In 1886 in the windy city of Chicago an important event occurred in the history of the United States called the Haymarket Riot. During this time the Knights of Labor were very popular and maintained a respectable status. After the riot the Knights of Labor were held liable for the occurrence and eight of the leaders were convicted for being part of the Haymarket Square Riot. After the Knights of Labor reputation was lost, the American Federation of Labor gained popularity and soon became the most dominate labor union in America. American workers have been protesting as early as the 1760's for better working conditions. Workers were not considered to have rights or protection. Immigrants made up a significant percentage of the workers during this time and they came to America for a job to provide for their families. Most of the immigrants were not skilled workers who would work for cheap wages and long hours. Skilled labor workers were favored more than the unskilled workers during the labor movement that is why unskilled workers joined unions to protest. Since 1867, a law was passed for federal employees and workers in Illinois that supposedly protected employees for an eight hour a day. Unfortunately that law didn't stick because workers were working well over eight hours a day. In the summer of 1884 the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions began talking about creating a national strike for an eight hour work day. This reached attention nationwide after a questionnaire was sent out to employers.
It all started with one company in the 1840's called McCormick Harvester Works. The company made various farming equipment which included the reaper. Cyrus McCormick owned the company and was a kind gentleman that knew all 43 of his employees by name. The factory grew over time but Cyrus still managed to know all his employees. During this time the way of business was very personable and as corporations started to take over everything changed dramatically.