1 00:00:01,350 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,390 --> 00:00:15,060 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. Wilson. 3 00:00:15,280 --> 00:00:19,110 Speaker 1: And I'm Holly Frey. I was looking around for something 4 00:00:19,230 --> 00:00:23,930 Speaker 1: Bavaria-related ahead of our trip to Munich when we're going 5 00:00:23,950 --> 00:00:27,990 Speaker 1: to go to Oktoberfest, among many other things. And I 6 00:00:28,070 --> 00:00:32,229 Speaker 1: wrote this episode before that trip, but it will probably 7 00:00:32,310 --> 00:00:35,270 Speaker 1: come out while we're there, I think. While I was 8 00:00:35,310 --> 00:00:38,170 Speaker 1: looking for something interesting to talk about, I stumbled across 9 00:00:38,310 --> 00:00:41,110 Speaker 1: a mention of a beer riot that took place in 10 00:00:41,170 --> 00:00:44,610 Speaker 1: Munich in 1844. But then as I was getting my 11 00:00:44,690 --> 00:00:47,850 Speaker 1: research together, having decided that was what I was going 12 00:00:47,870 --> 00:00:51,090 Speaker 1: to talk about, I kept getting search results for a 13 00:00:51,229 --> 00:00:57,340 Speaker 1: different beer riot, which was in Chicago in 1855. Sometimes 14 00:00:58,150 --> 00:01:03,930 Speaker 1: the results also included Hitler's beer hall putsch in 1923. 15 00:01:03,930 --> 00:01:07,190 Speaker 1: This episode is not about that at all. That is 16 00:01:07,230 --> 00:01:10,510 Speaker 1: a whole other thing. Instead, it is a bit of 17 00:01:10,550 --> 00:01:13,860 Speaker 1: a double feature on these two beer riots, which have 18 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:17,320 Speaker 1: a little bit of overlap in what led up to them. Also, 19 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:19,700 Speaker 1: we've talked on the show before a number of times 20 00:01:19,780 --> 00:01:26,130 Speaker 1: about how the word riot doesn't typically capture... all the 21 00:01:26,190 --> 00:01:29,429 Speaker 1: nuance of a lot of the things that are called riots, 22 00:01:30,110 --> 00:01:33,449 Speaker 1: but that is consistently what both of these incidents are 23 00:01:33,510 --> 00:01:36,670 Speaker 1: called in everything that I've read about both of them. 24 00:01:37,500 --> 00:01:41,140 Speaker 1: So the earliest archaeological evidence of people brewing beer in 25 00:01:41,180 --> 00:01:47,220 Speaker 1: Bavaria goes back almost 3,000 years. The oldest continually operating 26 00:01:47,300 --> 00:01:51,540 Speaker 1: brewery in Bavaria is the Wiensteffen Monastery Brewery, which has 27 00:01:51,580 --> 00:01:56,070 Speaker 1: existed for about 1,000 years. While there were monasteries and 28 00:01:56,230 --> 00:01:59,410 Speaker 1: other breweries that were making beer in larger amounts for 29 00:01:59,530 --> 00:02:03,030 Speaker 1: most of that history, a lot of brewing happened at 30 00:02:03,070 --> 00:02:06,850 Speaker 1: people's homes for their own use using a range of ingredients. 31 00:02:07,870 --> 00:02:11,000 Speaker 1: Toward the end of the 15th century, Bavaria passed its 32 00:02:11,060 --> 00:02:15,860 Speaker 1: first beer purity law, regulating how beer was made and 33 00:02:15,900 --> 00:02:20,079 Speaker 1: mandating that it could include only hops, clean water, and malt, 34 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:24,060 Speaker 1: which was made from barley. They did not really understand 35 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:28,090 Speaker 1: yeast yet. So beer was being fermented with yeast that 36 00:02:28,100 --> 00:02:31,389 Speaker 1: was naturally present in the environment. They were not adding 37 00:02:32,010 --> 00:02:36,290 Speaker 1: yeast as an ingredient on purpose at that point. Those 38 00:02:36,510 --> 00:02:42,180 Speaker 1: earliest laws were followed by the Reinheitsgebot in 1516, which 39 00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:45,780 Speaker 1: regulated the quality and safety of beer and also set 40 00:02:45,820 --> 00:02:49,980 Speaker 1: the price for a mass of beer. The mass is 41 00:02:50,139 --> 00:02:53,710 Speaker 1: a measure of beer that is standardized as a liter today. 42 00:02:54,510 --> 00:02:58,090 Speaker 1: After the introduction of these laws, brewing shifted away from 43 00:02:58,150 --> 00:03:01,290 Speaker 1: being a task that people did at home to being 44 00:03:01,330 --> 00:03:05,530 Speaker 1: a commercial product. By the mid-19th century, the Bavarian government 45 00:03:05,590 --> 00:03:08,910 Speaker 1: controlled the brewing industry, and twice a year it would 46 00:03:08,970 --> 00:03:12,010 Speaker 1: set the price for a mass of beer. This was 47 00:03:12,070 --> 00:03:15,130 Speaker 1: called the beersatz, and it changed twice a year because 48 00:03:15,310 --> 00:03:18,230 Speaker 1: summer beer was more expensive to brew than winter beer. 49 00:03:18,389 --> 00:03:21,160 Speaker 1: So most of the time, the cost of a mass 50 00:03:21,190 --> 00:03:24,620 Speaker 1: was a little more in the summer. This pricing system 51 00:03:24,860 --> 00:03:27,679 Speaker 1: also incorporated the fact that brewers had to pay a 52 00:03:27,740 --> 00:03:31,240 Speaker 1: tax on their beer. Beer became a huge part of 53 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:34,299 Speaker 1: the culture and way of life in Bavaria. On a 54 00:03:34,380 --> 00:03:37,660 Speaker 1: practical level, beer could be safer to drink than water, 55 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:41,660 Speaker 1: especially as the Bavarian government set up this whole food 56 00:03:41,760 --> 00:03:44,960 Speaker 1: safety and quality assurance system for beer and the places 57 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:48,260 Speaker 1: that beer was brewed. Beer was also a source of 58 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 1: calories that people really relied on, especially when other food 59 00:03:52,460 --> 00:03:56,650 Speaker 1: became more expensive. Consumed in small amounts throughout the day, 60 00:03:56,830 --> 00:04:00,170 Speaker 1: beer was perceived as a wholesome food that was suitable 61 00:04:00,210 --> 00:04:05,620 Speaker 1: for practically everyone, like a liquid bread. In the mid-19th century, 62 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 1: a middle-class man drank an average of half a mass 63 00:04:08,780 --> 00:04:12,080 Speaker 1: of beer a day, while poorer men who were living 64 00:04:12,260 --> 00:04:16,110 Speaker 1: mostly on bread and beer and might have meals that 65 00:04:16,150 --> 00:04:19,610 Speaker 1: were only beer, they often drank two or three times 66 00:04:19,690 --> 00:04:24,140 Speaker 1: that much. On a more intangible level, beer was interconnected 67 00:04:24,180 --> 00:04:28,900 Speaker 1: with the idea of a warm, gregarious conviviality and fellowship, 68 00:04:29,060 --> 00:04:34,540 Speaker 1: described as gemütlichkeit. Beer and the socializing that naturally came 69 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:38,539 Speaker 1: along with it were connected to community and well-being, individually 70 00:04:38,740 --> 00:04:43,580 Speaker 1: and as a society. Taverns and breweries and outdoor beer 71 00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:46,580 Speaker 1: gardens set up in the summer were places to gather 72 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:50,160 Speaker 1: and to relax and to look for and to offer support. 