May 4, 2021 • 11 mins
On this day in 1919, thousands of students gathered at Tiananmen Square in Beijing to protest the Paris Peace Conference. / On this day in 1886, a bomb set off at a peaceful labor protest in Chicago triggered a riot.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, everyone, it's Eves checking in here to let you
know that you're going to be hearing two different events
in history in this episode. They're both good, if I
do say so myself. On with the show. Welcome back
to this day in History class, where we reveal a
new piece of history every day. The day was May fourth,
(00:27):
nineteen nineteen. At around one thirty in the afternoon, about
three thousand students from universities in Beijing gathered at the
Gate of Heavenly Peace in Tiana and the Moon Square.
They were protesting the Versailles Peace Conference, which gave German
rights over Shandong and Eastern Chinese Province to Japan. The
(00:48):
demonstrations marked a peak in the May fourth Movement, an
intellectual revolution and socio political reform movement in China. In
nineteen fourteen, Japan seized control of Shandong from Germany. The
next year, Japan issued a set of demands known as
the twenty one Demands that would extend Japanese control of
(01:10):
Manchuria and the Chinese economy. The demands called for China
to recognize Japan's seizure of German spheres of influence in China.
Facing the threat of war, Chinese President Yun Shu Kai
accepted most of the demands to appease Japan. This appeasement
was not well received by many Chinese folks, an anti
(01:31):
Japanese sentiment grew in China. On top of that, the
warlord era that began in China after U N's death
in nineteen sixteen caused much social and political strife. The
New Culture movement also helped build the foundation for the
May Fourth movement. New Youth, established by Picking University professor
(01:53):
Chen Dooshu, was a monthly magazine that promoted ideals like
science and democracy, while opposing some to adational Chinese ideals
and Confucian values. Intellectuals who were inspired by New Youth
began advocating for reform and denouncing parts of Chinese heritage.
They uplifted notions of nationalism, liberalism, and socialism. They also
(02:16):
suggested a new vernacular writing style that would replace the
classical written win Yon Chinese. In nineteen seventeen, China declared
war against Germany. China joined the war on the side
of the Allies, under the condition that it would get
back all German spheres of influence, including Shandong. The Allies
(02:37):
were victorious, but when the Treaty of Versailles was drawn
up in nineteen nineteen, Shandong was given to Japan. This
controversy became known as the Shandong Question or Shandong problem,
and the Chinese public was upset about that transfer of rights.
Students at Beijing University drafted a manifesto written by Luo
(03:00):
g ln. It said, in part, this is the last
chance for China in her life and death struggle. Today
we swear two solemn oaths with all our fellow countrymen. First,
China's territory may be conquered, but it cannot be given away. Second,
the Chinese people may be massacred, but they will not surrender.
(03:21):
Our country is about to be annihilated. Up brethren opposed
to the Chinese delegations actions at the Paris Conference, a
coalition of student groups decided to hold a demonstration on
May seven, but when the news about Shandong broke, they
decided to act quickly, so on May four, nineteen nineteen,
(03:43):
representatives from several student organizations met at the Peking College
of Law and Political Science to plan the demonstration. They
settled on five resolutions, which were as follows. Telegrams would
be sent to all interested in involved organizations domestically and abroad,
asking them to protest the Shandong resolution. They would educate
(04:05):
the Chinese masses about what was happening at the conference,
a centralized organization of all student groups would be established
for organizational and administrative purposes, and finally, the route for
the demonstration that afternoon would start at tiana Mun Gate
and moved through the business area of the city. That afternoon,
(04:25):
thousands of students from thirteen universities gathered at tiana Mun Square.
They passed out flyers that said China would not concede
Shandong to Japan, and they called for the Baiyong government
not to ratify the Treaty of Versailles. The students marched
to the Legation Quarter in Beijing, where the foreign embassies
were located, and presented letters to foreign ministers. Diplomat cow
(04:49):
Roulin's house was burned down. The next day the student
protesters and Beijing went on strike, and students elsewhere in
China followed. Students also boycott at Japanese goods. Several students
were harmed or died in the demonstrations, and more than
a thousand were arrested. In early June, somewhere around a
(05:09):
hundred thousand industrial workers in Shanghai went on a week
long general strike. The workers began demanding higher wages and
better working conditions. Facing the pressure of all the protests,
the government finally gave in. The entire cabinet resigned. The
government released student prisoners, dismissed pro Japanese officials, and refused
(05:32):
to sign the Versailles Treaty, but Japan still had control
of the Shandong peninsula. China signed a treaty with Germany
in nineteen twenty one, and in nineteen two Shandong was
returned to China. As part of the deal, Japanese residents
living in Shandong got special privileges. The anti imperialist May
(05:54):
Fourth movement is seen as a turning point in Chinese
intellectual thought. Literature using for racular Chinese emerged. The nationalist
guadman Dong Party was reorganized, Mass meetings were held throughout
China for the common people, and partly because the Chinese
view the Shandong problem as a betrayal by the Western powers,
(06:14):
they turned away from ideals of democracy and toward communism.
