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by Charles River (Author)
Riots are an aspect of American history that do not show up much in history textbooks, except for famous disturbances like the Boston Tea Party or the infamous New York City draft riots of 1863. The reality is that the country has experienced thousands of riots, from early colonial times through to the present, and the issues leading up to some of the riots may seem quite peculiar to modern Americans. Americans have rioted over who was the best actor, and to free pirates from jail. Americans have rioted against bad working conditions, for the 8-hour day, against immigrants, for and against civil rights. Americans have had riots over eggnog, which Bible to use in schools, and when their favorite sports teams have won, and lost.
The riots discussed in this work are just as weird as any others in American history. The 1857 Dead Rabbits Riot featured gang violence in New York City, but it could only be understood by knowing about a previous police riot, and that for a time there were two separate police forces in New York City. The police were as apt to club each other as they were to club rioting gang members.
The 1863 Richmond Bread Riot was unusual in that the riot consisted of angry women, many of whom worked not only in Confederate war industries, sewing uniforms, but also making ammunition and working at the Tredegar Iron Works. Needless to say, that doesn't fit so well with the Southern belle stereotype.
The comically named Battle of Fort Fizzle was a combination of riot and rebellion. It took place in rural Ohio and was an act of resistance against the severe 1863 Conscription Act. Men could pay $300 to purchase an exemption or hire a substitute, and poor men who couldn't do so understandably didn't like the law. A thousand gathered in a sort of fort and faced off against veteran troops with fixed bayonets, leading to a surreal confrontation.
The 1870 and 1871 Orange Riots were over the July 12 Orange parades that memorialized the 1690 Battle of the Boyne, in which the Protestant William of Orange (invited to be the king of England after James II was forced off the throne) defeated the invasion of Ireland by the Catholic King James II. Despite the battle being almost 200 years earlier and on the other side of the Atlantic, Protestants and Irish Catholics were still fighting over it in New York City in an extremely bloody way.
The colorful names of the Jaybird-Woodpecker riot in the little town of Richmond in Fort Bend County, Texas was the end of a 20-year rule of the county by a Reconstruction alliance between Republicans and African Americans, but it lasted till 1889 rather than being crushed in 1877 as most of the other Reconstruction alliances of the same type were. Casualties weren't so high for this kind of riot, but the upshot was that it set up a Jaybird rule that lasted 60 years until a Supreme Court decision ended it.
These are some of the stories told in The History and Legacy of America's Most Unusual Riots in the Late 19th Century, which explains the origins of the riots and their lasting impact. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about these strange riots like never before.