73 00:04:51,029 --> 00:04:53,630 Speaker 1: People who had just arrived in town or city would 74 00:04:53,670 --> 00:04:56,290 Speaker 1: go to the tavern and ask around about where to 75 00:04:56,350 --> 00:04:59,670 Speaker 1: find work, and the networks that developed among regulars at 76 00:04:59,710 --> 00:05:03,219 Speaker 1: a given tavern turned into support systems for each other 77 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:07,360 Speaker 1: and for newcomers. So beer was seen as a social good, 78 00:05:07,660 --> 00:05:11,220 Speaker 1: and the people of Bavaria demanded good beer, to the 79 00:05:11,279 --> 00:05:14,529 Speaker 1: point of thinking of it as a right. This also 80 00:05:14,589 --> 00:05:18,130 Speaker 1: meant that drinking beer was almost mandatory. People who didn't 81 00:05:18,170 --> 00:05:21,210 Speaker 1: want to for whatever reason were seen as not fitting 82 00:05:21,330 --> 00:05:25,490 Speaker 1: in and could actually be ostracized. With all that in mind, 83 00:05:25,550 --> 00:05:29,359 Speaker 1: it might be surprising that Munich's first Oktoberfest, which is 84 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:33,720 Speaker 1: really associated with beer today, was not really about beer. 85 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:37,300 Speaker 1: There was already a tradition of smaller festivals meant to 86 00:05:37,339 --> 00:05:40,340 Speaker 1: kind of finish off the remaining kegs of beer so 87 00:05:40,380 --> 00:05:42,820 Speaker 1: that they would be available for a new batch of 88 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:46,170 Speaker 1: beer to be brewed. But that is not what's recognized 89 00:05:46,230 --> 00:05:50,150 Speaker 1: as the first Oktoberfest. That was the celebration of the 90 00:05:50,250 --> 00:05:56,140 Speaker 1: royal wedding of Princess Teresa of Saxony-Hilberghausen and Crown Prince Ludwig. 91 00:05:56,820 --> 00:06:00,540 Speaker 1: This was a five-day festival with horse races on festival 92 00:06:00,580 --> 00:06:05,099 Speaker 1: grounds outside the city gates with those grounds named Theresienwiese 93 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:09,409 Speaker 1: after the princess. The king at the time was Ludwig's father, 94 00:06:09,550 --> 00:06:13,730 Speaker 1: Maximilian I Joseph. He's also known as Max Joseph. He 95 00:06:13,750 --> 00:06:16,610 Speaker 1: was a popular king, and he positioned himself sort of 96 00:06:16,670 --> 00:06:20,429 Speaker 1: as a monarch of the people. Max Joseph had become 97 00:06:20,529 --> 00:06:24,180 Speaker 1: king when Bavaria transitioned from an electorate to a kingdom, 98 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:27,820 Speaker 1: which came about because of the Treaty of Pressburg in 99 00:06:27,820 --> 00:06:31,440 Speaker 1: 1805 between Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French, and Holy 100 00:06:31,500 --> 00:06:35,730 Speaker 1: Roman Emperor Francis II. There is, of course, a whole 101 00:06:35,770 --> 00:06:39,510 Speaker 1: huge backstory there, but Max Joseph was trying to position 102 00:06:39,550 --> 00:06:43,270 Speaker 1: Bavaria as a modern kingdom rather than a medieval duchy. 103 00:06:43,910 --> 00:06:47,550 Speaker 1: He had made all kinds of reforms, including abolishing serfdom 104 00:06:47,690 --> 00:06:52,390 Speaker 1: and establishing some universal liberties under a new constitution. His 105 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:55,440 Speaker 1: son's wedding was meant to be a celebration for all 106 00:06:55,460 --> 00:07:00,909 Speaker 1: of Bavaria, and about 40,000 people attended. Beer became part 107 00:07:00,950 --> 00:07:04,789 Speaker 1: of Oktoberfest as it morphed into an annual celebration in 108 00:07:04,870 --> 00:07:09,870 Speaker 1: subsequent years. Ludwig ascended to the throne of Bavaria on 109 00:07:09,950 --> 00:07:14,910 Speaker 1: October 13, 1825. Initially, he maintained a lot of the 110 00:07:14,990 --> 00:07:18,809 Speaker 1: progressive reforms that his father had implemented, and he also 111 00:07:18,890 --> 00:07:22,060 Speaker 1: embarked on a whole lot of new building projects. He 112 00:07:22,100 --> 00:07:25,100 Speaker 1: was trying to turn Munich into a more modern city. 113 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:28,160 Speaker 1: He was also a patron of the arts, and his 114 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:33,100 Speaker 1: art collection became a part of newly established museums. But 115 00:07:33,180 --> 00:07:36,860 Speaker 1: he was increasingly at odds with the Landtag or the 116 00:07:36,900 --> 00:07:40,960 Speaker 1: Bavarian Parliament, and then after a series of uprisings against 117 00:07:41,100 --> 00:07:46,640 Speaker 1: monarchies in Europe in 1830, he became a lot more reactionary, stubborn, 118 00:07:46,700 --> 00:07:51,610 Speaker 1: and autocratic. Ludwig's departure from many of his father's attitudes 119 00:07:51,690 --> 00:07:55,250 Speaker 1: and policies was, intersected with changes that were happening in 120 00:07:55,270 --> 00:07:59,920 Speaker 1: Bavaria and the way those changes affected ordinary people. All 121 00:07:59,960 --> 00:08:04,000 Speaker 1: of that fed into the beer riots of 1844. The 122 00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:08,900 Speaker 1: population of Munich almost doubled between 1810 and 1840, while 123 00:08:08,940 --> 00:08:14,040 Speaker 1: the total population of Bavaria had only grown by about 20%. 124 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:17,340 Speaker 1: Much of Munich's growth was, of course, driven by people 125 00:08:17,380 --> 00:08:22,290 Speaker 1: coming from smaller towns and villages looking for work. Bavaria 126 00:08:22,370 --> 00:08:27,450 Speaker 1: was industrializing, but slowly, and that industrialization was very recent. 127 00:08:27,910 --> 00:08:31,820 Speaker 1: Bavaria's first factory was a textile mill that opened in 1837. 128 00:08:31,820 --> 00:08:36,240 Speaker 1: There was a lot of demand for manual laborers to 129 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:41,610 Speaker 1: work on all of Ludwig's various building projects, and for masons, carpenters, 130 00:08:41,790 --> 00:08:46,000 Speaker 1: and glassworkers. But even with that increased demand, there were 131 00:08:46,059 --> 00:08:49,800 Speaker 1: not enough jobs for all of the newcomers. Often, these 132 00:08:49,940 --> 00:08:53,390 Speaker 1: were not people who planned to move to Munich permanently. 133 00:08:54,190 --> 00:08:57,050 Speaker 1: Munich was an employment hub, and people could go there 134 00:08:57,130 --> 00:09:00,250 Speaker 1: and find work in one of the outlying towns and villages, 135 00:09:00,550 --> 00:09:03,150 Speaker 1: so they would arrive expecting to stay for a few 136 00:09:03,190 --> 00:09:07,490 Speaker 1: days or maybe a few weeks. Vagrancy was criminalized, and 137 00:09:07,530 --> 00:09:09,930 Speaker 1: people who were not able to find work in Munich 138 00:09:09,950 --> 00:09:12,380 Speaker 1: were supposed to go back to where they had come from. 139 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:15,600 Speaker 1: If they didn't do that and they were caught begging 140 00:09:15,740 --> 00:09:18,880 Speaker 1: or loitering, they could be arrested and sent to a workhouse. 141 00:09:19,620 --> 00:09:22,020 Speaker 1: But if a person got to Munich and then couldn't 142 00:09:22,059 --> 00:09:24,179 Speaker 1: find a job, a lot of times they just did 143 00:09:24,260 --> 00:09:27,870 Speaker 1: not have money to go back to their hometown. Or 144 00:09:28,110 --> 00:09:30,210 Speaker 1: if they did find a job, it might not actually 145 00:09:30,309 --> 00:09:34,410 Speaker 1: pay them enough to support themselves, let alone afford travel 146 00:09:34,530 --> 00:09:36,330 Speaker 1: to go somewhere else to try to find a better 147 00:09:36,350 --> 00:09:41,040 Speaker 1: paying job. Like much of Europe, Bavaria had operated on 148 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:43,580 Speaker 1: a system of trade guilds, but one of the things 149 00:09:43,620 --> 00:09:46,479 Speaker 1: that Ludwig's father had done was to have the state 150 00:09:46,679 --> 00:09:50,120 Speaker 1: take control of the trades. So the guilds still existed, 151 00:09:50,350 --> 00:09:53,290 Speaker 1: and journeymen still went through an apprenticeship with a master. 