1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: The Stay in History Class. It's a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:07,000 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hey y'all, I'm Eaves, and welcome to this 3 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:10,080 Speaker 1: Stay in History Class, a podcast that flips through the 4 00:00:10,080 --> 00:00:14,600 Speaker 1: book of history and tears out a single page. Today 5 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:26,480 Speaker 1: is June eleventh. The day was June eleventh, eighteen thirty seven. 6 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:30,320 Speaker 1: A riot broke out in Boston when a fire company 7 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:33,959 Speaker 1: met an Irish funeral procession. The conflict is known as 8 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:38,000 Speaker 1: the Broad Street Riot. Eighteen thirties, Boston was home to 9 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:40,920 Speaker 1: a large number of immigrants. It was also home to 10 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:43,640 Speaker 1: a large number of people who harbored anti immigrant and 11 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:48,840 Speaker 1: anti Catholic sentiments. Eighty seven specifically, also saw a financial 12 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:53,440 Speaker 1: crisis that affected wages and unemployment. The competition for jobs 13 00:00:53,479 --> 00:00:57,520 Speaker 1: among working class people in the city heightened anti immigrant sentiment. 14 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:02,720 Speaker 1: Many of the immigrant in Boston were Irish. Some Bostonians 15 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:05,560 Speaker 1: and Protestants in the city directed their hostility at the 16 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:10,080 Speaker 1: growing number of Irish immigrants. Conflict between Boston born laborers 17 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:14,240 Speaker 1: and Irish laborers had become common. On June eleventh, eight 18 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:18,120 Speaker 1: thirty seven, these tensions escalated into a riot between a 19 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:23,080 Speaker 1: fire company and an Irish funeral procession. Firefighters in Boston 20 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:26,480 Speaker 1: were mostly volunteers, and most of the volunteers were American 21 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:31,400 Speaker 1: born Protestant men. These volunteer fire companies were extremely competitive 22 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:34,000 Speaker 1: because the city paid the first one to arrive on 23 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:37,200 Speaker 1: the scene of the fire. The companies were also known 24 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:39,920 Speaker 1: for being rowdy, and many of the volunteers in the 25 00:01:39,959 --> 00:01:43,720 Speaker 1: fire companies were laborers who competed with the Irish for jobs. 26 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:47,640 Speaker 1: At the same time, the Irish harbord some resentment for 27 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:51,320 Speaker 1: the firefighters. When a Charlestown convent was burned down in 28 00:01:51,400 --> 00:01:55,440 Speaker 1: eighteen thirty four, many Irish people questioned why the firefighters 29 00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 1: had refused to put it out. On the afternoon of 30 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:02,560 Speaker 1: June eleventh, Engine Company twenty returned from a fire at 31 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:06,000 Speaker 1: Roxbury to their station on East Street. Most of the 32 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:09,120 Speaker 1: company went to a nearby pub. The neighborhood they were 33 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:11,640 Speaker 1: in was an Irish one, and when they left the pub, 34 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:15,080 Speaker 1: a funeral procession of around five Irish people was making 35 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:20,040 Speaker 1: its way past. A firefighter named George Faye reportedly started 36 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 1: a brawl with people in the procession, but the firefighters 37 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:25,840 Speaker 1: were outnumbered and they soon went back to their station. 38 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:31,760 Speaker 1: The procession then moved on. It's unclear exactly what happened next, 39 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:34,919 Speaker 1: but the foreman of the fire company, W. W. Miller, 40 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:38,080 Speaker 1: ordered the firefighters to bring their engine out and sound 41 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:41,400 Speaker 1: the fire alarm. Bill Miller later said that he gave 42 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:43,920 Speaker 1: the order when some irishmen tried to take over the 43 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:46,440 Speaker 1: fire station and he feared they were trying to harm 44 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:50,919 Speaker 1: the company. According to the Boston Evening Transcript, a firefighter 45 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:53,799 Speaker 1: went to another fire station and shouted, the Irish have 46 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:58,200 Speaker 1: risen upon us and are going to kill us. As 47 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:01,959 Speaker 1: more fire companies responded to the alarm, the situation descended 48 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:05,800 Speaker 1: into chaos. One fire company collided with people in the procession, 49 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:09,560 Speaker 1: causing injuries. Firefighters said it was an accident, while the 50 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:15,160 Speaker 1: Irish said it was intentional. Regardless, a riot erupted. Irish 51 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 1: people came out of their homes to join the riot. 52 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:21,280 Speaker 1: People attacked each other with sticks, stones, bricks, and other weapons. 53 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 1: The fighting peaked as the riot reached Broad Street. The 54 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:28,640 Speaker 1: Irish were overpowered and they retreated to their homes, but 55 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:32,239 Speaker 1: people on the firefighters side proceeded to invade and vandalize 56 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:35,760 Speaker 1: the homes in the neighborhood. They broke windows and looted houses. 57 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:39,800 Speaker 1: After a couple of hours. Mayor Samuel Elliott called in 58 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:43,240 Speaker 1: the state militia and a cavalry company to quell the riot. 59 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:48,360 Speaker 1: In the immediate aftermath, newspapers reported deaths, but there were 60 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:52,560 Speaker 1: no confirmed deaths due to the riot. There were serious injuries, though, 61 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:55,240 Speaker 1: and some people who may have died of those injuries. Later. 62 00:03:56,080 --> 00:04:00,400 Speaker 1: A lot of the district was destroyed. A great injury 63 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:05,040 Speaker 1: indicted fourteen irishmen and four Protestant men Varieting. All four 64 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:07,960 Speaker 1: of the latter were acquitted, while three of the Irishmen 65 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:12,119 Speaker 1: were sentenced two months of hard labor. By thirty eight, 66 00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 1: the Boston Fire Department in Boston Police Department had been established. 67 00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:19,800 Speaker 1: I'm Eve Jeff Coote and hopefully you know a little 68 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:23,320 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. And if 69 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:25,600 Speaker 1: you have any comments our suggestions, you can send them 70 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:29,280 Speaker 1: to s via email at this day at iHeart media 71 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 1: dot com. You can also hit us up on social 72 00:04:31,839 --> 00:04:35,719 Speaker 1: media where at T D I h C podcast. Thanks 73 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:38,120 Speaker 1: again for listening to the show and we'll see you tomorrow. 74 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:46,640 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 75 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:49,120 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite show.