Chinese political movement became more radical. I'm Eves, Jeff Code,
and hopefully you know a little more about history today
than you did yesterday. You can find us on Twitter, Instagram,
and Facebook at T d i h C Podcast. Thanks
(06:38):
for showing up. We'll meet here again tomorrow. May the
fourth be with you. Hello everyone, I'm Eves and welcome
to this Day History Class, a podcast that brings you
a new neugget of history every day. The day was
(07:00):
made Fourth eighteen eighty six, a peaceful labor demonstration in
Chicago turned into a riot after a bomb was set off.
In the US in the late eighteen hundreds, industrial capitalism
was on the rise and working conditions were poor. Tens
of thousands of workers died in workplace accidents every year
(07:21):
between eighteen eighty one and nineteen hundred, and work days
were often twelve to fourteen hours long, six days a week.
Unions formed to protect workers rights and interests were also
on the rise as more people took jobs in factories, minds,
and mills. Factions of socialist, communists and anarchists were linked
(07:42):
to the labor movement. The National Labor Union, founded in
eighteen sixty six, pressed for labor reforms like the eight
hour work Day. It dissolved in eighteen seventy three. The
Nights of Labor began as a secret organization in eighteen
sixty nine, but once it abandoned its secrecy a decade later,
membership grew quickly. By the eighteen eighties, strikes organized by
(08:06):
labor unions were commonplace. In eighteen eighty four, the Federation
of Organized Trades and Labor Unions, the predecessor of the
American Federation of Labor, passed a resolution saying that a
legal work day would be eight hours beginning May first,
eighteen eighty six. Since the legislative action had failed to
help them achieve this goal, the resolution called for a
(08:28):
general strike. Chicago emerged as a national center for the
eight hour movement. As the city's mayor, Carter Harrison was
sympathetic to labor issues. During his time in office, he
saw a lot of labor unrest, and he often restrained
police from intervening in strikes. Despite the fact that many
labor leaders opposed strikes, thousands of workers participated in strikes
(08:52):
and rallies across the US On May one, eight six
in Chicago, the general strikes started off as peaceful, but
on May third, a strike at the McCormick Harvesting Machine
Company plant turned violent when strikers clashed with strike breakers.
The Chicago police fired on the crowd, killing or wounding
several of the demonstrators. In response to this incident, labor
(09:16):
activists called for a rally the next day at a
Haymarket Square. Mayor Harrison attended the rally on May fourth,
where labor activist August Bees and anarchists Albert Parsons were
some of the people to give beaches. Somewhere between several
hundred and a few thousand people were in the crowd.
Harrison declared that the rally was not a threat, but
(09:38):
police officers remained nearby. By the time the Methodist preacher
and labor activists Samuel Fielden began to speak, the weather
was getting worse and much of the crowd had already left,
But near the end of the rally, a group of
officers showed up to disperse the crowd. An unknown person
through a dynamite bomb near the police, and the police
(09:58):
began to fire into the crowd. In the chaos that ensued,
seven officers and around four workers were killed. It's been
estimated that at least one people were injured in the
Haymarket riot. The incident triggered anti labor and anti immigrant sentiments.
That August, eight men were sentenced to death or time
(10:18):
in prison for the bombing, even though no solid evidence
linked them to the incident. The press depicted the men
as violent anarchists. Some people condemned them as radical, while
others viewed them as martyrs. Three of the men were
later pardoned. People also began to blame the Knights of
Labor for the Haymarket affair, associating the organization with violence
(10:41):
and anarchism. Membership in the Nights declined as workers began
flogging to the American Federation of Labor. The labor movement
continued to advocate for the eight hour work day. Different
industries reduced working hours until the New Deal's Fair Labor
Standards Act provided for a forty hour work week. In
n I'm Eve Jeff Cote and hopefully you know a
(11:05):
little more about history today than you did yesterday. And
if you have any suggestions for the show or any
other comments, you can hit us on social media where
at t d I h C Podcast. You can also
send us a note via email at this Day at
i heeart media dot com. Thanks again for listening to
the show and we'll see you tomorrow. For more podcasts
(11:29):
from my Heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Hello, everyone, it's Eves checking in here to let you
know that you're going to be hearing two different events
in history in this episode. They're both good, if I
do say so myself. On with the show. Welcome back
to this day in History class, where we reveal a
new piece of history every day. The day was May fourth,
(00:27):
nineteen nineteen. At around one thirty in the afternoon, about
three thousand students from universities in Beijing gathered at the
Gate of Heavenly Peace in Tiana and the Moon Square.