152 00:09:53,890 --> 00:09:56,550 Speaker 1: But the guilds weren't nearly as powerful as they once 153 00:09:56,610 --> 00:09:59,710 Speaker 1: had been, and they didn't have as many resources to 154 00:09:59,750 --> 00:10:03,300 Speaker 1: do things. like financially support journeymen as they were learning 155 00:10:03,340 --> 00:10:07,280 Speaker 1: their craft. The influx of people to Munich also meant 156 00:10:07,300 --> 00:10:10,209 Speaker 1: that there weren't nearly enough masters to train all of 157 00:10:10,250 --> 00:10:14,250 Speaker 1: the new journeymen. New journeymen also realized that most of 158 00:10:14,290 --> 00:10:17,850 Speaker 1: them would never become masters. There just was not enough 159 00:10:17,910 --> 00:10:21,960 Speaker 1: demand for master-level work for all of them. There were 160 00:10:21,980 --> 00:10:24,580 Speaker 1: also way too many journeymen for the state to keep 161 00:10:24,760 --> 00:10:27,780 Speaker 1: up with, even though the state had taken on much 162 00:10:27,820 --> 00:10:33,370 Speaker 1: of that responsibility. Max Joseph had also secularized Bavaria and 163 00:10:33,520 --> 00:10:38,190 Speaker 1: confiscated monasteries and land and other property that had belonged 164 00:10:38,309 --> 00:10:41,640 Speaker 1: to the Catholic Church. Ludwig later returned a lot of 165 00:10:41,660 --> 00:10:45,900 Speaker 1: this property, but Max Joseph's secularization policy put an end 166 00:10:46,059 --> 00:10:47,780 Speaker 1: to a lot of the work that the church had 167 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:50,440 Speaker 1: been doing to care for the sick and the poor. 168 00:10:51,340 --> 00:10:54,760 Speaker 1: While the Bavarian government set up some programs to help widows, 169 00:10:54,980 --> 00:10:59,110 Speaker 1: sick people, the elderly, and military veterans, there just was 170 00:10:59,210 --> 00:11:02,030 Speaker 1: not a lot of support for the poor more broadly 171 00:11:02,130 --> 00:11:06,550 Speaker 1: anymore or for young, able people who just couldn't find work. 172 00:11:07,630 --> 00:11:12,030 Speaker 1: Bavaria also had a system of mandatory military service, but 173 00:11:12,270 --> 00:11:15,689 Speaker 1: soldiers were paid very poorly, and many of them also 174 00:11:15,809 --> 00:11:19,740 Speaker 1: needed to have other jobs to support themselves. In Munich, 175 00:11:20,100 --> 00:11:23,920 Speaker 1: they faced the same work shortages as everyone else. A 176 00:11:23,980 --> 00:11:26,800 Speaker 1: lot of soldiers in and around Munich had also come 177 00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:29,079 Speaker 1: from the country, and they were used to a very 178 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:33,350 Speaker 1: different way of life with a much lower cost of living. So, 179 00:11:33,590 --> 00:11:37,870 Speaker 1: in Munich in the 1840s, food was expensive, Rent was expensive. 180 00:11:38,290 --> 00:11:41,550 Speaker 1: There weren't enough jobs. A lot of the support systems 181 00:11:41,610 --> 00:11:45,110 Speaker 1: that had existed previously didn't exist anymore, or they were 182 00:11:45,170 --> 00:11:49,510 Speaker 1: greatly reduced. Young single men in particular were often living 183 00:11:49,550 --> 00:11:54,209 Speaker 1: in rented rooms that were overcrowded and infested with various vermin, 184 00:11:54,590 --> 00:11:57,609 Speaker 1: and they were relying on breweries and taverns for most 185 00:11:57,630 --> 00:12:00,589 Speaker 1: of their social activity and their food and their beer. 186 00:12:01,309 --> 00:12:04,030 Speaker 1: So when the price of beer increased, people got really upset. 187 00:12:04,660 --> 00:12:06,820 Speaker 1: We're going to talk more about that after we pause 188 00:12:06,860 --> 00:12:18,949 Speaker 1: for a sponsor break. As we said earlier, in the 189 00:12:19,170 --> 00:12:22,670 Speaker 1: 19th century, the Bavarian government set the price of beer 190 00:12:22,790 --> 00:12:25,069 Speaker 1: twice a year, and it was normally a little more 191 00:12:25,110 --> 00:12:28,439 Speaker 1: expensive in the summer. The summer was also when a 192 00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:31,900 Speaker 1: lot of laborers made most of their money. The weather 193 00:12:31,940 --> 00:12:35,720 Speaker 1: was better and the days were longer, so 13-hour days 194 00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:38,600 Speaker 1: were typical in the summer. And then in the winter, 195 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:41,400 Speaker 1: a person might work sporadically or maybe not at all. 196 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:44,520 Speaker 1: So in the summer when the beer was more expensive, 197 00:12:44,610 --> 00:12:48,110 Speaker 1: people were also drinking more of it, both to quench 198 00:12:48,170 --> 00:12:52,329 Speaker 1: their thirst and to keep themselves going through these longer 199 00:12:52,370 --> 00:12:56,530 Speaker 1: days of work. Drinking beer could be less expensive than 200 00:12:56,590 --> 00:12:59,130 Speaker 1: paying for other food, but it still really added up. 201 00:12:59,270 --> 00:13:02,929 Speaker 1: So for a young man doing manual labor, a mass 202 00:13:02,990 --> 00:13:06,230 Speaker 1: of beer could cost twice as much as his daily 203 00:13:06,330 --> 00:13:09,510 Speaker 1: rent on his room, and he was often drinking two 204 00:13:09,570 --> 00:13:12,949 Speaker 1: or three mass of beer a day. Beer prices started 205 00:13:12,990 --> 00:13:16,080 Speaker 1: to climb in the 1840s as a series of bad 206 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:20,630 Speaker 1: harvests made grain more expensive. It was obvious that people 207 00:13:20,670 --> 00:13:23,309 Speaker 1: were unhappy about this, but there were limits on how 208 00:13:23,350 --> 00:13:28,460 Speaker 1: they could express that frustration. Insulting the government's decisions was 209 00:13:28,580 --> 00:13:32,140 Speaker 1: considered to be the same thing as insulting the monarch, and, quote, 210 00:13:32,620 --> 00:13:37,160 Speaker 1: wounding the king's honor was actually a crime. It seemed 211 00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:39,480 Speaker 1: like there was an increase in the number of people 212 00:13:39,540 --> 00:13:43,080 Speaker 1: who were arrested for things like insulting the gendarmes and 213 00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:47,280 Speaker 1: publicly swearing or complaining in the 1840s, But there's no 214 00:13:47,340 --> 00:13:50,939 Speaker 1: documentation for what people actually said when they were arrested 215 00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:54,640 Speaker 1: on these occasions. Yeah, it's possible that this was just 216 00:13:54,700 --> 00:13:58,179 Speaker 1: a cranky time and that other things are going on. 217 00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:03,819 Speaker 1: Everybody's feeling fussy. Yeah. We definitely have a trend sometimes 218 00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:06,420 Speaker 1: of getting a lot more angry email when there are 219 00:14:06,500 --> 00:14:08,890 Speaker 1: heat waves happening, and that was one of the things 220 00:14:08,929 --> 00:14:11,610 Speaker 1: that I thought of when I saw this data about 221 00:14:11,710 --> 00:14:16,900 Speaker 1: spikes in arrests for public complaining. On May 1st of 1843, 222 00:14:16,900 --> 00:14:20,430 Speaker 1: the Biersatz rose to six and a half kreutzer for 223 00:14:20,470 --> 00:14:24,550 Speaker 1: a massive beer. That was a full kreutzer more than 224 00:14:24,590 --> 00:14:28,220 Speaker 1: it had been the summer before. A brawl broke out 225 00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:31,479 Speaker 1: in a tavern that afternoon, which might have been related 226 00:14:31,540 --> 00:14:34,190 Speaker 1: to that price increase, but it's not entirely clear yet. 227 00:14:35,110 --> 00:14:39,590 Speaker 1: People were also posting anonymous notes around Munich, including in 228 00:14:39,630 --> 00:14:42,930 Speaker 1: the area around the royal residence. These notes were generally 229 00:14:43,010 --> 00:14:47,800 Speaker 1: perceived as coming from uneducated workers and other lower-class people. 