Danver Steven L. (Edited). Revolts, Protests, Demonstrations, and Rebellions in American History: An Encyclopedia (ENG)
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Central Europeans. The aftermath of World War I effectively limited many from
returning to their homelands, though Poland’s rebirth as a nation enticed many
Polish e
´
migre
´
s to return to their country. Most immigrants stayed in the Americas,
forming communities in Pennsylvania, the Midwest, and the western Canadian
provinces. Stricter immigration laws during the 1920s effectively ended the influx
of Eastern Europeans to the United S tates. Despite this, their cultures, religious
customs, and languages still persist and provide an ethnic diversity unique to these
regions.
—Jason Reuscher
Further Reading
Fainhauz, David. Lithuanians in the USA: Aspects of Ethnic Identity. Chicago: Lithuanian
Library Press, 1991.
Galush, William J. For More than Bread: Community and Identity in American Polonia,
1880–1940. Boulder, CO: East European Monographs, 2006.
Granatir, Alexander. Ethnic Pride, American Patriotis m: Slovaks and Other New Immi-
grants in the Interwar Era. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2004.
Kuropas, Myron B. The Ukrainian Am ericans: Roots and A spirations, 1884–1954.
Toront o: University of Toronto Press, 1991.
Miners
Historically, miners included persons involved in digging tunnels to mine or sap
enemy fortificat ions. The term expanded to include all those who work in tunnels
to extract valuable metals, fuels, gemstones, ceramic clays, and other natural re-
sources. Miners were central to early civilizations’ cultural, military, and technologi-
cal exploits. In the ancient world, bronze, copper, gold, and silver were used to make
weapons as well as household tools and works of art. The min ers were usually
slaves. In ancient Athens, miners outside of the city lived in brutal and squalid con-
ditions as they toiled to extract silver-lead deposits at Laurium. While different civ-
ilizations developed mining techniques, much of the wo rk was done man ually.
During the Roman Empire, water wheels were used within li mited mining opera-
tions, yet by the medieval period, mines and mining technology had all but stagnated
and disappeared throughout Europe. Out of the medieval period came a new class of
traders, merchants, and bankers who developed and supported Eur opean mining
operations. After 1450, new mining and metallurgical practices, particularly in
Saxony and Bohemia, were discovered and disseminated throughout Europe.
666 Lattimer Massacre (1897)
While most European prospectors and miners were nominally free, the discov-
ery and settlement of the Western Hemisphere ensured that slavery remained the
reality for many miners in the Am ericas. When native Peruvi an labor perished in
the silver mines of Potosı
´
, they were replaced with African slaves. In North
America, a capitalistic system developed as mine owners competed fiercely for
labor. This enabled s killed miners to demand higher wages through collective
action and unionization, though many of the unskilled labor continued to suffer
harsh working conditions and pay. The energy needs of the 19th and 20th centuries
helped engineers realize the use of industrial technology and science in mining
operations. Coal and iron ore fueled the Western Industrial Revolution, and coal
miners, or colliers, provided for the energy resources of this period. Coal mining
in the United States and Great Britain expanded at tremendous cost to the health
and safety of the miners and their families as well as the environment.
Miners also settled California, Alaska, western Australia, and the Canadian
Klondike during the gold rushes of these regions. Mining towns developed their
own laws and social mores, and were often strictly divided along class, ethno-
graphic , and religious lines. In Eckley, Pennsylvania, miners were encouraged to
live and work within their ethnic groups. While part of this sentiment was natural,
the owners saw the benefit of a divided labor force that would help ensure miner
productivity and reduce the potential for labor strikes and civil strife. Despite such
practices, mining strikes and unrest were frequent, and miners were directly
involved in the development of major labor unions of the 20th century. William
D. Haywood (1869–1928) led the Industrial Workers of the World, an organization
dedicate d to wo rker solidarity and revolut ionary class warfare. John L. L ewis
(1880–1969), leader of the United Mine Workers of America, helped create the
American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations
(AFL-CIO). Through collective bargaining and advances in science and technol-
ogy, miners in developed countries have improved their working conditions sig-
nificantly in the past century, yet conditions have improved little for miners in
developing nations.
