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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 July 2007
This article explores African American armed resistance during the 1917 East St. Louis race riot in the context of black migration and ghetto formation. In particular it considers the significance of the development of the black urban community, composed of an emerging working class and a dynamic, militant and increasingly influential middle class. It was that community which came under attack by white mobs in 1917, and this work illuminates the infrastructure of resistance in the city, showing how African Americans drew upon the resources of the nascent ghetto and older traditions of self-defence to protect their homes and families.
1 See testimony of Dr. Thomas Hunter, “Select Committee to Investigate Conditions in Illinois and Missouri Interfering with Interstate Commerce between these States,” transcripts of hearings, 1064–66 (reel 2, frames 149–51 of microfilm collection, The East St. Louis Race Riot of 1917 (Frederick, MD: University Publications of America, 1985)). Hereafter the transcripts of these hearings will be referred to as “Select Committee,” and the microfilm collection will be referred to as UPA microfilm collection. In the wake of the East St. Louis race riot, Congress dispatched a five-man panel to investigate. The panel was composed of Representatives Ben Johnson (Democrat, Kentucky), George Foss (Republican, Illinois), John E. Raker (Democrat, California), Henry Cooper (Republican, Wisconsin) and Martin Foster (Democrat, Illinois). The congressmen spent October and November interviewing local people about the city and about the events of 2 July. Most of those summoned to appear were businessmen, politicians, church ministers and labour representatives. The panel interviewed both black and white people, although the majority of those appearing were white. The investigation produced thousands of pages of richly detailed testimony, providing an unprecedented opportunity for the historian to explore local attitudes and the context of the events. See also testimony of Calvin Cotton, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 672–74 (reel 1, frames 695–97, UPA microfilm collection).
2 See testimony of Noah W. Parden, “Transcripts of Records – People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts of the trial of Dr. Le Roy Bundy, 770–72 (reel 8, frames 283–85, UPA microfilm collection). Henceforth these transcripts will be referred to as “People vs. Le Roy Bundy.” Le Roy Bundy was the most prominent local African American placed on trial for his alleged part in the events surrounding the riot. He was charged, tried (in a heavily biased court) and convicted for conspiring to murder two white detectives, Samuel Coppedge and Frank Wadley, whose deaths provided a trigger for the riot by infuriated local whites. Bundy was later freed on appeal, on a technicality. For Parden, with his gun, see the testimony of black police officer W. H. Mills, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 1108 (reel 2, frame 192, UPA microfilm collection). For the trajectory of the bullets see the testimony of the black detective W. Green, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 1121 (reel 2, frame 205, UPA microfilm collection). For a white witness to these events see testimony of Mrs. Stapp, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 104–09 (reel 7, frames 523–28, UPA microfilm collection). See also testimony of James Gladden, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 792 (reel 8, frame 305, UPA microfilm collection). The gang's vehicle was later seen drawing up in front of a hotel downtown. See testimony of George W. Allison, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 3544–46 (reel 4, frames 572–74, UPA microfilm collection). See also testimony of William A. Miller, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 4089–90 (reel 5, frames 2–29, UPA microfilm collection). For injuries see testimony of Gus Masserang, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 254, 293–94 (reel 8, frames 673, 712–13, UPA microfilm collection).
3 For the classic rendering of these events see Elliott M. Rudwick, Race Riot at East St. Louis, July 2, 1917 (Cleveland and New York: World Publishing Co., 1964), 38–57. See also Malcolm McLaughlin, Power, Community, and Racial Killing in East St. Louis (New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2005), 126–59, 165–75.
4 As Allan Spear has highlighted, the widely distributed radical “Race” newspaper the Chicago Defender cast the North as a “Promised Land” and the migrants who were tempted from the South came looking for a new life and for the promised liberation. See Allan H. Spear, Black Chicago: The Making of a Negro Ghetto, 1890–1920 (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1967), 134–35.
5 See, for example, Spear, 167; and Joe William Trotter, Black Milwaukee: The Making of an Industrial Proletariat, 1915–1945 (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1988), 80–81.