230 00:14:47,840 --> 00:14:51,280 Speaker 1: They tended to be written on cheap paper in poor 231 00:14:51,380 --> 00:14:55,480 Speaker 1: handwriting with words that were misspelled or spelled out phonetically. 232 00:14:56,450 --> 00:15:00,030 Speaker 1: These anonymous notes did reference the price of beer as 233 00:15:00,110 --> 00:15:03,340 Speaker 1: well as other issues like how poorly paid the soldiers 234 00:15:03,410 --> 00:15:06,020 Speaker 1: were and how much the king was spending on all 235 00:15:06,040 --> 00:15:10,860 Speaker 1: of his building projects. Various brewers started announcing that they 236 00:15:10,900 --> 00:15:14,240 Speaker 1: would sell their beer for lower than the official beer sots. 237 00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:17,420 Speaker 1: This was a maximum price, not a minimum, but of 238 00:15:17,490 --> 00:15:21,410 Speaker 1: course beer was typically sold for the maximum amount possible. 239 00:15:22,310 --> 00:15:26,070 Speaker 1: The royally owned Hofbrauhaus announced that because of public demand, 240 00:15:26,310 --> 00:15:29,950 Speaker 1: it would sell beer for five Kreutzer for May and June, 241 00:15:30,330 --> 00:15:32,550 Speaker 1: but that the price would go back to the official 242 00:15:32,610 --> 00:15:37,710 Speaker 1: beer sats level in July. That October, the king's advisors 243 00:15:37,790 --> 00:15:40,610 Speaker 1: encouraged him to reduce the beer sats for the winter. 244 00:15:41,310 --> 00:15:43,670 Speaker 1: It was set at five and a half Kreutzer, which 245 00:15:43,770 --> 00:15:47,370 Speaker 1: was not enough of a drop to really relieve people's dissatisfaction. 246 00:15:48,300 --> 00:15:51,880 Speaker 1: The government also increased it to six kreutzer for March 247 00:15:51,960 --> 00:15:55,490 Speaker 1: and April in response to the rising grain prices. The 248 00:15:55,550 --> 00:16:00,610 Speaker 1: anonymous notes continued, including ones that featured satirical poems and 249 00:16:00,710 --> 00:16:04,240 Speaker 1: criticized public officials and even called for the overthrow of 250 00:16:04,300 --> 00:16:08,880 Speaker 1: the king. Some also said Long Live Maximilian, which was 251 00:16:08,940 --> 00:16:12,040 Speaker 1: the king's son and the crown prince. One note that 252 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:15,150 Speaker 1: was left near the royal residence said in German, if 253 00:16:15,210 --> 00:16:19,230 Speaker 1: you want affordable beer and bread, beat the king dead. 254 00:16:20,430 --> 00:16:24,540 Speaker 1: In February of 1844, the government set the summer beer 255 00:16:24,580 --> 00:16:27,700 Speaker 1: sats at six and a half Kreuzer, and the Ministry 256 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:32,030 Speaker 1: of the Interior announced the price publicly in April. The 257 00:16:32,100 --> 00:16:34,540 Speaker 1: date for this new price to go into effect was 258 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:38,420 Speaker 1: May 1st, 1844, which was also the wedding day of 259 00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:43,140 Speaker 1: King Ludwig's daughter Hildegard to Archduke Albert of Austria. This 260 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:47,840 Speaker 1: royal wedding added to people's discontent and drew comparisons to 261 00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:52,380 Speaker 1: Ludwig's own wedding in 1810. There was nothing comparable to 262 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:56,840 Speaker 1: the festivities that had drawn 40,000 people. People complained that 263 00:16:56,880 --> 00:16:59,860 Speaker 1: there were no fireworks planned, something that people could see 264 00:16:59,960 --> 00:17:04,109 Speaker 1: regardless of their social class, and that the celebratory parade 265 00:17:04,150 --> 00:17:07,330 Speaker 1: was not going through the neighborhoods where poor people lived. 266 00:17:08,230 --> 00:17:11,270 Speaker 1: People had been expecting a price increase and had started 267 00:17:11,350 --> 00:17:15,680 Speaker 1: planning a demonstration before that increase was even announced. The 268 00:17:15,740 --> 00:17:18,780 Speaker 1: demonstration started on the evening of May 1st, after the 269 00:17:18,820 --> 00:17:23,460 Speaker 1: wedding ceremony was over. One account was from the Matterbrau Brewery, 270 00:17:23,859 --> 00:17:27,400 Speaker 1: but something similar played out at breweries and taverns all 271 00:17:27,600 --> 00:17:31,710 Speaker 1: over Munich. At Matterbrow, a group of soldiers ordered beer, 272 00:17:31,830 --> 00:17:34,409 Speaker 1: saying that they would only pay six kreutzer for it. 273 00:17:34,859 --> 00:17:37,060 Speaker 1: The proprietor told them that they would have to pay 274 00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:39,940 Speaker 1: the full price, and then they all started banging their 275 00:17:39,980 --> 00:17:43,800 Speaker 1: glasses on the table in unison. When the gendarmes arrived 276 00:17:43,820 --> 00:17:46,200 Speaker 1: to try to calm them down, a group of laborers 277 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:48,780 Speaker 1: came over to the table, and then somebody whistled, which 278 00:17:48,820 --> 00:17:52,129 Speaker 1: was the agreed-upon signal for them to start smashing things. 279 00:17:52,869 --> 00:17:57,590 Speaker 1: They broke glasses, shattered windows, turned over the tables, broke chairs, 280 00:17:57,690 --> 00:18:01,790 Speaker 1: and did other damage. There were 33 breweries in Munich, 281 00:18:01,910 --> 00:18:05,609 Speaker 1: and all of them were damaged in this uprising. The 282 00:18:05,650 --> 00:18:09,070 Speaker 1: crowd also attacked taverns that were selling the brewery's beer. 283 00:18:09,830 --> 00:18:12,530 Speaker 1: For the most part, the crowd did things like breaking 284 00:18:12,590 --> 00:18:16,189 Speaker 1: windows and furniture and glassware, but they didn't try to 285 00:18:16,250 --> 00:18:19,929 Speaker 1: damage or destroy the brewing equipment. Most of the people 286 00:18:19,990 --> 00:18:23,260 Speaker 1: who took part in this wave of vandalism were journeymen 287 00:18:23,380 --> 00:18:28,690 Speaker 1: or soldiers, so they faced similar economic circumstances. The soldiers 288 00:18:28,750 --> 00:18:31,909 Speaker 1: were also angry because they had previously had a stipend 289 00:18:32,250 --> 00:18:35,840 Speaker 1: to offset the rising cost of food, and that stipend 290 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:39,119 Speaker 1: had just been repealed, something that had been announced on 291 00:18:39,220 --> 00:18:43,500 Speaker 1: April 30th. The royal wedding also took place during the soldiers' 292 00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:47,880 Speaker 1: annual leave. So this confluence of factors making the soldiers 293 00:18:47,940 --> 00:18:51,920 Speaker 1: both angry and idle and available to participate in this 294 00:18:52,040 --> 00:18:57,310 Speaker 1: uprising was described as unfortunate. It seems like the higher-ups 295 00:18:57,750 --> 00:19:00,340 Speaker 1: sort of went, we could have planned that better, maybe. 