—Jason Reuscher
Further Reading
Dublin, Thomas, and Walter Licht. The Face of Decline: The Pennsylvania Anthracite
Coal Region in the Twentieth Century. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2005.
Gregory, Cedric Errol. A Concise History of Mining. Lisse, the Netherlands: A. A. Balkema,
2001.
Ta ndete r, En rique . Coercion and Market: Silver Mining in Colonial Potosi, 1692–1826.
Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1993.
Temple, John. Mining: An International History. New York: Praeger, 1972.
Lattimer Massacre (1897) 667
Strikers’ Resolutions and Editorials Appearing in the
Philadelphia Public Ledger Following the Deaths of
Striking Coal Miners at the Lattimer Mine,
Hazleton, Pennsylvania (1897)
The following three selections relate to the so-called Lattimer Massacre, which refers to the
killing of 19 striking Pennsylvania coal miners at the Lattimer Mine by the Luzerne County sher-
iff’s p osse in September 1897. The first selection is a series of resolutions memorializing the
dead, which were adopted at a mass meeting of strikers held at Harwood, Pennsylvania, on
September 11, 1897, the day after the incident. The other two selections are from editorials in
the Philadelphia Public Ledger calling for the restoration of order in the aftermath of the deaths
at the Lattimer Mine.
For years we have been oppressed by C. Pardee & Co. by the payment of starvation
wages. They have deprived us of our lib erty by compelling us to deal in their company
store. They have forced us to purchase powder at five times the actual value, an d have
otherwise tyrannized us in ways too numerous to mention, so that we are no longer free
men, but slaves. We assembled together peacefully and to seek redress for our griev-
ances. Not one man am ong us was armed. Our mission was not to take human life not
to destroy property, but to go and meet our fellow employe
´
s of the same company at
Lattimer,whowereinsympathywithus.Wewereopposedonthepublichighways,
and without provocation were shot down like dogs.
Resolved, That we deplore such resistance to the right to assemble and march; that
we look upon such shootings as unprovoked and uncalled for, and that if such slaughter
is not murder in law it surely must be before high Heaven; that we denounce such action
by the Sheriff and his deputies as cruel and willful and cowardly murder.
We place ourselves before the bar of public opinion and appeal to the good citizens
of the Sta te and country, a nd ask them if there w as justi fication or warrant in such
assassination.
Resolved, That we extend our sympathy to the friends and relatives of those who
have fallen, and pray to God that those now dead will live in our memories as martyrs
to the cause of down-trodden labor.
Source: Philadelphia Public Ledger, September 11, 1897.
...It is not infrequently the case that in periods of great public turmoil, like that through
which Hazleton has been passing, legal distinctions and definitions as to the duties of pub-
lic officials and the rights of individuals and of the public become somewhat confused.
It is clearly the duty of all persons engaged in a riotous assemblage to disperse upon
the demand of the Sheriff. If they continue to participate in such an assemblage upon such
demand, they assume the extreme risks which such conduct involves. ...
668 Lattimer Massacre (1897)
That the public highways can be used for almost any purpose is one of the popular
misconceptions of the day. The public have the righ t to travel over the highways freely
and without obstruction or molestation at all times. A tumultuous assembly which blocks
the way and prevents its free use by travellers in pursuit of their lawful callings is an
unlawful assembly and should be dispersed by the strong arm. It is true that free assembly
is one of the primary rights of citizens; but it is a right, like all other fundamental rig hts,
which must be regulated by law. The use of the highways by large, riotous bodies of
men passing from point to point to prevent workmen by force from continuing their law-
ful employments cannot be permitted in a country which assumes to protect its citizens
in earning their livelihood.
Source: “The Situation at Hazleton,” Philadelphia Public Ledger, September 13, 1897.
