1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:08,400 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello everyone, I'm Eves. Welcome to This Day 3 00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:11,280 Speaker 1: in History Class, where we take a tiny bite of 4 00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:28,520 Speaker 1: history every day. Today's January. The day was January eighteen 5 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:32,479 Speaker 1: seventy four. A riot started in Tompkins Square Park in 6 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 1: Manhattan after police overran a demonstration of thousands of unemployed people. 7 00:00:38,479 --> 00:00:41,479 Speaker 1: Tompkins Square Park was constructed in the eighteen thirties in 8 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:44,800 Speaker 1: the neighborhood now called East Village. It was built to 9 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:48,920 Speaker 1: encourage urban development in the area. The city and local 10 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:52,920 Speaker 1: landowners thought that surrounding districts would expand with the construction 11 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:56,280 Speaker 1: of the attraction, but a financial crisis hit the United 12 00:00:56,320 --> 00:00:59,320 Speaker 1: States that spurred a recession, and the area did not 13 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:02,480 Speaker 1: become a hay been for grand homes as the city imagined. 14 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:07,360 Speaker 1: Thousands of people, many immigrants moved into Manhattan, and the 15 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:11,360 Speaker 1: East Side became home to many working class people. By 16 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:16,200 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty, improvements had been made to the park, including walkways, trees, 17 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:20,000 Speaker 1: and fences, but beyond its use as a place of recreation, 18 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:23,560 Speaker 1: Tompkins Square Park was also an important place of assembly. 19 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:27,560 Speaker 1: In eighteen forty nine, the Astor Place riots made their 20 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:31,600 Speaker 1: way to Tompkins Square. In eighteen fifty seven, workers gathered 21 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:34,360 Speaker 1: in the park to protest their poor living conditions and 22 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:38,080 Speaker 1: the lack of relief from promised public works projects. The 23 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 1: demonstrations at Tompkins Square Park were not an anomaly. As 24 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:45,440 Speaker 1: a population grew and cultural groups clashed in New York City, 25 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 1: riots and demonstrations became more violent. The park was also 26 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:54,280 Speaker 1: a site for military drills, musicals, literary events, and organizational 27 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:59,080 Speaker 1: meetings throughout the eighteen sixties and eighteen seventies, but protests 28 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:02,560 Speaker 1: in the park continue. You'd the Tompkins Square Park riot 29 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:04,880 Speaker 1: took place in the wake of the Panic of eighteen 30 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:09,800 Speaker 1: seventy three financial crisis that triggered an economic depression. The 31 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:13,239 Speaker 1: working class people in the city were unemployed in facing hardships. 32 00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:16,560 Speaker 1: They needed jobs, and they said that the charity programs 33 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:20,760 Speaker 1: they were offered were not enough. They wanted extensive public 34 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:23,959 Speaker 1: works programs, so they formed the Committee of Safety in 35 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:27,560 Speaker 1: New York City and tried to arrange meetings with city officials. 36 00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:32,280 Speaker 1: But their attempts were unsuccessful, so they decided to organize 37 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:35,680 Speaker 1: a march from Tompkins Square Park to City Hall. There 38 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:39,840 Speaker 1: they would demand the Mayor to establish a public works program, 39 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:42,080 Speaker 1: but in the end, the committee decided to just have 40 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:45,560 Speaker 1: a meeting in the park. But the night before the meeting, 41 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:48,640 Speaker 1: at the request of the police, the Department of Parks 42 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:52,120 Speaker 1: revoked their permit to as symbol Still, more than seven 43 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:55,760 Speaker 1: thousand workers showed up at the park on January eighteen 44 00:02:55,800 --> 00:03:00,640 Speaker 1: seventy four. Police on horseback stationed at the site charged 45 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:05,360 Speaker 1: into the demonstration, beating the protesters with their nightsticks. Many 46 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 1: of the demonstrators fought back the rest of the day. 47 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 1: Rumors about the riot spread across New York. One, for example, 48 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:16,880 Speaker 1: was that immigrants were planning to burn down schools, so 49 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:21,040 Speaker 1: some were placed under police protection. Dozens of people were 50 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:24,280 Speaker 1: arrested for their involvement in the riot, and the unemployment 51 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:28,280 Speaker 1: movement lost steam, though the paper The New York Sun 52 00:03:28,639 --> 00:03:31,640 Speaker 1: published stories on the unjust treatment by the police in 53 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:34,960 Speaker 1: City Hall, the New York police continue to maintain a 54 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:40,640 Speaker 1: tight watch on progressive political organizations. I'm Eve Jeff Coo, 55 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:43,320 Speaker 1: and hopefully you know a little more about history today 56 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:46,920 Speaker 1: than you did yesterday. If you know you already spend 57 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:49,440 Speaker 1: too much time on social media, spend some of that 58 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:53,800 Speaker 1: time with us at t d i h C Podcast 59 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:59,680 Speaker 1: on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We also accept electronic letters 60 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:04,000 Speaker 1: at this day at i heart media dot com. Thanks 61 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:06,440 Speaker 1: for going on this trip through history with us. We'll 62 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:18,600 Speaker 1: see you again tomorrow with another episode MM. For more 63 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:21,160 Speaker 1: podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 64 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:23,800 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.