296 00:19:00,359 --> 00:19:06,040 Speaker 1: The unrest went on for three days, including a demonstration 297 00:19:06,100 --> 00:19:09,500 Speaker 1: outside of the theater where the royal family was. This 298 00:19:09,660 --> 00:19:12,760 Speaker 1: night at the theater was on the schedule for the wedding, 299 00:19:12,940 --> 00:19:16,939 Speaker 1: which had been publicly announced. Although the gendarmes kept the 300 00:19:16,980 --> 00:19:20,250 Speaker 1: demonstrators from entering the theater, they screamed and made enough 301 00:19:20,310 --> 00:19:24,740 Speaker 1: noise outside that they disrupted the performance. In addition to 302 00:19:24,780 --> 00:19:29,990 Speaker 1: the damage at Munich's breweries, the rioters damaged bakeries, butcher shops, 303 00:19:30,109 --> 00:19:33,909 Speaker 1: and royal buildings. They also blocked the streets with carts 304 00:19:34,050 --> 00:19:36,510 Speaker 1: and wagons so the gendarmes would have a harder time 305 00:19:36,570 --> 00:19:40,489 Speaker 1: responding to what was happening. The number of people involved 306 00:19:40,670 --> 00:19:44,189 Speaker 1: also made it difficult for the gendarmes to arrest perpetrators. 307 00:19:44,710 --> 00:19:47,130 Speaker 1: If they saw someone throw a rock through a window 308 00:19:47,190 --> 00:19:50,429 Speaker 1: or smash a table, that person usually vanished into the 309 00:19:50,470 --> 00:19:55,500 Speaker 1: crowd before police could get close. Thousands of people participated 310 00:19:55,660 --> 00:19:58,760 Speaker 1: in the riots, the vast majority of them men, but 311 00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:01,960 Speaker 1: only a tiny fraction of that were arrested, and most 312 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:04,720 Speaker 1: of those spent only a few hours in jail, or 313 00:20:05,160 --> 00:20:09,430 Speaker 1: if they were intoxicated, they stayed until they sobered up. Eventually, 314 00:20:09,550 --> 00:20:13,190 Speaker 1: cavalry and infantry units were dispatched to help the gendarmes. 315 00:20:13,330 --> 00:20:17,290 Speaker 1: There were only 115 gendarmes in all of Munich. That 316 00:20:17,330 --> 00:20:19,610 Speaker 1: was just not enough to deal with what was happening 317 00:20:19,750 --> 00:20:23,659 Speaker 1: all across the city. Some of the soldiers, though, didn't 318 00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:28,220 Speaker 1: seem all that motivated to intervene, considering how many soldiers 319 00:20:28,340 --> 00:20:32,460 Speaker 1: were among the demonstrators and how the reason for their rioting, 320 00:20:33,340 --> 00:20:35,820 Speaker 1: like those reasons were things that were affecting the soldiers 321 00:20:35,859 --> 00:20:39,980 Speaker 1: that were responding to the disorder as well. German political 322 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:43,290 Speaker 1: theorist Friedrich Engels wrote about the riot in the Chartist paper, 323 00:20:43,330 --> 00:20:47,150 Speaker 1: The Northern Star. In his words, quote, the working men 324 00:20:47,270 --> 00:20:51,409 Speaker 1: assembled in large masses, paraded through the streets, assailed the 325 00:20:51,450 --> 00:20:55,950 Speaker 1: public houses, smashing the windows, breaking the furniture, and destroying 326 00:20:56,130 --> 00:20:59,530 Speaker 1: everything in their reach in order to take revenge for 327 00:20:59,550 --> 00:21:03,770 Speaker 1: the enhanced price of their favorite drink. The military was 328 00:21:03,850 --> 00:21:06,890 Speaker 1: called in, but a regiment of horse guards, when commanded 329 00:21:06,950 --> 00:21:11,650 Speaker 1: to mount on horseback, refused to do so. The police, being, 330 00:21:11,869 --> 00:21:15,790 Speaker 1: as everywhere, obnoxious to the people, were severely beaten and 331 00:21:15,910 --> 00:21:20,469 Speaker 1: ill-treated by the rioters, and every station formerly occupied by 332 00:21:20,560 --> 00:21:25,500 Speaker 1: police officers had to be occupied by soldiers, who, being 333 00:21:25,580 --> 00:21:28,880 Speaker 1: upon good terms with the people, were considered less hostile 334 00:21:29,300 --> 00:21:34,060 Speaker 1: and showed an evident reluctance to interfere. Engels ended this 335 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:38,140 Speaker 1: article with, quote, if the people once know that they 336 00:21:38,180 --> 00:21:41,620 Speaker 1: can frighten the government out of their taxing system, they 337 00:21:41,700 --> 00:21:44,169 Speaker 1: will soon learn that it will be as easy to 338 00:21:44,210 --> 00:21:49,230 Speaker 1: frighten them as far as regards more serious affairs. On 339 00:21:49,270 --> 00:21:52,830 Speaker 1: May 2nd, brewers across Munich agreed to sell a mass 340 00:21:52,890 --> 00:21:56,919 Speaker 1: of beer at 6 Kreuzer. The Brewers Guild asked the 341 00:21:56,960 --> 00:22:00,560 Speaker 1: finance ministry for permission to do this. something the guild 342 00:22:00,660 --> 00:22:04,800 Speaker 1: was allowed to request under the existing law. The ministry 343 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:08,659 Speaker 1: approved the price drop and the breweries publicized it. For 344 00:22:08,700 --> 00:22:11,270 Speaker 1: some people, this was a victory, but for others, it 345 00:22:11,290 --> 00:22:14,270 Speaker 1: was a signal that they should push for even lower 346 00:22:14,350 --> 00:22:17,389 Speaker 1: beer prices as well as lower prices on other goods 347 00:22:17,430 --> 00:22:21,939 Speaker 1: like meat and bread. So the disorder continued. During the 348 00:22:22,010 --> 00:22:25,750 Speaker 1: royal wedding parade, a lot of spectators stood silently as 349 00:22:25,790 --> 00:22:28,570 Speaker 1: the king passed by, but then they really cheered for 350 00:22:28,590 --> 00:22:32,190 Speaker 1: the carriage that was carrying the crown prince. On May 3rd, 351 00:22:32,450 --> 00:22:35,850 Speaker 1: soldiers who weren't responding to the disorder were confined to 352 00:22:35,869 --> 00:22:39,990 Speaker 1: their barracks, and the demonstrators wound down. Two weeks later, 353 00:22:40,260 --> 00:22:42,940 Speaker 1: soldiers who had helped to restore order got a bonus 354 00:22:43,060 --> 00:22:46,300 Speaker 1: of seven kreutzer, or enough to buy a little more 355 00:22:46,359 --> 00:22:50,330 Speaker 1: than a measure of beer. An official investigation into the 356 00:22:50,390 --> 00:22:53,169 Speaker 1: riot concluded that it had been in response to the 357 00:22:53,190 --> 00:22:57,260 Speaker 1: beer price and nothing else, not really exploring all of 358 00:22:57,300 --> 00:23:00,080 Speaker 1: the other issues that were going on with unemployment and 359 00:23:00,180 --> 00:23:04,600 Speaker 1: cost and quality of living. There were also other similar 360 00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:09,740 Speaker 1: uprisings in other parts of Bavaria. In the fall of 1844, 361 00:23:09,740 --> 00:23:12,480 Speaker 1: the Biersatz was dropped to five and a half Kreutzer, 362 00:23:12,660 --> 00:23:16,570 Speaker 1: and the government considered canceling Oktoberfest because of the threat 363 00:23:16,619 --> 00:23:20,690 Speaker 1: of disorder. The festival went on, though, and Ludwig announced 364 00:23:20,770 --> 00:23:24,930 Speaker 1: that Hofbrauhaus would sell beer for only five Kreuzer. That 365 00:23:25,060 --> 00:23:27,580 Speaker 1: put a lot of pressure on the other breweries to 366 00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:31,880 Speaker 1: match that lower price. There was another wave of unrest 367 00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:35,220 Speaker 1: after Biersatz was set at seven and a quarter Kreuzer 368 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:39,560 Speaker 1: for the summer of 1846, something officials were so concerned 369 00:23:39,619 --> 00:23:42,619 Speaker 1: about that they announced it in February to try to 370 00:23:42,660 --> 00:23:45,119 Speaker 1: give people time to adjust to the idea before it 371 00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:49,600 Speaker 1: went into effect in May. Soldiers were given a stipend 372 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:53,080 Speaker 1: to help offset that