Race riots in the United States

Quick Facts: Who was Race riots in the United States?

Subject:

Race riots in the United States

Known for:

A recurring pattern of violence against marginalized groups in U.S. history.

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2Day Chrono-Wiki & Primary Historical Archives

Origins & Early Life

In the broader context of racism in the United States, mass racial violence in the United States consists of ethnic conflicts and race riots, along with such events as: Racially based targeted attacks against African Americans by White Americans which took place before the American Civil War, often in relation to attempted slave revolts, and racially based attacks against African Americans by White Americans which took place after the war, in relation to tensions which existed during the Reconstruction and later efforts to suppress Black suffrage and institute Jim Crow laws Conflicts between Protestants and Catholic immigrants from Ireland and Prussia in the 19th century White American mobs frequently targeted Asian American immigrants during the 19th and 20th centuries Attacks on Native Americans and American pioneers which took place during conflicts over land ownership (see also: Native American genocide in the United States, American Indian Wars, list of Indian massacres in North America) Frequent fighting among members of various ethnic groups in major cities, specifically in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, such as the ethnic violence between Puerto Ricans and Italian Americans in New York City Anti-immigrant violence, specifically anti-Catholic violence which targeted Catholics in the 19th century Anti-immigrant violence, specifically which targeted Latin Americans during the 20th century Two concurrent but distinct patterns of disturbances which occurred during the civil rights movement: White-on-Black racial disturbances which occurred during demonstrations and protests, such as at the Marquette Park Illinois march of August 1966 and during the 1969 Greensboro uprising in North Carolina; African American ghetto riots (1964–1969), including riots during the long, hot summer of 1967 and the King assassination riots of 1968, which caused deaths and injuries, looting, and long-lasting damage in African American communities. Racial and ethnic cleansing was committed on a large scale both prior to and after the end of the American revolution during the early period of time in the history of the United States, particularly against American Indians, who were forced off their lands and relocated to reservations. Some historians might argue that the earliest Jamestown settlement and displacement of the Powhatan natives was the first incident of mass racial and indigenous violence as early as the 1620s. In US history, along with these events, Chinese Americans in the Pacific Northwest and African Americans throughout the United States (particularly in the American south) were rounded up and expunged from towns under threat of mob rule, the white mobs frequently intended to harm their African American targets. Following California's transition to statehood, the California state government, incited, aided and financed miners, settlers, ranchers and people's militias to enslave, kidnap, or murder a major proportion of California's Indigenous people, who were sometimes contemptuously referred to as "Diggers", for their practice of digging up roots to eat.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

California governor Peter Hardeman Burnett predicted in 1851: "That a war of extermination will continue to be waged between the two races until the Indian race becomes extinct, must be expected. While we cannot anticipate the result with but painful regret, the inevitable destiny of the race is beyond the power and wisdom of man to avert." California state forces, private militias, Federal reservations, and sections of the US Army all participated in the campaign that caused the deaths of many California Indians with the state and federal governments paying millions of dollars to militias to murder Indians, while many starved on Federal Reservations because of their caloric distribution reducing from 480–910 to 160–390 and between 1,680 and 3,741 California Indians were killed by the U.S. Army themselves. Between 1850 and 1852 the state appropriated almost one million dollars for the activities of militias, and between 1854 and 1859 the state appropriated another $500,000, almost half of which was reimbursed by the federal government. Guenter Lewy, famous for the phrase "In the end, the sad fate of America's Indians represents not a crime but a tragedy, involving an irreconcilable collision of cultures and values" wrote that what happened in California may constitute genocide: "some of the massacres in California, where both the perpetrators and their supporters openly acknowledged a desire to destroy the Indians as an ethnic entity, might indeed be regarded under the terms of the convention as exhibiting genocidal intent." By one estimate, at least 4,500 California Indians were killed between 1849 and 1870. Contemporary historian Benjamin Madley has documented the numbers of California Indians killed between 1846 and 1873; he estimates that during this period at least 9,400 to 16,000 California Indians were killed by non-Indians.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Most of the deaths took place in what he defined as more than 370 massacres (defined as the "intentional killing of five or more disarmed combatants or largely unarmed noncombatants, including women, children, and prisoners, whether in the context of a battle or otherwise"). Professor Ed Castillo, of Sonoma State University, estimates that more were killed: "The handiwork of these well armed death squads combined with the widespread random killing of Indians by individual miners resulted in the death of 100,000 Indians in the first two years of the gold rush." Numerous books have been written on the subject of the California Indian genocide, such as Genocide and Vendetta: The Round Valley Wars in Northern California by Lynwood Carranco and Estle Beard, Murder State: California's Native American Genocide, 1846–1873 by Brendan C. Lindsay, and An American Genocide: The United States and the California Indian Catastrophe, 1846–1873 by Benjamin Madley among others. Madley's book caused California governor Jerry Brown to recognize the genocide. In a speech before representatives of Native American peoples in June, 2019, California governor Gavin Newsom apologized for the genocide. Newsom said, "That's what it was, a genocide.

