New Orleans Riot

The New Orleans Riot, which occurred on July 30, 1866, was a violent conflict outside of the Mechanics Institute in New Orleans during the reconvened Louisiana Constitutional Convention. The Radical Republicans in Louisiana, who reconvened the Constitutional Convention, were angered by the enactment of the Black Codes in Louisiana and by the legislature's refusal to give black men the vote. The reconvened convention was illegally formed and its intended purpose was to use the popular Republican swing in Washington, D.C. to attempt to take control of the state government. The riot itself "stemmed from deeply rooted political, social, and economic causes,"^[1] and took place in part because of the battle "between two opposing factions for power and office.^[2]"

New Orleans had been under martial law imposed by the Union for the greater part of the American Civil War but on May 12, 1866 Mayor John T. Monroe was reinstated as acting mayor, the position he held before the civil war. The convention was led by Judge R. K. Howell and was undertaken with the aim to seize the state government^[3].

The riot illustrated conflicts deeply rooted within the social structure of Louisiana. It is noted that nearly half of the blacks in the riots were veterans of the Union army and more than half of the whites were former Confederate soldiers. The reaction to the riot was felt throughout the United States and led to the Republican Party taking control of both the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate in the United States House election, 1866^[4]. The estimate of the number of casualties comes to 38 killed and 46 wounded^[5].

Tension builds

The Constitutional Convention of 1864 gave greater freedoms to blacks within Louisiana but did not provide for a provision for black voting rights. The black Republican radicals, with the intent of changing the voting laws of Louisiana and eliminating the Black Codes, attempted to reconvene the convention, and succeeded.⁶ At least 200 black Union war veterans were confirmed beaten to death in the street. The illegality of the convention was because the elected chairman Howell had left the original convention before its conclusion and was therefore was not considered a member, the constitution was accepted by the people, and the radicals, only 25 of whom were present at the convention of 1864, did not make up a majority of the original convention. On July 27 the black supporters of the convention met on the steps of the Mechanics institute and were stirred by many speeches by abolitionist activists, most notably Anthony Paul Dostie and former Governor of Louisiana George Michael Hahn. These speeches called for a march upon the Mechanics Institute to show support for the convention.

The riot

The convention met at noon on July 30, but because there was a lack of a quorum there was a recess until 1:30.^[6] When the convention members left the building they were met by the black marchers led by a marching band. On the corner of Common and Dryades streets across from the mechanics institute there was a group of armed whites standing and waiting for the black marchers^[7]. This group was full of radical Democratic anti-abolitionists and ex-confederates who wished to dispel the convention to spell the growing power of blacks within the state. It is not known which group fired first but within minutes there was a battle in the streets. The black marchers, unprepared for a fight, dispersed with many seeking refuge within the mechanics institute. The white mob outside brutally attacked the marchers. The riot was soon dispelled and many of the white agitators were thrown in jail. The city was declared under martial law until August 2.

The backlash

The reaction to the New Orleans riot and a similar incident (Memphis Riots of 1866) was one of distaste for the present Reconstruction strategy and a change of leadership. In the 1866 House of Representatives and Senate elections, the Republicans won in a landslide winning 77% of congress⁹. A Reconstruction Bill was accordingly passed over the President's veto, early in 1867. Under act, Louisiana was put into the Fifth Military District. The effect in Louisiana was a removal of every political member associated with the riot and the ordering of the right to vote by all citizens except ex-Confederates.

Notes

• ^1 Gilles Vandal, "The New Orleans Riot of 1866: Anatomy of a Tragedy," Journal of Southern History, Vol. 50 (February 1984), 137

• ^2 Gilles Vandal, "The New Orleans Riot of 1866: Anatomy of a Tragedy," Journal of Southern History, Vol. 50 (February 1984), 137

• ^3 John Kendall, History of New Orleans, (Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1992), 305

• ^4 Wikipedia contributors. "United States House election, 1866." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from:

"http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_States_House_election%2C_1866&oldid=97062169"

• ^5 Caryn Crosse' Bell, Revolution, Romanticism, and the Afro-Creole Protest Tradition in Louisiana 1718-1868 (Baton-Rouge: LSU Press 1997), 262

• ^6 John Kendall, History of New Orleans, (Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1992), 308

• ^7 Caryn Crosse' Bell, Revolution, Romanticism, and the Afro-Creole Protest Tradition in Louisiana 1718-1868 (Baton-Rouge: LSU Press 1997), 261

• ^8 John Kendall, History of New Orleans, (Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1992), 312

• ^9 Michael A. Radcliff, The Custom House Conspiracy, (New Orleans: Crescent City Literary Classics, 2009), 12-16

, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_States_House_election%2C_1866&oldid=97062169"

Bibliography

• Bell, Caryn Crosse'. Revolution, Romanticism, and the Afro-Creole Protest Tradition in Louisiana 1718-1868. Baton-Rouge: LSU Press, 1997.

• Fortier, Alicee. A History of Louisiana Vol. 4 Part 2. Paris: Goupil and Company, 1904.

• Hollandsworth, James G. An Absolute Massacre: The New Orleans Race Riot of July 30, 1866

LSU Press, 2004

• Kendall, John. History of New Orleans. Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1992.

• Mcpherson, Edward. The Political History of the United States of America During the Period of Reconstruction. Washington: Solomans and Chapman, 1875

• Reed, Emily Hazen. Life of A. P. Dostie, Or, The Conflict in New Orleans. New York: W.P. Tomlinson, 1868.

• Riddleberger, Patrick W. 1866, The Critical Year Revisited. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1979.

• Trefousse, Hans L. "Andrew Johnson." American National Biography Vol. 3. New York, New York: Oxford 1999.

• Vandal, Gilles. The New Orleans Riot of 1866: Anatomy of a Tragedy. Center for Louisiana Studies, 1984.

• Wainwright, Irene. Administrations of the Mayor's of New Orleans: Monroe. Louisiana Division New Orleans Public Library.

Retrieved from: "http://www.nutrias.org/info/louinfo/admins/monroe.htm" (Accessed February 4, 2007)

• Wikipedia contributors. "United States House election, 1866." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

Retrieved from: "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_States_House_election%2C_1866&oldid=97062169" (Accessed February 10, 2007)

External links

• Online text of John Kendall's History of New Orleans
• Online text of Alicee Fortier's A History of Louisiana
• Online text of James G. Hollandsworth's book An Absolute Massacre: The New Orleans Race Riot of July 30, 1866
• Online text of Emily Hazen Reed's Life of A. P. Dostie, Or, The Conflict in New Orleans
• Center for History and New Media
• 'Impeach Andrew Johnson'