6 For Wilmington and Atlanta see Joel Williamson, Crucible of Race: Black/White Relations in the American South since Emancipation (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984). See also David S. Cecelski and Timothy B. Tyson, eds., Democracy Betrayed: The Wilmington Race Riot of 1898 and Its Legacy (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1998). For Atlanta see Charles Crowe, “Racial Massacre in Atlanta,” Journal of Negro History, 54, 2 (April 1969), 150–73. See also David Fort Godshalk, Veiled Visions: The 1906 Atlanta Race Riot and the Reshaping of American Race Relations (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2005). For Springfield see Roberta Senechal, The Sociogenesis of a Riot: Springfield, Illinois in 1908 (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1990). For Chicago see William Tuttle, Race Riot: Chicago in the Red Summer of 1919 (New York: Antheneum, 1970). For Tulsa see Scott Ellsworth, Death in a Promised Land: The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 (Baton Rouge: Louisiana University Press, 1982). See also Alfred L. Brophy, Reconstructing the Dreamland. The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921: Race, Reparations and Reconciliation (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002). Additionally see James S. Hirsch, Riot and Remembrance: The Tulsa Race War and Its Legacy (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002).
7 For Atlanta see Crowe, 165–66, 157. Strangely, despite noting evidence that resistance facilitated the escape of black people from the rioters, Crowe concluded that self-defence merely enraged the white mobs further. A more positive attitude to such resistance is to be found in Godshalk, 1–2, 100–02, 111, 122–23, 139. For Springfield see Senechal, 34. For Chicago see Tuttle, 26–28, 33–34, 40. For Tulsa see Ellsworth, 49–55.
8 For the shooting of the police officers see Rudwick, 38–40, 111–19. For the riot see Rudwick, 53–57.
9 Herbert Aptheker, American Negro Slave Revolts (New York: Columbia University Press, 1943).
10 See Timothy B. Tyson, “‘Black Power’ and the Roots of the Freedom Struggle,” Journal of American History, 85, 2 (September 1998), 540–570, 545, 570. Robert F. Williams, Tyson suggests, recognized this: hanging above his desk was a rifle, which his grandmother had passed down to him, in an act symbolic of the passing on of a tradition of militant resistance that she and her husband had learned in the fight against Klan terrorism during Reconstruction. See also his Radio Free Dixie: Robert F. Williams and the Roots of Black Power (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1999), 13, 16, 25.
11 See Christopher B. Strain, Pure Fire: Self-Defense as Activism in the Civil Rights Era (Athens, GA and London: University of Georgia Press, 2005); and Lance Hill, Deacons for Defense: Armed Resistance and the Civil Rights Movement (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2004). See also Akinyele O. Umoja, “The Ballot or the Bullet: A Comparative Analysis of Armed Resistance in the Civil Rights Movement”, Journal of Black Studies, 29, 4 (March 1999), 564–74.
12 For discussion of self-defence and the militancy of the “New Negro” see Tuttle, 208–41. In particular, for the impact of the war see 208–10. For the impact of urbanization and the psychological liberation associated with migration from the South see Tuttle, 213–14.
13 Tuttle, 211–16.
14 Statistics for 1890, 1900 and 1910 adapted from United States Bureau of Census, 10th Census (1880), Reports, Vol. I, Statistics of the Population of the United States (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1883), 417, 448, 505. United States Bureau of Census, 12th Census (1900), Reports, Vol. I, Census Reports (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1902), 874–75, 882–83, 890–91, 898–99, 902–03. United States Bureau of Census, 13th Census (1910), Reports, Vol. I, Population: General Reports and Analysis (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1913), 285, 474, 658, 860–61, 1168. United States Bureau of Census, 13th Census (1910), Reports, Vol. II, Reports by States with Statistics for Counties, Cities and Other Civil Divisions, Alabama–Montana (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1913), 504–05. For 1915 population see Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1915 (No. 38) (Washington, DC: Department of Commerce, Government Printing Office, 1916), 40. For 1917 estimate see Rudwick, 166. For a comparison with Chicago – where black people were actually a lower proportion of the overall population of the city than in numerically smaller East St. Louis – see Spear, esp. 11–19.
