The Astor Place Riots
February 19, 2018, by Lily
Until taking this class, I knew almost nothing of the Astor Place Riots, except for the fact that this is the name for one of NYU’s stand up comedy troupes. However, as I read the readings for class on Thursday, I was shocked by what is one of New York Cities bloodier (yet, I think, sadly forgotten) riots. While on the surface, the riots seemed to be about a preference of actors, I was fascinated to learn that the insurrection had more to do with class and nationalism, more than anything else. Cliff, in the excerpt “Exit, pursued by a b’hoy,” details one of the flyers posted by the Bowery boys, mostly likely written by Ned Buntline, “Americans!! Arouse! The great crisis has come!! Decide now whether English aristocrats!!…shall triumph in this America’s metropolis, or whether her own sons… allow themselves to be deprived of the liberty of opinion so dear to every true American heart” (235). When I was reading that excerpt, I was surprised by how much the language reminded me of the current rhetoric in American politics, under President Trump. It speaks to a nationalistic calling, and a reaction agains the elite (in this case, the English and upper classes). While today’s rhetoric has certainly yielded terrifying outcomes, its interesting to note the parallels between the language and sentiments of the people in these two time periods. Many of today’s lower-middle class Americans voted for Trump as a reaction against the elitist coasts. When you consider what Cliff wrote, that the riots did not necessarily address class divides, and that “the rift between the haves and have-nots became still more immense, and…had destroyed the bonds of neighborly understanding on which mild government was built” (245), the connection does not seem that far fetched. I found it interesting that “opera society did its best to ignore the writing on the wall” by setting up new opera houses, and imposing respectful silence on the audiences of the shows (Cliff, 246). If you watch movies from before this period, or even films depicting the times of Shakespeare, the audience is always an active participant in the show. I had always wondered when the transition occurred from lily to silence, and I guess now I have my answer! I find it somewhat telling that the upper classes chose to respond to the riots by moving north, secluding themselves, and stripping the theater of audience interaction. This move, away from previous forms of theater, somewhat mirrors the way in which they silently and slowly ignored the class differences in the city, and moved to get further way from the rabble-rousers of downtown.
I also found it interesting that our modern day police forces were created largely out of the Astor Place riots, in an attempt to assuage the fears of the elite and suppress the “rowdy” and “violent” lower classes. Since then, the militarization of our police has only gotten worse. Do you think that the prejudices established at the creation of the armed police (that the poor and lower classes are dangerous and must be handled) has led to the current outpouring of police brutality against minorities and lower classes? Of course, racism and prejudices play a large part in the actions of the police, but is there something inherent in the police system, drawn from its first days of existence, that makes it so that the police force is pre-inclined to protect the wealthy and prosecute all others?
The other reading for the day, the first hand account, published in 1849, was really fun to read! It wasn’t as thought provoking as the other reading, in my opinion, but definitely way cooler, as it was published in the 19th century. It did raise one question, however. How responsible was the press for framing the events at Astor Place? While reading the text, I picked up on what I thought to be a slight bias towards the Upper Ten, in that the author wrote that “the appearance of an armed force seemed to inspire them with a sudden fury…and turned their volleys against the horsemen. Amid piercing yells…men were knocked from their horses, the untrained animals were frightened” (Ranney, 6). This is only one passage, but throughout the article the author emphasizes, with his word choice, that the mob was untamed and angry, while the police force was stoic and restrained. Was there any bias in the papers at that time? Were there competing papers, one from uptown and one from the Bowery, that painted the event in different lights? This might be an interesting point of discussion!
Overall, I really enjoyed the readings for this week, and was fascinated by this gruesome yet impactful event in New York City’s storied past.