Schools were
placed under ‘police protection’ after rumors spread that ‘immigrants’ were
planning to burn down the schools. City Alderman John Kehr, a strong opponent
of the mayor, claimed that he had to jump off a streetcar to escape from angry
immigrants.
In the end, it was reported that forty-six workers were
arrested, thirty-five of them being ringleaders. the workingmen’s movement lost
its momentum. There were other efforts to organize a march for the unemployed,
but it proved futile. Thus, the Committee of Safety soon floundered and
dissolved into the Industrial Political Party, which then disbanded a year
later.
John Swinton, editor of the New York Sun exposed the
complacency of City Hall and denounce the underhanded tactics used by police
against the protestors. He also made comments before the New York State
Assembly’s Committee on Grievances requesting an investigation into police
conduct and afterward his comments and concerns were published in a pamphlet
titled 'The Tompkins Square Outrage'. However, attempts undertaken to fire
members of the Police Board for the Tompkins Square Park riot failed.
This act of violence, along with no consequences primed the
police for many years of violence and surveillance of political and worker
organizations.
Sources:
https://www.geriwalton.com/tompkins-square-park-riot-of-1874-the-workingmens-fight/
https://peoplesworld.org/article/jan-13-1874-tompkins-square-riot/
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