15 Letter, Memphis, Tennessee, 23 April 1917, in Emmett J. Scott, ed., “Letters of Negro Migrants of 1916–1918”, Journal of Negro History, 4, 3 (July 1919), 290–340, 337.
16 Testimony of Raymond F. Rucker, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 1850–51 (reel 2, frames 930–31, UPA microfilm collection). See also testimony of Frank E. Nulson, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 1047 (reel 2, frame 132, UPA microfilm collection).
17 Sundiata Keita Cha-Jua, America's First Black Town: Brooklyn, Illinois, 1830–1915 (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2000), 152. For the lynching of Wyatt see 190–96.
18 For complaint about the lack of a clear segregation ordinance see testimony of Raymond F. Rucker, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 1848–49 (reel 2, frames 928–29, UPA microfilm collection). Perhaps Rucker looked enviously across the Mississippi River to St. Louis, Missouri, where a segregation ordinance was introduced in 1916. See St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 2 March 1916, 3, for a map of the city and explanation of the ordinance. The newspaper also noted that black campaigners were launching a legal challenge to the ordinance at once. For complaint about behaviour on streetcars see testimony of Thomas J. Canavan, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 1477–78 (reel 2, frames 557–58, UPA microfilm collection). For the currency of complaints about black people using the sidewalk see The Crisis, 14, 5 (September 1917), 238, and also St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 5 July 1917. See also testimony of Dr. Thomas G. Hunter, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 1104 (reel 2, frame 188, UPA microfilm collection). Additionally see Rudwick, 6.
19 For Armour see testimony of Robert E. Conway, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 179 (reel 1, frame 210, UPA microfilm collection). For Malleable Iron see testimony of John P. Pero, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 703–04 (reel 1, frames 729–30, UPA microfilm collection). For Aluminum Ore see testimony of Philip Wolf, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 2264 (reel 3, frames 316–17, UPA microfilm collection). For segmentation of the labour market in Chicago see Rick Halpern, Down on the Killing Floor: Black and White Workers in Chicago's Packinghouses, 1904–1954 (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1997), 21–30. Additionally see James R. Barrett, Work and Community in the Jungle: Chicago's Packinghouse Workers, 1894–1922 (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1987), 20–30.
20 For stockyards figure see Senate Documents, 61st Congress, 2nd Session, Vol. 75. U.S. Immigration Commission, Reports, Part 11, “Immigrants in Industry”, Vol. 13, Slaughtering and Meat Packing (Washington, D. C.: Government Publishing Office, 1911), 18–19. Testimony of Charles B. Fox (Superintendent, Aluminum Ore Co., East St. Louis), 29 October 1917, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 1507 (reel 2, frame 586, UPA microfilm collection). See also East St. Louis Daily Journal, 19 April 1917, 1. Additionally see Rudwick, 17.
21 See Rudwick, 168–70. For examples of flyers distributed by employment recruitment agencies see file 13/65, “Race Riot, East St. Louis, Ill., 1917”, General Subject File of William B. Wilson, Department of Labor, Record Group 174, National Archives Building, College Park, Maryland. For comparison with Chicago see Spear, 151. For a comparison with another small city, Milwaukee, see Trotter, 44–45.
22 Meatpacking figures derived from the following sources: Immigration Commission Reports, Part 11, Vol. 13, 19; testimony of P. A. Hunter, “Hearings of the Labor Committee of the Illinois State Council of Defense,” transcripts of hearings, 93 (reel 7, frame 282, UPA microfilm collection); and testimony of Robert E. Conway, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 124 (reel 1, frame 156, UPA microfilm collection). Henceforth these hearings will be referred to as “Council of Defense.” These hearings were held to investigate the abortive outbreak of mob violence in East St. Louis on the night of 28 May 1917. For further breakdown in employment see testimony of the local manager of Armour, Robert E. Conway, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 129, 179, 174 (reel 1, frames 161, 210 and 205, UPA microfilm collection). See also testimony of Robert E. Conway, “Council of Defense,” transcripts of hearings, 104 (reel 7, frame 282, UPA microfilm collection). For Malleable Iron see testimony of John P. Pero, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 694 (reel 1, frame 720, UPA microfilm collection). See also 699, 703 of the transcripts of his testimony (reel 1, frames 725 and 729, UPA microfilm collection). For Aluminum Ore see testimony of Charles B. Fox, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 1528 (reel 2, frame 609, UPA microfilm collection). Additionally see testimony of Philip Wolf, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 2153 (reel 3, frame 204, UPA microfilm collection). See also Rudwick, 16–17. There were 280 black workers employed at Aluminum Ore by autumn 1916, 470 by February 1917, and 381 by April 1917. The total workforce was around 2,000-strong.