They were protesting the Versailles Peace Conference, which gave German
rights over Shandong and Eastern Chinese Province to Japan. The
(00:48):
demonstrations marked a peak in the May fourth Movement, an
intellectual revolution and socio political reform movement in China. In
nineteen fourteen, Japan seized control of Shandong from Germany. The
next year, Japan issued a set of demands known as
the twenty one Demands that would extend Japanese control of
(01:10):
Manchuria and the Chinese economy. The demands called for China
to recognize Japan's seizure of German spheres of influence in China.
Facing the threat of war, Chinese President Yun Shu Kai
accepted most of the demands to appease Japan. This appeasement
was not well received by many Chinese folks, an anti
(01:31):
Japanese sentiment grew in China. On top of that, the
warlord era that began in China after U N's death
in nineteen sixteen caused much social and political strife. The
New Culture movement also helped build the foundation for the
May Fourth movement. New Youth, established by Picking University professor
(01:53):
Chen Dooshu, was a monthly magazine that promoted ideals like
science and democracy, while opposing some to adational Chinese ideals
and Confucian values. Intellectuals who were inspired by New Youth
began advocating for reform and denouncing parts of Chinese heritage.
They uplifted notions of nationalism, liberalism, and socialism. They also
(02:16):
suggested a new vernacular writing style that would replace the
classical written win Yon Chinese. In nineteen seventeen, China declared
war against Germany. China joined the war on the side
of the Allies, under the condition that it would get
back all German spheres of influence, including Shandong. The Allies
(02:37):
were victorious, but when the Treaty of Versailles was drawn
up in nineteen nineteen, Shandong was given to Japan. This
controversy became known as the Shandong Question or Shandong problem,
and the Chinese public was upset about that transfer of rights.
Students at Beijing University drafted a manifesto written by Luo
(03:00):
g ln. It said, in part, this is the last
chance for China in her life and death struggle. Today
we swear two solemn oaths with all our fellow countrymen. First,
China's territory may be conquered, but it cannot be given away. Second,
the Chinese people may be massacred, but they will not surrender.
(03:21):
Our country is about to be annihilated. Up brethren opposed
to the Chinese delegations actions at the Paris Conference, a
coalition of student groups decided to hold a demonstration on
May seven, but when the news about Shandong broke, they
decided to act quickly, so on May four, nineteen nineteen,
(03:43):
representatives from several student organizations met at the Peking College
of Law and Political Science to plan the demonstration. They
settled on five resolutions, which were as follows. Telegrams would
be sent to all interested in involved organizations domestically and abroad,
asking them to protest the Shandong resolution. They would educate
(04:05):
the Chinese masses about what was happening at the conference,
a centralized organization of all student groups would be established
for organizational and administrative purposes, and finally, the route for
the demonstration that afternoon would start at tiana Mun Gate
and moved through the business area of the city. That afternoon,
(04:25):
thousands of students from thirteen universities gathered at tiana Mun Square.
They passed out flyers that said China would not concede
Shandong to Japan, and they called for the Baiyong government
not to ratify the Treaty of Versailles. The students marched
to the Legation Quarter in Beijing, where the foreign embassies
were located, and presented letters to foreign ministers. Diplomat cow
(04:49):
Roulin's house was burned down. The next day the student
protesters and Beijing went on strike, and students elsewhere in
China followed. Students also boycott at Japanese goods. Several students
were harmed or died in the demonstrations, and more than
a thousand were arrested. In early June, somewhere around a
(05:09):
hundred thousand industrial workers in Shanghai went on a week
long general strike. The workers began demanding higher wages and
better working conditions. Facing the pressure of all the protests,
the government finally gave in. The entire cabinet resigned. The
government released student prisoners, dismissed pro Japanese officials, and refused
(05:32):
to sign the Versailles Treaty, but Japan still had control
of the Shandong peninsula. China signed a treaty with Germany
in nineteen twenty one, and in nineteen two Shandong was
returned to China. As part of the deal, Japanese residents
living in Shandong got special privileges. The anti imperialist May
(05:54):
Fourth movement is seen as a turning point in Chinese
intellectual thought. Literature using for racular Chinese emerged. The nationalist
guadman Dong Party was reorganized, Mass meetings were held throughout
China for the common people, and partly because the Chinese
view the Shandong problem as a betrayal by the Western powers,
(06:14):
they turned away from ideals of democracy and toward communism.
