Cincinnati Riots

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CINCINNATI RIOTS

CINCINNATI RIOTS. In 1883 the criminal courts of Cincinnati, Ohio, sentenced to death only four of the fifty men accused of murder that year, fueling fears that the courts had become corrupt. On the weekend of 28–30 March 1884, mobs repeatedly attacked the jailhouse. After lynching two inmates, the mob stole guns, set fire to the courthouse, looted stores, and waged a bloody battle against a company of state militia, which threw up street barricades where the worst of the fighting ensued. Not until the sixth day were the barricades removed and the streetcar service resumed. At least 45 persons had been killed and 138 injured.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Gilje, Paul A. Rioting in America. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1996.

Schweninger, Joseph M. A Frightful and Shameful Story: The Cincinnati Riot of 1884 and the Search for Order. Columbus, Ohio, 1996.

Alvin F.Harlow/a. r.

See alsoCapital Punishment ; Cincinnati ; Gilded Age ; Riots .