23 See Rudwick, 24. For comparison with Chicago see Spear, 21.
24 For Market Street see testimony of Calvin Cotton, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 680 (reel 1, frame 703, UPA microfilm collection). For Boismenue Avenue see testimony of Dr. Le Roy Bundy, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” trial transcripts, 1120 (reel 8, frame 631 UPA microfilm collection). See also testimony of Roy Albertson, “Select Committee” transcripts of hearings, 492, 531 and 540 (reel 1, frames 516, 557 and 565, UPA microfilm collection).
25 For ice cream parlour see testimony of John Wright, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 1082 (reel 7, frame 593, UPA microfilm collection). For poolroom see testimony of Jacob Schucart, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 154 (reel 7, frame 573, UPA microfilm collection). For Scott Haynes's drugstore see testimony of Dr. Thomas J. Hunter, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 1073 (reel 2, frame 158, UPA microfilm collection). For a comparison with Chicago see Spear, 181. For a comparison with the composition of black Milwaukee's middle class see Trotter, 80, 83. Manning Marable has noted that the number of black businesses in the United States increased sevenfold between 1900 and 1930. However, capital remained in the hands of a small elite dependent upon segregation for their market. See Manning Marable, How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America (London: Pluto Press, 2000; first published 1983).
26 See Rudwick, 119–21. Bundy's garage was still new by the time of the race riot. See testimony of W. H. Mills, “Select Committee,” 1107 (reel 2, frame 191, UPA microfilm collection).
27 See testimony of Paul Y. Anderson, “Board of Inquiry,” transcripts of hearings, 339–40 (reel 6, frames 432–33, UPA microfilm collection). These words were reported third hand. A white newspaper reporter, Paul Y. Anderson claimed that an African American man named McDonald had related a conversation to him, in which, he said, Bundy had expressed this sentiment. There are three reasons why we should heed Anderson's words. Firstly, he was a first-class investigative journalist, and a man of integrity: he would later go on exposed the “Teapot Dome” scandal. Secondly, he was progressive-minded man who seems to have held no grudge against Bundy, and we can rule out any hidden agenda that might bear upon his words. Finally, although this of course leaves the question of McDonald's reliability, the reported sentiments seem perfectly in line with Bundy's ambitious character. For Anderson's career see Edmund B. Lambeth, “The Lost Career of Paul Y. Anderson,” Journalism Quarterly, 60, 30 (autumn 1983), 401–06.
28 For the quotes describing Bundy's character, and his career in the UNIA, see Rudwick, 120, 261. Elliott Rudwick conducted a series of interviews with local people, so-called “old-timers” who had lived through the East St. Louis race riot. His description of Bundy was, we can safely surmise, informed by his oral interviews with people who knew him, or knew his reputation locally. For the suggestion that Bundy held meetings of twenty or so people at his home see the testimony of Mrs. George Wadley, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 235–37 (reel 7, frames 654–56, UPA microfilm collection). Bundy's defence lawyers later conceded that it was not unusual for people to gather around Bundy's home and auto business. See comments of Mr. Webb, attorney for the defence, during testimony of Charles Miller, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 19 (reel 7, frame 442, UPA microfilm collection). Bundy would go on to become one of Garvey's firmest supporters. See Robert A. Hill, ed., The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers, Vol. IV, 1 September 1921–2 September 1922 (Berkley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press, 1985), xxxiv. Bundy's role in the East St. Louis race riot earned him the respect of members of the UNIA. See, for example, the comments of Hon. Dr. Diggs, Chaplain General, in the report of the UNIA 1922 convention in Robert A. Hill, ed., Marcus Garvey Papers, 1034–40. See also Judith Stein, The World of Marcus Garvey: Race and Class in Modern Society (Baton Rouge and London: University of Louisiana Press, 1986), 149, 150, 240–41, 254, for Bundy's later career. As Stein notes, Garvey's movement mobilized the masses behind a business-centred “elite model of progress”. See Stein, 5.