The responsib ilities and duties of civil officers w ith reference to the disposition of riot-
ous assemblies are clearly defined by statute and decisions. Whether the Sheriff and his
posse acted within the law in dispersing the marching miners at Lattimer is a query which
cannot be answered decisively by newspaper com ment or by the resolutions of public
meetings. That issue is within the province of courts and juries to decide. As was forcibly
pointed out by Judge Paxson in the Homestead cases, a mob may so conduct itself as to
commit treason against the State. This jurist held that when a large number of men arm
and organize in a common purpose to defy the law, to resist its officers and deprive their
fellow-citizens of their rights, it is a levying of war against the State, and the offence is
treason.
A riotous gathering directed against individuals or private property may thus develop
into a treasonable outbreak which no State can permit to continue. As the conduct of the
Sheriff and hi s posse at Lattimer is subject to legal scrutiny, so also the character of the
marching body which came into collision with the Sheriff’s posse must be determined
by t he law courts. The Homestead cases under review by the Supreme Court evoked
important j udicial deliverances upon many vital points touchi ng the right of assembly
and the abuse of it; and the Lattimer tragedy is likely to lead to further declarations of
law upon this extremely important subject. These matters may be safely left to the legal
tribunals, and in the meantime every law-abiding citizen in the disturbed mining districts
will do what he can to allay public excitement.
Source: “Restoring Order at Hazleton,” Philadelphia Public Ledger , September 14, 1897.
Lattimer Massacre (1897) 669
New Orleans Race Riot (1900)
Occurring between July 24 and July 28, 1900, the New Orleans Race Riot was
described by one historia n as “a carnival of fury.” The riot was initially sparked
by the wounding of a New Orleans police patrolman, August T. Mora, on July 23,
and the murder of two other New Orleans policemen, Patrolman Peter Lamb and
Captain John T. Day, the next day by Robert Charles, a young African American
who had relocated to New Orleans from Pine Bluff, Mississippi, in 1894. The ini-
tial motivations behind Charles’s own violent response to the initial questioning by
police officers on Dryades Street must re main speculative, for he w as himself
kill ed following a shoot-out on July 2 7. But his actions, an d the subsequent riot,
occurred during a tense period in the racial history of New Orleans, a city perhaps
rather more superficially known for the birth of jazz and its more joyous carnival
atmosphere.
New Orleans at the beginning of the 20th century was, however, an ill-
governed, disorderly, dirty, and poorly policed metropolis. One of the largest cities
in the South, it was also developing a hard drug problem, with cocaine openly sold
in many drugstores. The city was also slow in recovering from the economic
depression of the 1890s, and continuing un em plo yment only helped to increase
racial tensions. Attempts to extend Jim Crow laws and secure segregation in the
city also increased hostility amongst African Americans and the large, and some-
what wealthier, Creole population. The city’s newspapers, especially the States—
which was published and edited by Henry J. Hearsey, an ex-major in the
Confederate army—increasingly supported segregation as an answer to what was
termed the “Negro problem.” In fact, the initial attempt to institute earlier restric-
tive Black Codes in July 1866 had sparked a previous riot in the city, and the mur-
der of the city’s chief of police, David Hennessy, in March 1891 had also sparked a
violent outbreak of vigilante violence in which 11 Sicilians, thought to be behind
the murder, were publicly lynched. If Charles had not begun his gun battle with
the city’s police force, another simil ar incident may well have acted as a catalyst
for violence in July 1900.
