A People's Calendar
www.apeoplescalendar.org

Union of Journeymen Tailors Found Guilty (1836)

Mon Jun 06, 1836

On this day in 1836, 27,000 people gathered at New York City Hall Park to protest a verdict against the Union Society of Journeymen Tailors for a “conspiracy to injure trade”, a result which undermined the legality of trade unions. In the early 19th century United States, the legality of trade unions was frequently called into question. Some courts called them “conspiracies to restrain trade”, and therefore illegal.

In 1836, twenty-five members of the Union Society of Journeymen Tailors were found guilty of “conspiracy to injure trade, riot, assault, and battery” in the state of New York. On June 6th, 27,000 people gathered in City Hall Park to protest the court decision.

A radical pamphlet circulated, titled “The Rich Against the Poor”, denouncing the judge who issued the decision as a “tool of aristocracy”. The protesters established a “Committee of Correspondence” that comprised of people working in trades, which went on to found the working class Equal Rights party.