Chronological Milestones & Life Events

1. 1846: 1846 Milestone — Contemporary historian Benjamin Madley has documented the numbers of California Indians killed between 1846 and 1873; he estimates that during this period at least 9,400 to 16,000 California Indians were killed by non-Indians.
2. 1849: 1849 Milestone — " By one estimate, at least 4,500 California Indians were killed between 1849 and 1870.
3. 1850: 1850 Milestone — Between 1850 and 1852 the state appropriated almost one million dollars for the activities of militias, and between 1854 and 1859 the state appropriated another $500,000, almost half of which was reimbursed by the federal government.
4. 1851: 1851 Milestone — California governor Peter Hardeman Burnett predicted in 1851: "That a war of extermination will continue to be waged between the two races until the Indian race becomes extinct, must be expected.
5. 1966: 1966 Milestone — In the broader context of racism in the United States, mass racial violence in the United States consists of ethnic conflicts and race riots, along with such events as: Racially based targeted attacks against African Americans by White Americans which took place before the American Civil War, often in relation to attempted slave revolts, and racially based attacks against African Americans by White Americans which took place after the war, in relation to tensions which existed during the Reconstruction and later efforts to suppress Black suffrage and institute Jim Crow laws Conflicts between Protestants and Catholic immigrants from Ireland and Prussia in the 19th century White American mobs frequently targeted Asian American immigrants during the 19th and 20th centuries Attacks on Native Americans and American pioneers which took place during conflicts over land ownership (see also: Native American genocide in the United States, American Indian Wars, list of Indian massacres in North America) Frequent fighting among members of various ethnic groups in major cities, specifically in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, such as the ethnic violence between Puerto Ricans and Italian Americans in New York City Anti-immigrant violence, specifically anti-Catholic violence which targeted Catholics in the 19th century Anti-immigrant violence, specifically which targeted Latin Americans during the 20th century Two concurrent but distinct patterns of disturbances which occurred during the civil rights movement: White-on-Black racial disturbances which occurred during demonstrations and protests, such as at the Marquette Park Illinois march of August 1966 and during the 1969 Greensboro uprising in North Carolina; African American ghetto riots (1964–1969), including riots during the long, hot summer of 1967 and the King assassination riots of 1968, which caused deaths and injuries, looting, and long-lasting damage in African American communities.
6. 2019: 2019 Milestone — In a speech before representatives of Native American peoples in June, 2019, California governor Gavin Newsom apologized for the genocide.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Race riots in the United States

True or False: “The earliest documented instance of mass racial and indigenous violence mentioned in the text occurred during the Jamestown settlement era.”

Answer (TRUE ⭕): The displacement of the Powhatan natives at the Jamestown settlement is cited as an early example of mass racial and indigenous violence dating back to the 1620s.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Race riots in the United States