After his initial gun battle with Patrolman Lamb on July 23, a wounded Charles
returned to his lodgings on Fourth Stree t to r etrieve his .38 caliber Winchester
rifle. As Captain Day a nd six other officers approached the house in which he
was hiding, Charles again opened fire, killing Day and mortally w ounding
671
Patrolman Lamb. Again escaping, the wounded Charles later took refuge in the
house of a friend at 1208 Saratoga Street. Following this second shooting, an angry
white crowd began to congregate outside Charles’s residence on Fourth Street, and
scuffles began between the angry white mob and the black residences. By late eve-
ning on July 24, the crowd around Fourth Street was estimated to be over 5,000
people, with another 500 people attempting to view the bodies of the slain officers
at the city morgue. Durin g t he evening, random violence between whites and
blacks occurred frequently. At Lee Circle on Charles Avenue, an armed white
mob also assembled, and they dispersed only when a leading citizen informed
them that Cha rles had been arrest ed in Kenner, a suburb. Charles, however, was
still at large, and the next day, July 25, witnessed the funeral cortege of both Day
and Lamb. City newspapers continued to inflame public opinion and seemed to
suggest th e need for white vigilante action, and another large mob, e stimated at
3,000, congregated at Lee Circle that day. Stopping streetcars and randomly
assaulting innocent African Americans, the mob made its way to the parish prison
intent on lynching Charles’s roommate Lenard Pierce, who had been arrested on
July 23 when the police had initially questioned both men. Deterred by a strong
show of police force under Sergeant Gabriel Porteous, the mob moved on, but vio-
lence continued i nto the night. Near the French Market, an aged African Ameri-
can, Baptiste Philo, was fatally shot, and by the morning of July 26, two other
AfricanAmericanmenhadbeenmurdered, six seriously injured, and another
50 innocent victims had been beaten. The mayor, Paul Capdeville, was so alarmed
by the violence that he issued a call for responsible citizens to enlist in a special
police force, and the governor, William H. Heard, mobilized the state militia.
A reliable African American police inf ormer named Fred Clarke alerted the
police that Charles had taken refuge in the residence of the Jackson family on
Saratog a Street. On the afternoon of July 27, Sergeant Porteous and three patrol-
menwenttoinvestigate.Astheyapproached Charles’s hiding place, Charles
opened fire, killing Porteous and mortally wounding Corporal John F. Lal ly. As
Charles then took up position of the top floor of 1208 Saratoga Street, news
quickly spread throughout the city about the attack and Charles’s whereabouts,
and a large armed mob, estimated at 5,000, j oined the police and militia i n sur-
rounding the 1200 block of Saratoga Street. In the developing gun battle, Charles,
who appeared every minu te to fire out of a window, hit another 21 of his white
attackers. In response, over 5,000 bullets hit the building, which was eventually
set on fire by the police at 5:00 p.m. As he attempted to escape, Charles was finally
shot dead by a special policeman, Charles A. Noiret, and after his dead body was
riddled with bullets by other policemen, it was dumped in the street, where it
was attacked by the mob. Charles’s death on July 27 did not end the violence in
672 New Orlean s Race Riot (1900)
New Orleans, and throughout the night and into the morning of July 28, arson and
violence continued in African American neighborhoods. At midnight, the Laton
School, the best African American school in Louisiana, was set on fire and
destroyed. By daylight , however, the furious spirit of the mob was ebbing, and
order was restored to the city by a large police presence.
The aftershocks of Charles’s actions and the riot continued to trouble New
Orleans for months after Jul y 1900. Unw illing to admit that Charles alone was
responsible for the events of July, rumors spread that Dillard University, another
African American school, was to be burned down; and in August, Le nard Pierce
and nine other African Americans, including five members of the Jackson family,
were indicted for conspiracy to commit murder. A case could not be made against
any of the ac cused, and they were later free d. Similarly, the nine white men
indicted for murder during the riot were also released after an aborted trial. Scape-
goats were found, however, and five patrolmen of the New Orleans Police Depart-
ment who had failed to capture or kill Charles on either July 23 or July 24 were
found guilty of cowardice in a disciplinary hearing and dismissed from the force
in August 1900. This did not end the matter, for on September 2, 1900, Lewis For-
stall, who had known and admired Charles, shot dead the informer, Fred Clark, as
he sat on the doorstep of his hou se on South Rampart Street; Forstall was later
found guilty of manslaughter and served seven years of hard labor. On the first
anniversary of Charles’s death, persons unknown fin ally burned down the still-
empty house in which he had defied his attackers, 1208 Saratoga Street.
