Читать книгу Freedom Facts and Firsts - Jessie Carney Smith - Страница 80

One year after the Civil War ended, the city of Memphis suffered through the worst race riot in its history on May 1 and 2, 1866. Many whites, especially former Confederate soldiers, were angry about losing the war and resented the presence of large numbers of newly freed slaves and African American soldiers as part of the Union occupation of the city. The incident that sparked the riot was the killing of several white policemen by black soldiers after the attempted arrest of another black soldier. In response, Union General George Stoneman forced black soldiers to surrender their arms and confined them to quarters. This act left black settlements and neighborhoods unprotected from attacks by white mobs; 46 blacks and two whites lost their lives over the next two days. A congressional investigation documented that, in addition to the deaths, nearly a hundred were injured, hundreds of blacks were arrested, five women were raped, and numerous people fled the area. Almost a hundred homes, four churches, and eight schools were burned beyond repair, another hundred or so people were robbed, and $17,000 in Federal property was destroyed during the outbreak. The violence in Memphis impacted the movement toward Reconstruction, with radical Republicans passing a civil rights bill as well as the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution, which guaranteed citizenship and equal protection under the law. Tennessee was forced to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment before being readmitted to the Union in July 1866.

Fletcher F. Moon