Riots have made a huge mark on American history. Whether incited by racial conflicts, perceived injustices, or police brutality, a riot can cause such destruction that it blights the landscape and destroys burgeoning progress in an area.
Sometimes, however, in the aftermath of violence, social movements begin that result in improved conditions. Eight of the most significant riots in American history follow.
1 & 2) The Civil War: Baltimore and New York
A riot in Baltimore in April 1861, just days after Confederates fired on Fort Sumter, began when a Union Army regiment marched through Baltimore en route to Washington D.C. and a crowd of Confederate sympathizers blocked the way. Soldiers fired into the mob and a brawl ensued; four soldiers and twelve civilians were killed and many more injured. Several buildings were destroyed including a newspaper office.
The New York draft riots, in July of 1863, were the worst examples of civil unrest to date. What started as a demonstration against the draft turned into the largest and bloodiest civilian uprising to date in the United States. New York City police were quickly overwhelmed by the rioters, and the governor ordered the state militia back to the city. Federal troops were dispatched from West Point and from the recent fighting at Gettysburg as well. African Americans were targeted and attacked by the rioters, many of whom were poor immigrants who feared freed slaves would compete with them for jobs. The death toll has been placed at anywhere between 120 and 2,000 people killed, with over 2,000 injured. Property damage was estimated at between $1 and $5 million.
3) Chicago: Haymarket Square, 1886
The Haymarket riot of May 1886 began as a rally in support of striking workers in Chicago. A bomb was thrown at police as they were dispersing the until-then peaceful meeting; in the ensuing melee eight police officers and four civilians were killed and over 60 were wounded. Eight people were tried and four executed for inciting the bombing with inflammatory speech and the burgeoning labor movement had a massive setback as a result.
4) Springfield 1908
The transfer of two African-American prisoners out of the Springfield, Illinois city jail by the county sheriff was the spark that lit the riot in August of 1908. The prisoners were transferred for their own safety after accusations of sexual assault against white women brought racial tensions to a boiling point. When the crowd that had formed outside the jail learned the prisoners had been moved, they were enraged. Eventually over 60 homes and business were destroyed and seven people were confirmed dead, at least two of whom were lynched by the crowd, although the actual toll was thought to be much higher. Much of the African American population of Springfield, fearing for their lives, were forced to leave after losing homes and business. With racial conflict at the heart of this and other riots at the turn of the last century, a meeting was held in New York City several months later which led to the formation of the NAACP.
5 & 6) 1960s: Race Riots in Los Angeles and Detroit
Race riots became front page news in the 1960s. The Watts riots began in August 1965 in Los Angeles, when a white California Highway Patrol officer pulled over a black man, Marquette Frye, on suspicion of drunk driving. A crowd grew as the officer questioned Frye and his brother, who was also in the car; their mother showed up at the scene as well and the officer ended up arresting all three. As more officers arrived to control the crowd, fighting inevitably broke out. Five days of violence, fires and looting ensued, with 34 deaths, more than 2,000 injured and nearly 4,000 people arrested. The National Guard was eventually called in to gain control of the situation.
Detroit was another area of racial tension and on July 23, 1967 a police raid of an illegal bar turned deadly. Police confrontations with bar patrons and witnesses to the raid grew into five days of violence and destruction among the worst in the history of the United States. Vandalism, looting and fires spread across the city as the Michigan National Guard and the Army were called in to restore order. The eventual toll was 43 dead and nearly 1,200 injured, including civilians, Detroit police officers and firefighters, National Guardsmen, state police officers and Army soldiers. There were 7,231 arrests, including 703 juveniles, and over 2,500 business looted or burned. Damage was estimated at somewhere between $40 and $80 million.
7) New York City, 1969: Stonewall
The Stonewall riot in New York’s Greenwich Village is a landmark moment in gay history. Police raided a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn on June 28, 1969, expecting to clear the place and make a few arrests. Bar patrons refused to cooperate or leave, however, and a crowd of around 400 gathered to witness the spectacle of police officers attempting to quell an impromptu kick-line of protesters. Violence ensued; 13 people were arrested, many were hospitalized. The two nights of rioting united the gay community in New York; within months, several activist organizations and three newspapers were established in New York to fight discrimination. The first Gay Pride marches took place one year later on the anniversary of the raid.
8) Los Angeles, 1992: Rodney King
Racial tension in south central Los Angeles exploded in April 1992 after the four police officers accused of beating of Rodney King were acquitted. The officers were white; King was a black man on parole who had led them on a high-speed chase. Outrage at the verdict triggered nearly a week of rioting, looting, and violence that eventually required the deployment of U.S. Army soldiers and Marines to quell. In the end, 54 people were killed, over 2,000 injured, and property damages were estimated at nearly $1 billion.
What do you think will spark the next major riots in America? And when do you think they will happen?
6 comments
Joyce M Gales
I am appalled that thus far three, narrow-minded, ill-informed bigots have commented. To the one reasonable person who pointed out that other riots resulted in more deaths than Stonewall, I think the point here is not which of the countless riots that have occurred in our country have had the highest body count, rather the totality of the issue surrounding the riot, coupled with its impact for change. The non-heterosexual population has been the target of unwarranted abuse in our culture since our culture's inception, overall resulting in an incalculable number of deaths. Stonewall riots sparked the first ever gay newspapers and the first origanization to fight for justice for the LGBTQ community. It serves as the anniversary date of Pridefest, a celebration of the LGBTQ people and their heterosexual supporters. This is not only a celebration to allow individuals an environment where they can freely embrace their own identities, but also a declaration that they will not be silenced and the pursuit for equality will continue. The right for equality for all people is a valid struggle, be it those of history's more recent African decent, Most-Indigenous People of North America, Women, LGBTQ Identifying, Concentious War Objectors, or any of the countless denied minorities within our nation. It is a sad reflection upon our society as a whole that groups of people become so persistently frustrated and outraged that when the final straw lands on the proverbial camel's back a riot ensues.
John Beam
The way things are being handled today, it will start with Black folks demanding "justice" for something, and when they are told that they didn't get it, they'll get SOMETHING FOR JUSTICE, which will occur when they strip their communities clean of the something that they'll assume IS "justice." Tens of thousands will get what they wanted for "justice," billions of dollars in damage and stolen goods will be lost, dozens of businesses will flee in terror to find refuge in civilized areas of the country, and also, dozens of innocent non-Blacks will experience "justice" for something violence upon their person, simply because they weren't demanding "justice" for something. Several arrests will be made, but police will generally allow it to happen, because they'll be told that it's mostly a "peaceful demonstration" by the local "civil rights" community and "the reverend" Al Sharpton.
wclardy
You really need to check your history.
How does a mildly disorderly bunch of gay men count as a worse riot than Newark in '67 (26 dead), the King assassination riots in April of '68 (a dozen dead in DC, another 11 dead in Chicago, 5 in Kansas City, 6 dead in Baltimore and a 9-month military occupation of Wilmington), the Zoot Suit riots in Los Angeles, or even the 1970 Kent State anti-war demonstration (memorialized by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young with the lyrics "4 dead in Ohio...")? Heck, even the 1968 Democratic National Convention was more violent than the Stonewall riot.
mac12sam12
Blacks rioting is mostly about the free stuff.
Arationofreason
Obama's nest jobs program, rebuilding after the race riots.
or consider: What if they gave a riot and nobody(police) came?
Brooklynresident
I'll probably get Trayvonned on my way home from work, and as the police start to arrest my assailants, a crowd will gather to defend them and assault the police. There's a lot of people who don't like each other where I live. So that would snowball.
You see, I am probably the whitest guy you know.