William P. Black-- Part 6: His Role In the Haymarket Square Riot Case

In 1886, William Black agreed to lead a defense team for the Haymarket Square Riot conspirators.  His co-counselors included William Foster, Moses Salomon, and the radical attorney Sigmund Zeisler.  In 1887, Black led an unsuccessful appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Former Major General Benjamin Butler and former Confederates John Randolph Tucker and Brigadier General Roger Atkinson Pryor were co-counsels.

On November 13, 1887, Black delivered a compassionate eulogy at the funeral of the executed defendants.

Zeisler said of Black's association with the case as "nothing short of an act of heroism" which had a negative impact on Black's career.  Black was inspired by a desire to  uphold the ideals of legal principle of due process rather than sympathy for the anarchist politics of the defendants.

His role in the case brought about the dissolution of his partnership with Dent.  Afterwards, he established the law firm of Black and Fitzgerald and also practiced separately.

Originally a Republican, he switched parties in 1872 to support the candidacy of Horace Greely.  He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Congress on the 1882 Democratic ticket.

He was a longtime member of the Grand Army of the Republic.

--Old Secesh