29 For a comparison with politics in Chicago see Spear, 124–25, 191–92. For a comparison with Harlem see Gilbert Osofsky, Harlem: The Making of a Ghetto. Negro New York, 1890–1930 (New York and Evanston: Harper and Row, 1968), 159, 170.
30 For the past experience of these black politicians see, for example, East St. Louis Daily Journal, 12 March 1915, 2; 16 March 1917, 7. See also Rudwick, 185–86.
31 See East St. Louis Daily Journal, 6 March 1917, 1; 4 April 1917, 4. See also Rudwick, 187. In addition see East St. Louis Daily Journal, 7 March 1915, 1.
32 Bundy confessed to as much when he found himself estranged from the Mollman party in the wake of the 1917 race riot. Read about this in the African American newspaper St. Louis Argus, 30 November 1917, 1. See also Rudwick, 184–86.
33 For the True Light see testimony of John Wright, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 1082 (reel 7, frame 593, UPA microfilm collection). For Mt. Zion see testimony of Allen Atkins, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 930–31 (reel 8, frames 441–42, UPA microfilm collection). For another church at 19th and Bond see testimony of Dr. Thomas J. Hunter, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 1083 (reel 2, frame 168, UPA microfilm collection). For Odd Fellows see testimony of William W. Buchanan, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 825 (reel 8, frame 338, UPA microfilm collection). For park see testimony of James Gladden, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 795 (reel 8, frame 308, UPA microfilm collection).
34 See testimony of W. H. Mills, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 1107 (reel 1, frame 191, UPA microfilm collection). See also testimony of Calvin Cotton, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 686 (reel 1, frame 710, UPA microfilm collection). Additionally see Rudwick, 24–25, 38. As William Tuttle pointed out with respect to Chicago, conflict over urban space was a key context of the 1919 race riot in that city. See Tuttle, 157–83. Changes affecting patterns of residential settlement would continue to be a source of conflict in Chicago for decades to come. Thus Arnold Hirsch could write of the period from 1940 to 1960, “In areas where [white-occupied] apartment buildings were being converted into kitchenettes and black tenancy, there was … a sense of helplessness” mixed with “fear and desperation” among whites. Such feelings “inspired most antiblack sentiment” in the South Side at this time. See Arnold Hirsch, Making the Second Ghetto: Race and Housing in Chicago, 1940–1960 (Cambridge, London and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1983), 34–35.
35 For white resentment at the political influence of African Americans in municipal politics see, for example, testimony of Robert E. Conway, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 185 (reel 1, frame 213, UPA microfilm collection). Compare with Chicago in 1919: William Tuttle noted that many of the racist attacks during the 1919 race riot in Chicago were carried out by members of the Ragen Colts, an Irish American street gang which supported the Democratic Party and whose members felt threatened by the growing presence of traditionally Republican-supporting African Americans. See Tuttle, 32–33, 54–55, 184–207.
36 McLaughlin, Power, Community, and Racial Killing, 89–109. See also Rudwick, 16–23.
37 See Tuttle, 108–207. For a revision to Tuttle's interpretation of the role of labour in the outbreak of violence see Barrett, Work and Community in the Jungle, 202–24.
38 For “hundreds” see testimony of Le Roy N. Bundy, “Council of Defense,” transcripts of hearings, 82 (reel 7, frame 166, UPA microfilm collection). For William Bagley see Rudwick, 147 and St. Louis Post Dispatch, 30 July 1916, 1.
