Explain how the haymarket riot, homstead strike and pullman strike helped as well as hurt the AFL - Essay Example

The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was a large group of national crafts unions that earned the reputation of being the aristocracy of labor as it did not invite unskilled workers to become members. AFL was founded in 1886 and is known to have taken over several members from the Knights of Labor, which was a strong Labor Union in America during the period. AFL’s objectives centered around achieving what was possible in the given framework; right of collective bargaining, higher wages and shorter working hours.

Unlike the Knights of Labor, the AFL did not aim to dislodge the capitalist systems but worked towards creating a smooth transition for workers towards better working and living conditions (Academic American History, 2010). The Haymarket riot occurred on 4th May 1986 in Chicago and led to the death of many people. A contentious trial followed that resulted in the conviction and subsequent execution of four men who are believed to have been innocent. Consequently, the labor movement in America suffered a major setback and the chaos that followed reverberated for several years in impacting the labor movement in the US.

In view of apprehensions about labor violence the public opinion was against workers because they had ignited the violence. The most important impact of the Haymarket riot was that the union movement was hurt as the riots had led people to believe that fundamentalists had instigated American workers and that labor unions had become a major risk to law and order. It was never known who was behind the bombing at Haymarket Square but those that were against the labor movement in America took hold of the opportunity and discredited unions by labeling them as anarchists and fundamentalists (Paul, 1984).

The incident had adversely impacted the labor movement and the influence of the Knights of Labor plummeted with membership that diminished drastically. When public hysteria