Lager Beer Riot

The Lager Beer Riot is Chicago's first civil disturbance, on April 21, 1855 which resulted after Chicago Mayor Levi Boone, great-nephew of Daniel Boone, proposed a city ordinance which would close taverns on Sundays, raise the cost of a liquor license from $50 to $300 per year, and lower the liquor license validation from 1 year to 3 months. The riot claimed 1 death and 60 arrests, and the beginning of political partisanship in city elections.
This move was seen as targeting <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22German%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Germans%20in%20Chicago%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BGermans%20in%20Chicago%7CGerman%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="527-6229067514eb427cb45528" href="/index.php?title=Germans_in_Chicago&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Germans in Chicago (page does not exist)">German</a> and <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Irish%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Irish%20in%20Chicago%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BIrish%20in%20Chicago%7CIrish%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="527-6229067514eb427cb45528" href="/index.php?title=Irish_in_Chicago&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Irish in Chicago (page does not exist)">Irish</a> immigrants. On April 21 after several tavern-owners were arrested for selling beer on Sunday, the protesters clashed with Chicago police forces near the Cook County Court House. Waves of angry immigrants stormed the downtown area which led the mayor to take action by ordering the swing bridges opened to stop further waves of protestors from crossing the <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Chicago%20River%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Chicago%20River%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BChicago%20River%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="527-6229067514eb427cb45528" href="/wiki/Chicago_River" title="Chicago River">Chicago River</a>. This left some trapped on the bridges, which allowed police to have easier aim and to fire shots at protesters stuck on the Clark Street Bridge over the river. Many rumors flew throughout the city that some of the protesters were killed, although there is currently no evidence to support this.
In March of the following year, after Boone was turned out of office, the prohibition was repealed after a heavy German and Irish voter turnout defeated the nativists, causing the $50 liquor license to be restored.
External link
<a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22external%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Encyclopedia%20of%20Chicago%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22http%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fwww.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org%5C%2Fpages%5C%2F703.html%22%2C%22linktype%22%3A%22text%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5Bhttp%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fwww.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org%5C%2Fpages%5C%2F703.html%20Encyclopedia%20of%20Chicago%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="527-6229067514eb427cb45528" href="http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/703.html" class="external text" rel="nofollow">Encyclopedia of Chicago</a> - Lager Beer Riot this happened in Paris.
Category:Chicago riots