price, but that led to worries 373 00:23:53,119 --> 00:23:56,080 Speaker 1: among brewers that soldiers would use their stipend to buy 374 00:23:56,119 --> 00:23:59,510 Speaker 1: beer for civilians or that it would make journeymen and 375 00:23:59,609 --> 00:24:04,490 Speaker 1: other low-paid people envious or angry. Ludwig's reign did not 376 00:24:04,550 --> 00:24:08,690 Speaker 1: last long after this. In 1846, he met past podcast 377 00:24:08,710 --> 00:24:11,929 Speaker 1: subject Lola Montes, had an affair with her, and was 378 00:24:11,990 --> 00:24:16,010 Speaker 1: forced to abdicate in 1848. This was during a wave 379 00:24:16,170 --> 00:24:20,130 Speaker 1: of revolutionary Republican revolts that took place across Europe that year, 380 00:24:20,530 --> 00:24:26,119 Speaker 1: including in Bavaria. While these revolts were anti-monarchical in nature, 381 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:29,960 Speaker 1: the end result in Bavaria was that Ludwig's son took 382 00:24:30,020 --> 00:24:35,139 Speaker 1: the throne as King Maximilian II on March 28th. That summer, 383 00:24:35,380 --> 00:24:37,960 Speaker 1: the Biersatz was set at five and a half kreutzer, 384 00:24:38,020 --> 00:24:41,020 Speaker 1: which was a price so low that the brewers complained 385 00:24:41,100 --> 00:24:44,470 Speaker 1: they could not afford it. After we take another quick 386 00:24:44,510 --> 00:24:47,410 Speaker 1: sponsor break, we're going to talk about a somewhat similar 387 00:24:47,470 --> 00:24:50,250 Speaker 1: uprising in Chicago in 1855. The lager beer riot, which 388 00:24:50,830 --> 00:24:57,200 Speaker 1: took place in Chicago in 1855, had some connections to 389 00:24:57,440 --> 00:25:01,540 Speaker 1: the riots that took place in Munich 11 years before that. 390 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:14,680 Speaker 1: Chicago was a fairly new city, first incorporated in 1837, 391 00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:18,359 Speaker 1: and it had a massive immigrant population. Roughly half of 392 00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:21,899 Speaker 1: the people living in Chicago in the mid-19th century were immigrants. 393 00:25:22,900 --> 00:25:25,980 Speaker 1: About a sixth of the city's population was German, and 394 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:29,659 Speaker 1: there was a large Irish population as well. A lot 395 00:25:29,820 --> 00:25:32,139 Speaker 1: of Germans fled to the U.S. in the wake of 396 00:25:32,180 --> 00:25:36,140 Speaker 1: that failed revolution in 1848. And people fled to the U.S. 397 00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:38,800 Speaker 1: from Ireland in the wake of the Great Hunger, which 398 00:25:38,820 --> 00:25:41,560 Speaker 1: we've covered on the show before. That started in 1845. 399 00:25:41,560 --> 00:25:46,660 Speaker 1: Beer had the same cultural and social importance for Chicago's 400 00:25:46,700 --> 00:25:50,840 Speaker 1: German immigrant community as it had in Bavaria. And beer 401 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:54,920 Speaker 1: was popular among Irish people as well. Bottled beer was 402 00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:57,770 Speaker 1: a specialty product at this time, not something that you 403 00:25:57,810 --> 00:26:01,450 Speaker 1: could just go buy at a market. So overwhelmingly, people 404 00:26:01,490 --> 00:26:04,030 Speaker 1: who wanted beer got it somewhere like a tavern or 405 00:26:04,090 --> 00:26:06,770 Speaker 1: a brewery or a beer garden set up by one 406 00:26:06,810 --> 00:26:11,570 Speaker 1: of these establishments in the summer. In Chicago's German immigrant communities, 407 00:26:11,810 --> 00:26:14,709 Speaker 1: taverns and beer gardens filled a social role that was 408 00:26:14,770 --> 00:26:18,409 Speaker 1: really similar to what we described in Bavaria. They were 409 00:26:18,510 --> 00:26:23,230 Speaker 1: often also decorated with German-themed decor and they sold German food. 410 00:26:24,130 --> 00:26:28,680 Speaker 1: Within these communities, they were seen as family-friendly social establishments, 411 00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:32,500 Speaker 1: different from the saloons and other establishments that sold spirits 412 00:26:32,580 --> 00:26:36,920 Speaker 1: rather than beer. People typically worked a six-day work week, 413 00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:40,940 Speaker 1: with Sunday as their only day off, so Sunday was 414 00:26:41,010 --> 00:26:44,390 Speaker 1: when a lot of people relaxed and socialized at a tavern. 415 00:26:45,240 --> 00:26:48,620 Speaker 1: But much of the non-immigrant community had a very different 416 00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:53,419 Speaker 1: perception of beer and drinking, associating it with degeneracy and 417 00:26:53,460 --> 00:26:58,860 Speaker 1: also associating immigrants with drunkenness. Friction around all of this 418 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:02,659 Speaker 1: escalated with the rise of the temperance movement, especially as 419 00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:06,550 Speaker 1: it focused on banning alcohol outright rather than the idea 420 00:27:06,630 --> 00:27:11,990 Speaker 1: of moderation. In 1855, surgeon Levi Boone was elected mayor 421 00:27:12,030 --> 00:27:15,780 Speaker 1: of Chicago. Boone was a member of the American party 422 00:27:15,900 --> 00:27:19,580 Speaker 1: also called the Know-Nothings. This party has come up in 423 00:27:19,600 --> 00:27:22,879 Speaker 1: a couple of episodes recently. They were a nativist and 424 00:27:23,020 --> 00:27:28,300 Speaker 1: anti-Catholic political party. This party's platform also included a threat 425 00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:31,939 Speaker 1: of populism, focusing on the needs of workers and common 426 00:27:32,020 --> 00:27:37,700 Speaker 1: people as long as those workers were native-born Protestant U.S. citizens. 427 00:27:38,540 --> 00:27:43,109 Speaker 1: The Know-Nothings were divided on the issue of slavery. Know-nothings 428 00:27:43,150 --> 00:27:46,450 Speaker 1: were elected to multiple other offices in Chicago in the 429 00:27:46,450 --> 00:27:52,229 Speaker 1: 1855 election as well. As mayor of Chicago, Boone implemented 430 00:27:52,390 --> 00:27:58,920 Speaker 1: multiple policies targeting the city's Catholic and immigrant populations. One 431 00:27:59,060 --> 00:28:02,980 Speaker 1: was the selective enforcement of an existing law that required 432 00:28:03,040 --> 00:28:07,600 Speaker 1: establishments that sold alcohol to be closed on Sundays. He 433 00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:11,500 Speaker 1: had police enforce this law only in immigrant neighborhoods, but 434 00:28:11,619 --> 00:28:15,120 Speaker 1: not in the rest of the city. He also increased 435 00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:18,430 Speaker 1: the fee for a license to sell alcohol from $ 50 436 00:28:18,090 --> 00:28:23,490 Speaker 1: to $ 300, with the license lasting for three months rather 437 00:28:23,530 --> 00:28:28,200 Speaker 1: than a year. There were 675 taverns in Chicago at 438 00:28:28,240 --> 00:28:31,980 Speaker 1: the time, and 625 of those were owned by Germans 439 00:28:32,140 --> 00:28:37,469 Speaker 1: or Irish people, so it disproportionately affected those communities. Boone 440 00:28:37,650 --> 00:28:41,190 Speaker 1: also reformed the police, merging the day and night watch 441 00:28:41,250 --> 00:28:45,910 Speaker 1: into one uniformed law enforcement force and increasing its size, 442 00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:51,280 Speaker 1: but without hiring any immigrants to fill those ranks. Brewers 443 00:28:51,420 --> 00:28:54,700 Speaker 1: and tavern owners in Chicago refused to pay this new 444 00:28:54,800 --> 00:28:58,110 Speaker 1: licensing fee, and some of them just stayed open on 445 00:28:58,180 --> 00:29:01,230 Speaker 1: Sundays anyway, even though it meant they might get arrested. 