Sam Mitrani. The Rise of the Chicago Police Department: Class and Conflict, 1850–1894.

Abstract

Sam Mitrani's book links the emergence of the Chicago Police Department to the development of the labor movement in the United States. Until the 1840s, American cities relied upon justices of the peace, part-time constables, and voluntary militias to maintain order. It was not until the nineteenth century that modern police departments were organized. In fact, every major northern city built a substantial police force between 1840 and 1880. Mitrani argues that the reason these cities built police departments in such a short period of time was that the leading businessmen of the day pushed local governments to build powerful armed institutions that could defend their property and interests from the new threats posed by the development of the wage labor economy. As Chicago grew in the 1800s, the newly emerging industrial economy concentrated wealth and power in the hands of the business elite. Prior to the 1800s, goods were typically manufactured in small craft shops for use on nearby farms. The closing of the frontier ended the availability of free land, and forced newly arriving immigrants to settle in major cities and seek employment in the new industrial order. The resulting class divisions led to worker unrest that often manifested as violence. During the second half of the nineteenth century, Chicago was the most violent, turbulent city in the nation. From the Lager Beer riot of 1855, through the 1867 strikes for an eight-hour workday, to the 1886 May Day strikes and the Haymarket bombing, and the 1894 Pullman Strike, Chicago was the center of the political and economic conflict that characterized the American labor movement. In response, Chicago industrialists built a police force that could break strikes, destroy anarchist organizations, and protect their interests and property.