Library of Congress lecture, June 11
June 11, 2009
Lecture: Zachary Schrag, Kluge Fellow, on “Militias and Mobs in Antebellum America” at 12:00 PM, Whittall Pavilion, Thomas Jefferson Building, Library of Congress
Throughout American history, city and state officials have called on volunteer militia and National Guard units to suppress riots. But from the Doctor’s Riot of 1788 to the Kent State shootings of 1970, Americans have complained that the use of troops for riot control threatens the rights and safety of citizens.
In his lecture, Zachary Schrag will explore the evolution of this debate in early 19th century America. By comparing the Baltimore riots of 1812 with the Philadelphia riots of 1844, he will explain why Americans were dissatisfied both with militias that did too little and those that did too much, and why they struggled to find an alternative.