446 00:29:01,990 --> 00:29:05,950 Speaker 1: The newly enlarged police force did arrest people who broke 447 00:29:05,970 --> 00:29:09,280 Speaker 1: the Sunday closure law or who refused to pay the fee. 448 00:29:09,990 --> 00:29:13,920 Speaker 1: And eventually there were so many tavern owners awaiting trial 449 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:17,000 Speaker 1: that the city decided to try one case and then 450 00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:20,239 Speaker 1: apply its results to the rest of the charges. The 451 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:24,320 Speaker 1: date of this trial was set for April 20th, 1855, 452 00:29:24,320 --> 00:29:28,700 Speaker 1: although it was then delayed until April 21st. This date 453 00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:32,770 Speaker 1: was also set as the day for a demonstration. Irish 454 00:29:32,870 --> 00:29:36,140 Speaker 1: and German supporters gathered to march to the jail, accompanied 455 00:29:36,180 --> 00:29:39,209 Speaker 1: by fifes and drums, to free the people who were 456 00:29:39,250 --> 00:29:43,700 Speaker 1: being held for treason. The mayor deputized people in response 457 00:29:43,760 --> 00:29:47,600 Speaker 1: to this gathering mob and also summoned the militia and 458 00:29:47,660 --> 00:29:52,070 Speaker 1: set up cannons in front of City Hall. The demonstrators' 459 00:29:52,190 --> 00:29:55,520 Speaker 1: route required them to cross the Clark Street Bridge, which 460 00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:58,560 Speaker 1: was one of only three bridges connecting the north and 461 00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:01,310 Speaker 1: south sides of the city across the Chicago River. At 462 00:30:02,250 --> 00:30:05,250 Speaker 1: the time, this was a pivot bridge powered by hand 463 00:30:05,350 --> 00:30:07,830 Speaker 1: to allow ships to pass by it on the river. 464 00:30:08,900 --> 00:30:12,240 Speaker 1: Either the mayor ordered the bridge to be pivoted so 465 00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:14,840 Speaker 1: that the demonstrators could not cross it and get to 466 00:30:14,880 --> 00:30:19,030 Speaker 1: their destination, or somebody decided to do that with the 467 00:30:19,090 --> 00:30:23,530 Speaker 1: hope of preventing mass violence. I saw this described both 468 00:30:23,610 --> 00:30:27,390 Speaker 1: ways in different accounts. Although the mob could not cross 469 00:30:27,430 --> 00:30:32,390 Speaker 1: the bridge, demonstrators and police exchanged gunfire over the river. 470 00:30:33,410 --> 00:30:36,510 Speaker 1: One police officer, George Hunt, was struck in the arm, 471 00:30:36,570 --> 00:30:40,030 Speaker 1: and he had to have it amputated. Peter Marsden, who 472 00:30:40,070 --> 00:30:42,710 Speaker 1: had fired the shot that hit Hunt, was shot in 473 00:30:42,750 --> 00:30:45,290 Speaker 1: the back and killed while trying to flee the scene. 474 00:30:46,410 --> 00:30:50,450 Speaker 1: Other people were also shot but survived their injuries. At 475 00:30:50,490 --> 00:30:54,170 Speaker 1: least 60 people were arrested in conjunction with the lager 476 00:30:54,260 --> 00:30:59,260 Speaker 1: beer riots. Only 14 people were actually tried for their involvement, though, 477 00:30:59,660 --> 00:31:02,680 Speaker 1: and then only two of those were convicted. Sometimes this 478 00:31:02,780 --> 00:31:06,200 Speaker 1: is described as the first incident of civil disobedience in 479 00:31:06,260 --> 00:31:10,410 Speaker 1: the city of Chicago. As for its impact, the city 480 00:31:10,490 --> 00:31:15,590 Speaker 1: dropped the license fee from $ 300 to $ 100. But the 481 00:31:15,630 --> 00:31:19,430 Speaker 1: bigger outcome was a rise in civic involvement among Chicago's 482 00:31:19,630 --> 00:31:24,870 Speaker 1: Irish and German immigrant populations. Municipal elections were just not 483 00:31:24,910 --> 00:31:29,530 Speaker 1: something these communities had really been paying attention to. Most 484 00:31:29,550 --> 00:31:32,270 Speaker 1: of the services that are handled by city governments today 485 00:31:32,310 --> 00:31:37,710 Speaker 1: were managed by churches, charities, private businesses, and neighborhood associations. 486 00:31:38,310 --> 00:31:40,930 Speaker 1: So the people who had been voting in municipal elections 487 00:31:40,970 --> 00:31:44,770 Speaker 1: were mostly business and property owners. But after the lager 488 00:31:44,810 --> 00:31:49,570 Speaker 1: beer riots, Chicago's immigrant communities formed a coalition and voted 489 00:31:49,630 --> 00:31:53,760 Speaker 1: out the Know-Nothings the following year. The new government reduced 490 00:31:53,800 --> 00:31:57,520 Speaker 1: the fee for alcohol licenses and stopped enforcing the Sunday 491 00:31:57,600 --> 00:32:02,850 Speaker 1: closure law. Boone did not run for re-election. Joseph Medill, 492 00:32:02,890 --> 00:32:05,350 Speaker 1: who we covered on the show in December, tried to 493 00:32:05,410 --> 00:32:09,270 Speaker 1: start enforcing the Sunday closure law in 1874 when he 494 00:32:09,330 --> 00:32:12,550 Speaker 1: was mayor of Chicago, but he got so much pushback 495 00:32:12,590 --> 00:32:15,880 Speaker 1: about it that he dropped it. German immigrants to the U.S. 496 00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:19,060 Speaker 1: were also a big part of trends in beer and 497 00:32:19,140 --> 00:32:23,700 Speaker 1: other alcoholic beverages. Prior to the influx of German immigrants, 498 00:32:23,780 --> 00:32:26,680 Speaker 1: people were more likely to brew cider from apples or 499 00:32:26,760 --> 00:32:29,970 Speaker 1: other fruit. There wasn't a lot of barley being grown 500 00:32:30,030 --> 00:32:32,670 Speaker 1: for beer making, and the beer that was made was 501 00:32:32,710 --> 00:32:36,850 Speaker 1: more likely to be an English-style ale than a German-style lager. 502 00:32:37,710 --> 00:32:41,280 Speaker 1: German beer brewers also banded together to push back against 503 00:32:41,300 --> 00:32:45,500 Speaker 1: the Prohibition movement, with the United States Brewers Association founded 504 00:32:45,540 --> 00:32:50,590 Speaker 1: by German brewers in New York in 1862. There was 505 00:32:50,770 --> 00:32:56,300 Speaker 1: a hilarious-sounding reenactment of the lager beer riots in 2015 506 00:32:56,300 --> 00:33:01,240 Speaker 1: for the event's 160th anniversary. This was a fundraiser put 507 00:33:01,420 --> 00:33:04,830 Speaker 1: on by Pocket Guide to Hell to benefit Benton House. 508 00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:08,770 Speaker 1: Benton House was a settlement house in the Bridgeport neighborhood 509 00:33:08,790 --> 00:33:12,330 Speaker 1: of Chicago, and now it's a nonprofit social services organization. 510 00:33:13,150 --> 00:33:16,800 Speaker 1: So breweries from Chicago provided beer for this event, and 511 00:33:16,820 --> 00:33:20,660 Speaker 1: there were 10 Chicago brewers as the forces of law 512 00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:24,840 Speaker 1: and order who faced off against 10 Bridgeport citizens as 513 00:33:24,900 --> 00:33:29,890 Speaker 1: the Irish and German saloon keepers. They reenacted this exchange 514 00:33:29,950 --> 00:33:33,930 Speaker 1: of gunfire across the Chicago River by throwing dodgeballs at 515 00:33:34,050 --> 00:33:38,320 Speaker 1: one another in the Benton House Gymnasium. A review of 516 00:33:38,360 --> 00:33:43,240 Speaker 1: this event in Theater Journal described it as degenerating into chaos. 