A coalition of Knights of Labor and trade unionists in Chicago launch the
United Labor party, calling for an 8-hour day, government ownership of
telegraph and telephone companies, and monetary and land reform. The party
elects seven state assembly men and one senator - 1886
According to folklorist John Garst, steel-drivin? man John Henry, born a
slave, outperformed a steam hammer on this date at the Coosa Mountain Tunnel
or the Oak Mountain Tunnel of the Columbus and Western Railway (now part of
the Norfolk Southern) near Leeds, Ala. Other researchers place the contest
near Talcott, W. Va. ? 1887