Cincinnati Riot of 1853
Encyclopedia
Gaetano Bedini
Gaetano Bedini was an Italian ecclesiastic, Cardinal and diplomat of the Catholic Church.- Biography :Bedini was born in Senigallia into the peasant Bedini family of Ostra, the son of Alessandro Pellegrino and Marianna Spadoni.Last of 7 sons, Bedini was destined by his father to be a priest...
, the emissary of Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX
Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...
, to Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, USA on 21 December 1853.
The German Liberal
Classical liberalism
Classical liberalism is the philosophy committed to the ideal of limited government, constitutionalism, rule of law, due process, and liberty of individuals including freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and free markets....
population of the city, many of whom had come to America after the Revolutions of 1848
Revolutions of 1848
The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, Springtime of the Peoples or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848. It was the first Europe-wide collapse of traditional authority, but within a year reactionary...
, identified Cardinal Bedini with their "reactionary
Reactionary
The term reactionary refers to viewpoints that seek to return to a previous state in a society. The term is meant to describe one end of a political spectrum whose opposite pole is "radical". While it has not been generally considered a term of praise it has been adopted as a self-description by...
" opponents.
An armed mob of about 500 German men with 100 women following marched on the home of Bishop John Purcell
John Baptist Purcell
John Baptist Purcell was an Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Cincinnati from 1833 until his death in 1883, and was elevated to the rank of Archbishop in 1850.-Biography:...
, protesting the visit.
One protester was killed and more than 60 were arrested.
Build-up
Bedini was sent to America to deal with a number of disputes over church property. The central argument was over whether ownership of a church and its land should remain with the board of trustees appointed by the congregation, or should be transferred to the bishop as representative of the church. The issue was controversial, since many ProtestantsProtestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
and Liberals thought that the "Church of Rome" had no right to own property in the United States. Unfortunately, Bedini not only lacked tact and experience in diplomacy, but he was already despised by many Americans for his role in overthrowing the Anti-Papal Roman Republic
Roman Republic (19th century)
The Roman Republic was a state declared on February 9, 1849, when the government of Papal States was temporarily substituted by a republican government due to Pope Pius IX's flight to Gaeta. The republic was led by Carlo Armellini, Giuseppe Mazzini and Aurelio Saffi...
in 1849.
At the time of the Cardinal's visit, anti-Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
feelings were strong in Cincinnati.
Archbishop John Purcell had alienated many people by objecting to taxing Catholics for support of public schools.
Hearing of Bedini's visit, the Daily Commercial printed a very unfavorable article, and the Freemen's Hochwächter
Hochwachter
The Hochwächter, literally "High Guard", was an American German language newspaper published in Cincinnati, Ohio.The paper was established by German political activists who fled the German states after the failed revolution of 1848...
started printing scurrilous articles calling him the "Butcher of Bologna". The Nativist Know-Nothing groups singled Bedini out as a target for attack. The German "Forty Eighters" of Cincinnati were in full support of the Nativists at this time.
However, the Germans were not a unified group. The Dreissiger
Dreissiger
The term Dreissiger refers to liberal intellectuals who left Germany and came to the United States in the 1830s to escape political repression....
(Thirtiers), who had left Germany in the 1830s to escape political repression, were against activism and the German Catholics defended their religion.
On the day of Bedini's arrival, the Hochwächter published an article that began: "Reader, dost thou know who Bedini is? Lo! there is blood on his hands - human blood! Lo! the skin will not leave his hands which at his command was flayed from Ugo Bassi
Ugo Bassi
Ugo Bassi was a Roman Catholic priest and Italian nationalist.-Biography:Bassi was born at Cento, Emilia-Romagna, and received his early education at Bologna....
! Lo! a murderer, a butcher of men..." The article went on to essentially demand the Cardinal's assassination, appealing specifically to the Freimänner (Society of Freemen), about 1,200 men with a meeting house in the Over-the-Rhine
Over-the-Rhine
Over-the-Rhine, sometimes shortened to OTR, is a neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is believed to be the largest, most intact urban historic district in the United States. Over-the-Rhine was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 with 943 contributing buildings...
section of the city.
The march
Saint Peter in Chains Cathedral
Saint Peter in Chains Cathedral is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati. It is a Greek revival structure located at 8th and Plum Streets in downtown Cincinnati...
.
Meanwhile, the Freimänner called for a meeting in the morning to prepare for a demonstration, inviting other groups, and spent the afternoon making effigies, banners and placards.
The Mayor was informed what was afoot and ordered the Chief of Police, Captain Thomas Lukens, to investigate.
Certain that there would be no trouble on Christmas Day, the mayor then went home to his family. Soon after, Captain Lukens heard that the march had started. He ordered 100 policemen to a post opposite the Bishop's Chancery beside the cathedral.
The march began soon after 10 p.m., with over 500 men led by a drum section, and followed by 100 women. In addition to banners and placards, several of the men carried a wooden scaffold from which was hanging an effigy
Effigy
An effigy is a representation of a person, especially in the form of sculpture or some other three-dimensional form.The term is usually associated with full-length figures of a deceased person depicted in stone or wood on church monuments. These most often lie supine with hands together in prayer,...
of the Cardinal.
When the police advanced to meet the demonstrators, one of the marchers fired a shot. The police charged and a general brawl ensued in which two policemen and fifteen German demonstrators were wounded, one fatally.
Over 60 demonstrators were arrested.
Aftermath
The legal proceedings that followed were strongly biased in favor of the Germans. After the police had testified, the prosecuting attorney said no proof had been given that there was intent to do violence to Cardinal Bedini. The court then dismissed the indictment on the basis that the case had been abandoned by the prosecution. The publisher of the Hochwachter was arrested, but later discharged when no proof was found of a conspiracy to murder the Nuncio. A meeting was called to protest the arrests and demand that the mayor resign.Although the mayor kept his job, the Chief of Police was dismissed.
Feelings ran so high in the later part of Bedini's visit that in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
he had to be smuggled into the ship for his return voyage.
Although Cincinnati's Nativists had supported the German demonstrators, the incident continued to feed controversy over foreign immigration to America. Ultimately, the riot directly contributed to the rise of the anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic Know-Nothing Party and to conflicts with recent immigrants.
Two years later, in the Cincinnati riots of 1855
Cincinnati riots of 1855
The Cincinnati riots of 1855 were clashes between "nativists" and German-Americans. The nativists supported J.D. Taylor, the mayoral candidate for the anti-immigrant American Party, also known as the Know-Nothing Party....
, a mob of Know-Nothing supporters carried out a pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
of the German immigrants in Over-the-Rhine.