Today in History: May Day

Today in History: May Day

Today in History–May 1–the Library of Congress features May Day. Originally a celebration of spring, May Day later became a day to celebrate workers and is still celebrated as such in many countries around the world. Learn more about other May Day celebrations by reading the Today in History section, then click the links below to access related primary…

Today in History: John Peter Altgeld

Today in History: John Peter Altgeld

Today in History–December 30–the Library of Congress features politician John Peter Altgeld, born on this day in 1847. A lawyer, Altgeld served as a city attorney and a county prosecutor before serving on the bench of Cook County’s Superior Court from 1886 to 1891. In 1892 he was elected governor of Illinois. A progressive, Altgeld passed penal and legal…

Primary Source Learning: Chicago Anarchists & the Haymarket Affair

Primary Source Learning: Chicago Anarchists & the Haymarket Affair

Overview Haymarket Affair Digital Collection—presents original manuscripts, broadsides, photographs, prints and artifacts regarding the Haymarket Affair, an 1886 conflict between labor protestors and members of the Chicago police force. Materials document the events leading up to the May 1886 riot, the arrest and trial of those accused of throwing a bomb that killed several police…

City Spotlight: Chicago, Illinois

City Spotlight: Chicago, Illinois

PSN primary source collections Jane Addams & Hull House John Peter Altgeld Daniel Burnham Frank Lloyd Wright Anarchist Emma Goldman Dizzy Gillespie Louis H. Sullivan Chicago Cubs First American Automobile Race Great Chicago Fire Nuclear Fission Teaching resources Guided primary source analyses The Red Flag or the Anarchists of Chicago 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition School Strike…

Today in History: Anarchist Emma Goldman

Today in History: Anarchist Emma Goldman

Today in History–February 11–the Library of Congress features anarchist and feminist Emma Goldman, who was arrested on this date in 1916 right before she was to give a lecture on family planning. A Russian immigrant, Goldman joined the labor movement after working in a New York garment factory. Later she would embrace anarchism–the political belief that all…

Today in History: Great Chicago Fire

Today in History: Great Chicago Fire

Today in History–October 8–the Library of Congress features the great Chicago fire, which began on this day in 1871. The fire took at least 300 lives, left nearly a third of the city’s residents homeless, and leveled more than 18,000 structures (Encyclopedia of Chicago). Learn more about this fire and others that burnt on the same day in Michigan and…