39 East St. Louis Daily Journal, 19 April 1917, 1.
40 See Rudwick, 16–17.
41 See Barrett, 202–24; and Halpern, 25–61. For Fox see testimony of Charles B. Fox, “Council of Defense,” transcripts of hearings, 27–28 (reel 7, frames 216–17, UPA microfilm collection). See also testimony of D. E. Parsons, “Council of Defense,” transcripts of hearings, 41–42 (reel 7, frames 230–31, UPA microfilm collection).
42 Testimony of Philip Wolf, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 2243–45 (reel 3, frames 296–98, UPA microfilm collection). Italics added.
43 Testimony of Alois Towers, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 2376 (reel 3, frame 427, UPA microfilm collection).
44 For “common talk” see testimony of Robert E. Conway, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 128 (reel 1, frame 160, UPA microfilm collection). For examples of violence during this time see East St. Louis Daily Journal, 22 June 1917, 1. For this period of the strike see McLaughlin, 108–09. See also Rudwick, 36.
45 For quotation see testimony of Calvin Cotton, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 686 (reel 1, frame 710, UPA microfilm collection). See also East St. Louis Daily Journal, 29 May 1917, 1.
46 See East St. Louis Daily Journal, 14 May 1917, 1; 15 May 1917, 1; 28 May 1917, 1.
47 East St. Louis Daily Journal, 24 May 1917, 1. See also Rudwick, 24, 37.
48 See Tuttle, 180–81.
49 For 4 July rumours see testimony of Roy Albertson, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 477, 549–50 (reel 1, frames 501, 575–76, UPA microfilm collection). See also Rudwick, 37. For Bundy's “arsenal” see testimony of Thomas L. Fekete, “Board of Inquiry,” transcripts of hearings, 22 (reel 7, frame 205, UPA microfilm collection). The National Guard held a military board of inquiry to investigate the role of its troopers during the July race riot. See also “Report to Governor, by Colonel S. O. Tripp, Race Riot, East St. Louis, Illinois,” 25 October 1917, 9–12 (reel 7, frames 9–12, UPA microfilm collection). For “drilling” see, for example, testimony of William Gladden, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 796, 799 (reel 8, frames 309, 312, UPA microfilm collection). See also testimony of William W. Buchanan, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 825–27 (reel 8, frames 338–40, UPA microfilm collection).
50 See, for example, Dan T. Carter, “The Anatomy of Fear: The Christmas Day Insurrection Scare of 1865,” The Journal of Southern History, 42, 3 (August 1976), 345–364, 345. Carter notes that it is possible to identify a common thread running through such “plots” right through to Elaine, Arkansas in 1919. For the classic work on the subject of black uprising see Herbert Aptheker, American Negro Slave Revolts (New York, Columbia University Press, 1943). As Alwyn Barr has noted, Aptheker's book also emphasizes the “strong element of racial fears” running through this phenomenon. See Alwyn Barr, “The Texas ‘Black Uprising’ Scare of 1883,” Phylon, 41, 2 (1980), 179–86.
51 Carter, 345.
52 Carter, 346–8.
53 Barr, 183.
54 See Carter, esp. 361–62, and Barr, passim. See East St. Louis Daily Journal, 14 May 1917, 1; 15 May 1917, 1; 28 May 1917, 1. See also Rudwick, 26. Rudwick noted that “Since white East St. Louisans were not routinely searched by the police, Negroes constituted the majority of persons arrested for carrying concealed weapons.” Thus “differential treatment by the police and press confirmed whites' mental image of Negroes as gun-toters.”
55 For rumors of impending black attack on East St. Louis see testimony of Captain J. A. Eaton, “Board of Inquiry,” transcripts of hearings, 135 (reel 7, frame 227, UPA microfilm collection). See also Washington Post, 3 July 1917, 1, and East St. Louis Daily Journal, 3 July 1917, 1. For the fruitless search for Bundy's “arsenal” see testimony of Thomas L. Fekete, “Board of Inquiry,” transcripts of hearings, 107–09 (reel 6, frames 203–05, UPA microfilm collection). See also “Report to Governor, by Colonel S. O. Tripp, Race Riot, East St. Louis, Illinois,” 25 October 1917, 9–12 (reel 7, frames 9–12, UPA microfilm collection).
