Guide to the Eyewitness account of the Snow Riot, August 1835Eyewitness account of the Snow Riot C0291Published by George Mason University Libraries Contact Information:Fenwick Library (2FL) George Mason University Fairfax, Virginia 22030-4444 USA Phone: (703) 993-2220 Fax: (703) 993-8911 Email: speccoll@gmu.edu URL: http://sca.gmu.edu
Historical noteAccording to a 2005 Washington Post article by Jefferson Morley, the Snow Riot of August 1835 began with a young African American enslaved man named Arthur Bowen drunkenly carrying an axe into his mistress's bedroom. The incident inflamed white sentiments, particularly among Irish laborers who already resented competition from African Americans for manual jobs. The laborers formed a mob, attempted to lynch Bowen, and attacked African American businesses and institutions, including a restaurant owned by Beverly Snow, by whose name the riot became known (Morely, 'The Snow Riot'). Return to the Table of Contents Scope and ContentLetter, probably from Mary Elizabeth Fendall (according to dealer information accompanying the letter), to a woman named Else. The letter describes the 1835 Snow Riot, a racially motivated riot in Washington, D.C. in which young white men attacked and destroyed property belonging to Beverly Snow and other African Americans in the city. Return to the Table of Contents ArrangementLetter is boxed by itself. Return to the Table of Contents RestrictionsAccess RestrictionsThere are no access restrictions. Use RestrictionsThere are no restrictions on personal use. Permission to publish material from the Eyewitness account of the Snow Riot must be obtained from Special Collections and Archives, George Mason University Libraries. Return to the Table of Contents Index Terms
Subjects:
Race riots--Washington (D.C.)
Return to the Table of Contents Administrative InformationAlternative Form AvailableDigitized version of this item can be found here: Eyewitness Account of the Snow Riot. Preferred CitationEyewitness account of the Snow Riot, C0291, Special Collections and Archives, George Mason University Libraries. Acquisition InformationPurchased by Special Collections Research Center circa 2005. Processing InformationProcessing completed by Elizabeth Beckman in June 2016. EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in June 2016. Finding Aid updated by Amanda Brent in January 2019. Return to the Table of Contents BibliographyMorely, Jefferson, 'The Snow Riot.' Washington Post, February 6, 2005. |