Part 4: The Chicago Beer Riots

I'm currently doing research for my beat, and I came across this great story via BeerHistory.com:

Chicago has always been a divided city due to the mosaic of neighborhoods that ebb and flow over the map like a petri dish full of malformed amoebas. But this was even more true back in the 1850's, well before Mayor Cermak famously united the Eastern European neighborhoods with the African American neighborhoods to defeat the Irish-run machine that was controlling the city.

Before the Irish got control, however, the English and the Know-Nothings controlled the city (think Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York). Mayor Levi Boone, the great nephew of Daniel Boone, didn't like the Germans or the Irish very much, and decided to make those feelings known by enforcing a ban pubs being opened on Sundays and increasing the licensing fee from $50 to $100.

Jokes about the beer-loving Germans and Irish aside, this did not sit well with the ethnic minorities who, after a hard week's work, wanted nothing more than to sit down and have a pint or two on the Lord's Day. So they decided to organize.

via The PBH Network

First, the immigrant community organized legal defense funds in support of tavern owners who refused to comply. A trial was scheduled for April 21st, and when a massive crowd came out to support the accused, the Mayor ordered the police to forcibly disperse them. As part of Boone's "reforms," he refused to hire immigrants as police officers, making the fight not just about some beer on a Sunday, but about the clash between established American families and the second-wave immigrants from Europe.

The ensuing brawl led to over 60 arrests and 1 death, but perhaps more importantly led to the ousting of Boone at the next election.

Additional information was found at The PBH Network and The Encyclopedia of Chicago