56 Testimony of Thomas J. Canavan, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 1424–28 (reel 2, frames 508–12, UPA microfilm collection).
57 For first report see St. Louis Republic, 3 July 1917, 5. For second see Hallie Queen's report to Senator Lawrence Y. Sherman, appendix, 2, Lawrence Y. Sherman papers, Box 133, Illinois State Historical Library. For third see testimony of Major William Klauser, “Board of Inquiry,” transcripts of hearings, 472 (reel 6, frame 566, UPA microfilm collection).
58 For an estimate of 40 see testimony of Jacob Schucart, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 151 (reel 7, frame 570, UPA microfilm collection). For an estimate of 75 see testimony of Fred Peleate, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 491, 506–16 (reel 8, frames 5, 19–29, UPA microfilm collection). For an estimate of 150 see testimony of William Hutter, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 343–45 (reel 7, frames 761–63, UPA microfilm collection).
59 Testimony of Matt Hayes, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 731–33 (reel 8, frames 244–48, UPA microfilm collection).
60 Testimony of Mary Fisher, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 136–38 (reel 7, frames 555–57, UPA microfilm collection).
61 The dangers implicit in the crossfire strategy are discussed by H. Rap Brown with reference to his experience of an urban confrontation between the police and the black community of Cambridge, Maryland in 1967. See H. Rap Brown, Die, Nigger, Die! (New York: Dial Press, 1969), 101.
62 See testimony of Paul Y. Anderson, “Board of Inquiry,” transcripts of hearings, 339–40 (reel 6, frames 432–33, UPA microfilm collection). As noted above, Anderson was first-class investigative journalist, and a man of integrity, who bore no grudge against Bundy that might lead him to seek to implicate him in a “plot”.
63 See testimony of Thomas Fekete, “Board of Inquiry,” 107–08 (reel 6, frames 203–04, UPA microfilm collection). See also testimony of John Eubanks, “Select Committee,” transcripts, 1145 (reel 2, frame 231, UPA microfilm collection).
64 For ringing of bell and warning call see testimony of Allen Atkins, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 926–27 (reel 8, frames 437–38, UPA microfilm collection). See also, for example, testimony of Julius May, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 937–38 (reel 8, frames 448–49, UPA microfilm collection). For further example, and testimony of the minister of the church in question, who admitted that the door was left unlocked at all times, see James Alampley, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 942–4 (reel 8, frames 453–55, UPA microfilm collection). For subsequent pursuit of gang see Rudwick, 38. See also testimony of Jacob Schucart, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 151 (reel 7, frame 570, UPA microfilm collection). See also testimony of Fred Peleate, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 491, 506–16 (reel 8, frames 5, 19–29, UPA microfilm collection). Additionally see testimony of Earl A. Bateman, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 926 (reel 8, frame 437, UPA microfilm collection).
65 Testimony of Henry Krudwig, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 171–72 (reel 7, frames 590–91, UPA microfilm collection). See also testimony of Henry W. Buchanan, a Captain of the Odd Fellows, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 825–6 (reel 8, frames 338–39, UPA microfilm collection).
66 Testimony of Noah W. Parden, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 765 (reel 8, frame 278, UPA microfilm collection).
67 See remarks of Mr. Baxter, attorney for the defence, in testimony of Frank Adams, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 650 (reel 8, frame 163, UPA microfilm collection).
68 See testimony of Frank Adams, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 645–52 (reel 8, frames 158–65, UPA microfilm collection). See also testimony of Buddie Bell, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 686–700 (reel 8, frames 199–213, UPA microfilm collection). Additionally see testimony of William Red, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” 723, 728 (reel 8, frames 236, 241, UPA microfilm collection). The group were arrested as they left the Free Bridge. Finally see testimony of John A. Owens, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 54–60 (reel 8, frames 167–73, UPA microfilm collection).
