Riots in Chicago, 1919 (Edexcel A-Level History): Revision Notes
Riots in Chicago, 1919
Background: Violence against Black Americans
Understanding the Chicago riots requires recognizing the broader pattern of violence faced by Black Americans in the early 20th century. This violence wasn't limited to the South where legal segregation existed, but extended throughout the USA wherever Black Americans migrated.
The context of racial violence
From the 1880s onwards, white-dominated state governments in the Old South systematically removed civil rights from Black Americans. This denial of rights was accompanied by:
- Escalating lynching – random mob violence became a permanent feature of life for Black Americans in the South
- Revival of the Ku Klux Klan from 1915 – a white supremacist group that used violence and intimidation
- Reinforcement of legal segregation – making Black Americans second-class citizens
Critical Context
Crucially, Black Americans faced similar discrimination and violence even when they migrated to areas without legal segregation. The North, despite not having Jim Crow laws, proved equally dangerous during certain periods.
The Red Summer of 1919
The year 1919 became known as the Red Summer due to the extraordinary wave of racial violence that swept across America. This period marked one of the most intense outbreaks of race riots in American history.
Key Facts About the Red Summer
- 26 race riots occurred across the USA in 1919
- Violence happened in both northern and southern states
- The riots demonstrated that racial violence was a national, not just southern, problem
The East St Louis riot, 1917
The Red Summer was preceded by a major riot in East St Louis, Illinois, in July 1917. This riot illustrated the economic tensions that often sparked racial violence:
- Black workers were being used to break a strike by white workers in an aluminium plant
- White workers instigated the violence
- 48 Black Americans were killed and hundreds injured
- More than 300 buildings were destroyed
Establishing a Pattern
This riot established a pattern: economic competition between Black and white workers frequently erupted into deadly violence. This theme would repeat throughout the Red Summer of 1919.
The Chicago riot: The trigger event
Of all 26 riots during the Red Summer, Chicago experienced the worst violence. The riot began on 27 July 1919 when summer temperatures soared above 30 degrees Celsius.
Eugene Williams' death
The spark that ignited the Chicago riot occurred at a segregated beach on Lake Michigan:
- 17-year-old Eugene Williams, a Black youth, entered a public beach at 29th Street usually reserved for white people
- Chicago's beaches were informally segregated: 29th Street beach for whites, 25th Street beach for Blacks
- Several white bathers attacked Williams, resulting in his death by drowning
- When police arrested a Black American at the scene, a group of Black Americans attacked the police
- This confrontation escalated into five days of rioting
Segregation Without Law
This incident reveals how segregation operated in the North without formal Jim Crow laws. Chicago's beaches were informally segregated through custom and intimidation, demonstrating that the absence of legal segregation didn't mean the absence of racial barriers.
The course of the riot
Location and duration
- Rioting was mainly confined to the South Side of Chicago, where 90 percent of the Black American population lived
- The violence lasted five days
- The riot demonstrated how residential segregation concentrated violence in Black neighbourhoods
Casualties and destruction
The Chicago riot resulted in devastating losses:
- 38 people killed (23 of whom were Black Americans)
- 537 people wounded
- Black American homes were specifically targeted and attacked
- 1,000 Black families were made homeless
The Burden of Violence
These figures reveal that Black Americans bore the brunt of the violence, both in deaths and property destruction. Despite being the minority population in Chicago, they suffered approximately 60% of the deaths and the vast majority of property losses.
How the riot ended
The riot was finally brought to an end by two factors:
- Intervention of the Illinois National Guard – state military forces were deployed to restore order
- A large thunderstorm that dispersed the rioters
National Guard
Understanding the National Guard
The National Guard are the reserve forces of the USA. Each state possesses a volunteer organisation who are part-time members of the US armed forces, equipped with similar equipment to regular forces. Key features include:
- Under the command of the governor of each state
- Can be used to maintain law and order when police require assistance
- The US president, as commander-in-chief, can 'federalise' the National Guard and place them under direct federal command
- As part-time members, they don't have the same degree of training or professionalism as regular armed forces
Underlying causes of the Chicago riot
The immediate trigger (Williams' death) sparked the riot, but deeper causes made Chicago a powder keg waiting to explode. These causes were typical of race riots across the USA that summer.
Population growth and the Great Migration
- The Black American population of Chicago had doubled between 1916 and 1918
- Black Americans were drawn north by the promise of employment
- This rapid population growth created intense pressure on housing and resources
Economic factors
Trade Union Exclusion
Black Americans were discouraged from joining white-dominated trade unions. This created several problems:
- Black workers could be used as strikebreakers (as in East St Louis)
- Black workers had less economic protection
- Economic competition between Black and white workers intensified racial tensions
This exclusion created a cycle where Black workers, desperate for employment, would accept jobs under any conditions—including breaking strikes—which then fueled white workers' resentment and violence.
Housing competition and residential segregation
The competition for housing proved crucial in sparking the riot:
- Black Americans concentrated in specific areas like the South Side
- As Black Americans moved into neighbourhoods, white people moved out
- This process created clear racial dividing lines in the city
- Black-dominated areas emerged through a process of white flight
- The resulting residential segregation mirrored the South's legal segregation, but occurred through informal discrimination rather than law
The Geography of Violence
This pattern of residential segregation meant that when violence erupted, it concentrated in Black neighbourhoods, making Black residents particularly vulnerable to attack. The South Side became a target precisely because everyone knew where the Black population lived.
Significance of the Chicago riot
The Chicago riot of 1919 demonstrates several important historical points:
Violence was a national problem
The riot proved that extreme racial violence wasn't confined to the legally segregated South. Northern cities with large Black populations experienced similar or worse violence.
Migration created new tensions
The Great Migration of Black Americans from the South to northern cities like Chicago created new forms of racial conflict, centred on housing and employment rather than legal segregation.
Informal segregation
Even without Jim Crow laws, northern cities developed their own forms of segregation through housing discrimination and white flight. This created racially divided cities where tensions could easily explode into violence.
Economic competition fuelled violence
Competition over jobs (especially involving strikebreaking) and housing repeatedly sparked racial violence. The Chicago riot wasn't an isolated incident but part of a pattern.
Key Points to Remember:
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The Red Summer of 1919 saw 26 race riots across the USA, demonstrating that racial violence was a national problem, not confined to the South
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The Chicago riot began on 27 July 1919 when 17-year-old Eugene Williams was killed at a segregated beach, sparking five days of violence
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The riot resulted in 38 deaths (23 Black Americans), 537 wounded, and 1,000 Black families homeless, with violence concentrated in the South Side where most Black residents lived
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Underlying causes included the doubling of Chicago's Black population (1916-18), exclusion from trade unions, and intense competition for housing that created racially segregated neighbourhoods
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The riot was ended by the Illinois National Guard and a thunderstorm, showing that state military intervention was needed to restore order when local police couldn't control racial violence