The Riot Within

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{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\cocoartf1038\cocoasubrtf360 {\fonttbl\f0\froman\fcharset0 TimesNewRomanPSMT;} {\colortbl;\red255\green255\blue255;} \margl1440\margr1440\vieww24020\viewh21260\viewkind0 \deftab720 \pard\pardeftab720\ri0\qc \f0\b\fs24 \cf0 \ Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History\ Voices of the Civil War\ Episode 14: Detroit Draft Riot \ Written by James Easley\ \ \pard\pardeftab720\ri0\sl360\slmult1 \b0 \cf0 Two months after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation and officially called to arms all African Americans, the United States Congress passed the Enrollment Act of Conscription in March 1863. This act required that all men between the ages of twenty to forty-five be subject to a draft into the Union Army. The exemption clause allowed wealthy citizens to pay a $300 exemption fee, making them exempt from the draft and discriminating against lower class citizens who could not afford the fee. Draft riots erupted all over the United States. In Detroit, Michigan military quotas were being filled without the need of a draft and many feared this new federal law. Racial tensions in Detroit began to escalate as newspapers like the \i Detroit Free Press \i0 blamed African Americans for the war and encouraged readers to be fearful of free blacks (Katzman, 44-47). In addition, a Detroit tavern owner, William Faulkner was arrested for molesting two 9-year-old girls Mary Brown, a white girl, and Ellen Hoover, a black girl. On March 6, 1863 a mob of whites gathered outside Recorder\'92s Court to hear William Faulkner\'92s verdict of guilty. Soldiers from the federal provost garrison were called to manage the mob and transport William Faulkner to the local jail. The mob became riotous after a soldier fired on the crowd, killing Charles Langer. The mob attacked Faulkner, while in transit and invaded Detroit\'92s black neighborhood centered on Beaubien Street south of Lafayette. 30 homes were destroyed, more than 200 blacks were left homeless, several died and dozens were seriously injured. Joshua Boyd, a black man, was struck in the head with an axe while trying to escape from a burning building. The 27\super th\nosupersub Michigan Infantry Regiment dispersed the riot and arrested 22 people. \ \ Although racial animosity was already present in Detroit, the \i Free Press \i0 further instigated the prejudice towards African Americans by publishing openly racist articles. Prior to the riot, the \i Free Press \i0 made hints at the possibility of a riot ensuing and used the case of William Faulkner as a catalyst. The newspaper states, "It is thought that an excited and indignant mob would have attempted to wreak summary vengeance upon him within the very walls of the court-room." Competing Republican newspaper, the \i Detroit Advertiser and Tribune \i0 exclaimed, \'93this is a \i Free Press \i0 mob!\'94 citing the \i Free Press \i0 as the cause of the riots. The \i Detroit Free Press \i0 newspaper labeled March 6\super th\nosupersub as the \'93the bloodiest day that ever dawned on Detroit.\'94 In the coming years, both girls confessed that they lied on the stand against William Faulkner and, in 1870 he was pardoned after serving 7 years in prison.\ \ \pard\pardeftab720\ri0\sl360\slmult1\qc \cf0 \ul \ulc0 Work Cited\ \pard\pardeftab720\ri0\sl360\slmult1 \cf0 \ulnone Katzman, David M. \i Before the Ghetto \i0 . Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1973. Print.\ \ Martelle Scott. Detroit: A Biography. Chicago, Ill.: Chicago Review Press, 2012. Print.\ \ Schneider, John C. \i Detroit and the Problem of Order, 1830-1880: A Geography of Crime, Riot, \ \pard\pardeftab720\fi720\ri0\sl360\slmult1 \cf0 and Policing. \i0 Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1980. Print.\ }