Dirty Work of Nation Building: Midwestern Election Day Riots in the 1850s
Description
This historical study examines election day riots as a tool to negotiate power and identity in a young nation in Midwestern cities as a stage. By examining what led to the increase in hostility in local nativist movements and immigrant political organizations of the time, how the rhetoric of religious leaders and the American Party precipitated mass violence on election day, and what results were achieved by the show of riot violence, this study concludes that political dissatisfaction and disunity often lead to violence in last-ditch efforts in the face of fear and uncertainty with mass immigration through case studies of the Antebellum Midwest.
Dirty Work of Nation Building: Midwestern Election Day Riots in the 1850s
On Campus
This historical study examines election day riots as a tool to negotiate power and identity in a young nation in Midwestern cities as a stage. By examining what led to the increase in hostility in local nativist movements and immigrant political organizations of the time, how the rhetoric of religious leaders and the American Party precipitated mass violence on election day, and what results were achieved by the show of riot violence, this study concludes that political dissatisfaction and disunity often lead to violence in last-ditch efforts in the face of fear and uncertainty with mass immigration through case studies of the Antebellum Midwest.