—Rory T. Cornish
See also all entries under Stono Rebellion (1739); New York Slave Insurrection (1741);
Antebellum Suppressed Slave Revolts (1800s–1850s); Nat Turner’s Rebellion (1831); New
Orleans Riot (1866); Atlanta Race Riot (1906); Springfield Race Riot (1908); Houston Riot
(1917); Red Summer (1919); Tulsa Race Riot (1921); Civil Rights Movement (1953–1968);
Watts Riot (1965); Detroit Riots (1967); Los Angeles Uprising (1992).
Further Reading
Hair, William Ivy. Carnival of Fury: Robert Charles and the New Orleans Race Riot of
1900. Baton Rouge: Louis iana State University Press , 1976.
Jackson, Joy J. New Orleans in the Gilded Age: Politics and Urban Progress, 1880–1896.
Baton Rouge: Louisian a State University Press, 1969.
Somers, Dale A. “Black and White in New Orleans: A Study in Urban Race Relations,
1865–1890.” Journal of Southern History 60 (February 1974): 19–42.
Synnestvedt, Sig. The White Response to Black Emancipation. New York: Macmillan and
Company, 1972.
New Orleans Race Riot (1900) 673
Charles, Robert (c.1866–1900)
Robert Charles was an obscure African American whose initial gun battle with the
New Orleans police on July 23, 1900, led to a serious race riot in the city. By the
time of his own death on July 27, Charles had shot 27 white people, killing four
policemen. Contemporary opinion considered Charles to be a bloodthirsty cham-
pion of African supremacy and a cocaine-riddled woman beater. More recent his-
torians have suggested that he was one of the proudest martyrs in American
history.
Born to poor, but literate, sharecroppers in Pine Bluff, Copiah County, Mississippi,
Charles’s parents had been slaves. Though his father, Jasper Charles, was never
very politically active, he did exercise his right to vote and was called upon as
late as 1882 for jury duty. Copiah County, however, was the scene of a violent
reign of terror against African American voters in 1883 as a prelude to their
later disenfranchisement. The U.S. Senate investigated conditions in the county
in 1884, but the U.S. Supreme Court later upheld the “Mississippi Plan” of dis-
enfranchisement in Williams v. Mississippi (1898). Charles only received two
years of primary education, but contemporary opinion described him as an intel-
ligent, serious young man who kept to himself, but who, according to his later
roommate in New Orleans, Lenard Pierce, was concerned about the wrongs
inflicted upon his race and the needs for self-defense. In 1887, Charles went
to Vicksburg and found work as a section hand for the Louisville, New Orleans,
and Texas Railroad (LNO&T). Undoubtedly aware of the increasingly wide-
spread campaign of lynching that accompanied the attack on African American
civil rights, Charles purchased a pistol, a Colt .44, sometime before 1892, the
possession of which later provoked a shoot-out between Charles and a white
flagman of the LNO&T at Rolling Fork in May 1892. Returning to Pine Bluff
under the al ias of Curtis Robe rtson, the only other troub le Charles found him-
self in before 1900 was an arrest for bootlegging in October 1894, a charge
for which he was cleared in 1896. Nonet heless, this brush with the authorities
prompted his rather sudden relocation to New Orleans at the end of 1894.
One of the largest cities in the South, and one with a large urban population,
New Orl eans had a somewhat unjustified re putat ion for integration. Racial con-
frontation in the city increased in the 1890s due to an economic depression. While
a resident in New Orleans, Charles, who managed to find employment in a number
of semi-skilled and unskilled jobs, not only witnessed t he failure of a Populist-
Republican fusion ticket in 1896 to defeat the conservative Democrats in the state,
but also th e subsequent campaign in Louisiana to also disenfranch ise its Africa n
American male voters, which was quickly successful. Charles was also shocked
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