Chinese political movement became more radical. I'm Eves, Jeff Code,
and hopefully you know a little more about history today
than you did yesterday. You can find us on Twitter, Instagram,
and Facebook at T d i h C Podcast. Thanks
(06:38):
for showing up. We'll meet here again tomorrow. May the
fourth be with you. Hello everyone, I'm Eves and welcome
to this Day History Class, a podcast that brings you
a new neugget of history every day. The day was
(07:00):
made Fourth eighteen eighty six, a peaceful labor demonstration in
Chicago turned into a riot after a bomb was set off.
In the US in the late eighteen hundreds, industrial capitalism
was on the rise and working conditions were poor. Tens
of thousands of workers died in workplace accidents every year
(07:21):
between eighteen eighty one and nineteen hundred, and work days
were often twelve to fourteen hours long, six days a week.
Unions formed to protect workers rights and interests were also
on the rise as more people took jobs in factories, minds,
and mills. Factions of socialist, communists and anarchists were linked
(07:42):
to the labor movement. The National Labor Union, founded in
eighteen sixty six, pressed for labor reforms like the eight
hour work Day. It dissolved in eighteen seventy three. The
Nights of Labor began as a secret organization in eighteen
sixty nine, but once it abandoned its secrecy a decade later,
membership grew quickly. By the eighteen eighties, strikes organized by
(08:06):
labor unions were commonplace. In eighteen eighty four, the Federation
of Organized Trades and Labor Unions, the predecessor of the
American Federation of Labor, passed a resolution saying that a
legal work day would be eight hours beginning May first,
eighteen eighty six. Since the legislative action had failed to
help them achieve this goal, the resolution called for a
(08:28):
general strike. Chicago emerged as a national center for the
eight hour movement. As the city's mayor, Carter Harrison was
sympathetic to labor issues. During his time in office, he
saw a lot of labor unrest, and he often restrained
police from intervening in strikes. Despite the fact that many
labor leaders opposed strikes, thousands of workers participated in strikes
(08:52):
and rallies across the US On May one, eight six
in Chicago, the general strikes started off as peaceful, but
on May third, a strike at the McCormick Harvesting Machine
Company plant turned violent when strikers clashed with strike breakers.
The Chicago police fired on the crowd, killing or wounding
several of the demonstrators. In response to this incident, labor
(09:16):
activists called for a rally the next day at a
Haymarket Square. Mayor Harrison attended the rally on May fourth,
where labor activist August Bees and anarchists Albert Parsons were
some of the people to give beaches. Somewhere between several
hundred and a few thousand people were in the crowd.
Harrison declared that the rally was not a threat, but
(09:38):
police officers remained nearby. By the time the Methodist preacher
and labor activists Samuel Fielden began to speak, the weather
was getting worse and much of the crowd had already left,
But near the end of the rally, a group of
officers showed up to disperse the crowd. An unknown person
through a dynamite bomb near the police, and the police
(09:58):
began to fire into the crowd. In the chaos that ensued,
seven officers and around four workers were killed. It's been
estimated that at least one people were injured in the
Haymarket riot. The incident triggered anti labor and anti immigrant sentiments.
That August, eight men were sentenced to death or time
(10:18):
in prison for the bombing, even though no solid evidence
linked them to the incident. The press depicted the men
as violent anarchists. Some people condemned them as radical, while
others viewed them as martyrs. Three of the men were
later pardoned. People also began to blame the Knights of
Labor for the Haymarket affair, associating the organization with violence
(10:41):
and anarchism. Membership in the Nights declined as workers began
flogging to the American Federation of Labor. The labor movement
continued to advocate for the eight hour work day. Different
industries reduced working hours until the New Deal's Fair Labor
Standards Act provided for a forty hour work week. In
n I'm Eve Jeff Cote and hopefully you know a
(11:05):
little more about history today than you did yesterday. And
if you have any suggestions for the show or any
other comments, you can hit us on social media where
at t d I h C Podcast. You can also
send us a note via email at this Day at
i heeart media dot com. Thanks again for listening to
the show and we'll see you tomorrow. For more podcasts
(11:29):
from my Heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
This Day in History Class News
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