517 00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:47,370 Speaker 1: At one point, somebody accidentally turned the lights off, and 518 00:33:47,390 --> 00:33:52,150 Speaker 1: they were those really big overhead gymnasium lights that take 519 00:33:52,190 --> 00:33:54,410 Speaker 1: a while to come back on once they have been 520 00:33:54,450 --> 00:33:58,130 Speaker 1: turned off. And the organizers decided to allow things to 521 00:33:58,190 --> 00:34:03,040 Speaker 1: continue with the dodgeball throwing in just semi-darkness as they 522 00:34:03,100 --> 00:34:07,960 Speaker 1: slowly returned to normal. Oh, who doesn't want a little 523 00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:13,170 Speaker 1: darkness dodgeball? Do you have listener mail to finish this 524 00:34:13,270 --> 00:34:18,390 Speaker 1: one off? I do have listener mail. This email is 525 00:34:18,650 --> 00:34:23,820 Speaker 1: from Jennifer. And Jennifer wrote, I was thrilled to hear 526 00:34:23,840 --> 00:34:27,230 Speaker 1: the episode on the dinner in the Iguanodon. And when 527 00:34:27,270 --> 00:34:30,430 Speaker 1: you mentioned a possible future episode on the artist Benjamin 528 00:34:30,469 --> 00:34:33,670 Speaker 1: Waterhouse Hawkins, his life was a little wild and he 529 00:34:33,710 --> 00:34:37,459 Speaker 1: contributed a great deal to science education. He also has 530 00:34:37,540 --> 00:34:40,600 Speaker 1: connections to the United States and to an amazing institution 531 00:34:40,640 --> 00:34:43,730 Speaker 1: where I used to work. The first display of an 532 00:34:43,810 --> 00:34:48,410 Speaker 1: articulated dinosaur happened at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, 533 00:34:48,850 --> 00:34:52,820 Speaker 1: and Hawkins was the one who put the Hadrosaurus foculi together. 534 00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:57,440 Speaker 1: I don't think I said that scientific name right, so apologies. 535 00:34:58,320 --> 00:35:01,680 Speaker 1: The Academy has not only pictures of Hattie, as he 536 00:35:01,719 --> 00:35:04,759 Speaker 1: has been affectionately known, but about 10 years ago or so, 537 00:35:04,820 --> 00:35:08,020 Speaker 1: the Academy Library and Archives acquired a collection of Benjamin 538 00:35:08,080 --> 00:35:12,940 Speaker 1: Waterhouse Hawkins' original art from his family. I originally intended 539 00:35:13,020 --> 00:35:15,680 Speaker 1: to write to you about reaching out to the Academy 540 00:35:15,739 --> 00:35:18,000 Speaker 1: to learn more about the collection if you ever do 541 00:35:18,020 --> 00:35:21,250 Speaker 1: an episode on him. But this week, the Philadelphia and 542 00:35:21,310 --> 00:35:25,089 Speaker 1: international science community was devastated to learn that the museum 543 00:35:25,170 --> 00:35:28,250 Speaker 1: attached to the Academy will be closed September 30th after 544 00:35:28,250 --> 00:35:34,839 Speaker 1: 198 years of public engagement. As of now, the collections 545 00:35:34,980 --> 00:35:38,799 Speaker 1: are expected to remain, and hopefully access will continue to 546 00:35:38,840 --> 00:35:44,100 Speaker 1: the 18 million-plus specimens in the extraordinary science library, which 547 00:35:44,160 --> 00:35:47,980 Speaker 1: contains rare books found nowhere else in this country and 548 00:35:48,080 --> 00:35:51,490 Speaker 1: in only one or two places worldwide, but that is unclear. 549 00:35:52,350 --> 00:35:55,050 Speaker 1: Would you consider doing an episode on the Academy in 550 00:35:55,090 --> 00:35:58,580 Speaker 1: addition to Hawkins? The Philadelphia and scientific community are beginning 551 00:35:58,620 --> 00:36:00,900 Speaker 1: to rally around the closure and what they can do 552 00:36:00,940 --> 00:36:06,400 Speaker 1: to preserve this 214-year-old institution for the people and for science. 553 00:36:07,180 --> 00:36:09,590 Speaker 1: If you want a little look at what the Academy has, 554 00:36:09,670 --> 00:36:12,469 Speaker 1: many rare books and the expedition journals are available at 555 00:36:12,510 --> 00:36:17,069 Speaker 1: the Biodiversity Heritage Library. The various departments have also made 556 00:36:17,170 --> 00:36:21,109 Speaker 1: collections available to researchers online. Jennifer, thank you so much 557 00:36:21,160 --> 00:36:25,200 Speaker 1: for this email, Jennifer, for multiple reasons. Number one, I 558 00:36:25,280 --> 00:36:28,220 Speaker 1: did say maybe we would do an episode on Benjamin 559 00:36:28,239 --> 00:36:31,600 Speaker 1: Waterhouse Hawkins, but I didn't actually write that down anywhere, 560 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:36,540 Speaker 1: so this reminded me to put it on my actual shortlist. 561 00:36:37,219 --> 00:36:39,620 Speaker 1: And the next, thank you for the opportunity to talk 562 00:36:39,680 --> 00:36:44,420 Speaker 1: about the Academy of Natural Sciences Museum's Since I don't 563 00:36:44,480 --> 00:36:47,100 Speaker 1: live in Philadelphia, I've been to Philadelphia a couple of times. 564 00:36:47,140 --> 00:36:49,419 Speaker 1: This is a museum that I have only been to once. 565 00:36:50,060 --> 00:36:52,680 Speaker 1: And I also was really sad to hear about the 566 00:36:52,780 --> 00:36:55,399 Speaker 1: closure that was announced. As of when we are recording this, 567 00:36:55,460 --> 00:36:57,879 Speaker 1: it was announced over this past weekend, or at least 568 00:36:57,940 --> 00:37:01,140 Speaker 1: that's when I heard about it. And yeah, it seems 569 00:37:01,160 --> 00:37:05,239 Speaker 1: like an enormous loss to the city of Philadelphia and 570 00:37:05,340 --> 00:37:08,960 Speaker 1: the world of science communication and educating the public about 571 00:37:09,040 --> 00:37:12,910 Speaker 1: science more broadly. And I also would like to say 572 00:37:13,010 --> 00:37:17,630 Speaker 1: I love the Biodiversity Heritage Library. It is not that 573 00:37:17,969 --> 00:37:22,450 Speaker 1: often that we are talking about subjects that are about 574 00:37:22,489 --> 00:37:27,270 Speaker 1: things that are included in that library. But anytime we 575 00:37:27,430 --> 00:37:29,890 Speaker 1: are talking about something that has something to do with 576 00:37:29,910 --> 00:37:35,420 Speaker 1: like biology or, you know, plants, flowers, animals, anything about science, history, 577 00:37:35,660 --> 00:37:38,380 Speaker 1: biodiversity connected in some way, that tends to be one 578 00:37:38,400 --> 00:37:41,779 Speaker 1: of the places that I wind up finding resources. So yeah, 579 00:37:42,080 --> 00:37:44,140 Speaker 1: I want to say that I am hopeful that this 580 00:37:44,300 --> 00:37:49,440 Speaker 1: rallying around the museum and the academy and all of 581 00:37:49,500 --> 00:37:53,239 Speaker 1: those resources will lead to something being worked out about 582 00:37:53,280 --> 00:37:57,770 Speaker 1: it remaining open. But it's hard to feel confident about 583 00:37:57,810 --> 00:38:01,310 Speaker 1: that in the era that we are living in. So 584 00:38:01,530 --> 00:38:05,549 Speaker 1: thank you so much again, Jennifer, for this email. If 585 00:38:05,870 --> 00:38:08,130 Speaker 1: you would like to send us a note, we're at 586 00:38:08,290 --> 00:38:13,360 Speaker 1: historypodcast at iheartradio.com. And you can also find all of 587 00:38:13,440 --> 00:38:16,799 Speaker 1: our show notes, including all of the things that we 588 00:38:16,960 --> 00:38:19,399 Speaker 1: used as research in this episode, at our website, which 589 00:38:19,480 --> 00:38:23,219 Speaker 1: is MissedInHistory.com. And you can subscribe to the show on 590 00:38:23,260 --> 00:38:25,250 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app and anywhere else you'd like to get 591 00:38:25,270 --> 00:38:32,469 Speaker 1: your podcasts. Stuff You Missed in History Class is a 592 00:38:32,489 --> 00:38:36,930 Speaker 1: production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the 593 00:38:36,989 --> 00:38:40,430 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 594 00:38:40,450 --> 00:38:41,070 Speaker 1: favorite shows.