69 See, for example, Spear, Black Chicago, 225.
70 See testimony of Frank Adams, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 645–52 (reel 8, frames 158–65, UPA microfilm collection). See also testimony of Buddie Bell, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 686–700 (reel 8, frames 199–213, UPA microfilm collection). Additionally see testimony of William Red, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” 723, 728 (reel 8, frames 236, 241, UPA microfilm collection). Finally see testimony of John A. Owens, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 654–60 (reel 8, frames 167–73, UPA microfilm collection).
71 Testimony of Henry L. Krudwig, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 162–69 (reel 7, frames 581–88, UPA microfilm collection).
72 See comments of Mr. Schaumleffel, for the prosecution, in testimony of Buddie Bell, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 700 (reel 8, frame 213, UPA microfilm collection). In Springfield, of course, black residents had made a defiant armed stand against the mob from a barroom. See Senechal, The Sociogenesis of a Riot, 34.
73 See testimony of Roy Albertson, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 549 (reel 1, frame 575, UPA microfilm collection). See also Rudwick, 38–40.
74 Testimony of Roy Albertson, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 478 (reel 1, frame 502, UPA microfilm collection).
75 Testimony of William Hutter, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 343–45 (reel 7, frames 761–63, UPA microfilm collection). For “pretty good clip” see testimony of Roy Albertson, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 479 (reel 1, frame 503, UPA microfilm collection). See also testimony of Patrick Culinane, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 364–65 (reel 7, frames 782–83, UPA microfilm collection). Additionally see testimony of Oscar Hobbs, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 381 (reel 7, frame 799, UPA microfilm collection).
76 Testimony of William Hutter, “People vs. Le Roy Bundy,” transcripts, 343–45 (reel 7, frames 761–63, UPA microfilm collection).
77 See testimony of Roy Albertson, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 480–81 (reel 1, frames 504–05, UPA microfilm collection).
78 Tuttle, 4–8.
79 See St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 3 July 1917, 2. See also, Rudwick, 56.
80 For “business negroes” see the testimony of Dr. Thomas Hunter, whose own home was reportedly one of the black houses that the white mobs had said that they wanted to destroy, but failed to reach, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 1073 (reel 2, frame 158, UPA microfilm collection). See also testimony of Calvin Cotton, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 699 (reel 1, frame 676, UPA microfilm collection). According to Cotton, none of the violence that swept the city on 2 July reached the area around Bundy's home in Denverside, where the white drive-by shooting had occurred on the night of 1 July.
81 See St. Louis Republic, 3 July 1917, 5. See also the St. Louis Argus, 5 July 1917, 1. Whites who unwittingly strayed into the neighbourhood without malign intentions were also fired upon, mistaken for – or assumed to be – a threat. See the example, cited earlier, of Thomas Canavan's experiences, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 1424–28 (reel 2, frames 508–12, UPA microfilm collection). For an evening example see testimony of Major William Klauser, “Board of Inquiry,” transcripts of hearings, 472 (reel 6, frame 566, UPA microfilm collection).This also occurred during the Chicago race riot. See Tuttle, 40.
82 For sheltering in Denverside see testimony of Dr. Thomas Hunter, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 1073–75 (reel 2, frames 158–60 UPA microfilm collection). For another example see testimony of Otto Nelson, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 1306–07 (reel 2, frames 389–90, UPA microfilm collection). For escape over the Free Bridge see testimony of John Eubanks, “Select Committee,” transcripts of hearings, 1148 (reel 2, frame 234, UPA microfilm collection). See page 6 of report on East St. Louis race riot attached to letter, Hallie E. Queen to Senator Lawrence Y. Sherman, 20 August 1917, folder 7, Box 133, Lawrence Y. Sherman papers, Illinois State Historical Library, Springfield, Illinois. See also Queen's testimony before the Congressional Committee on Rules: Riot at East St. Louis, Illinois. Hearings Before the Committee on Rules, House of Representatives, Sixty-Fifth Congress, First Session on House Joint Resolution 118, 3 August 1917 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1917), 22. For “army of refugees” see Missouri Historical Society newspaper clipping file, “Fleeing Blacks Use Free Bridge.”
83 See Alfreda M. Duster (ed.), Crusade for Justice: the Autobiography of Ida B. Wells (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970), 383–95.
