Lynching of Robert Mulliner

Last updated

Robert Mulliner (died June 21, 1863) was an African American itinerant laborer in Newburgh, New York. [1] On June 21, 1863, Mulliner was violently dragged out from a courthouse jail and was then beaten by mob of 50 Irishmen who later hanged Mulliner from a tree. [2] Mulliner was jailed after allegedly raping an Irishwoman by the name of Ellen Clark. [2]

Contents

Background

Enrollment Act

The Enrollment Act, also known as the Conscription Act was established in March 1863. The Confederate Army was the first to resort to a federal draft known as the Confederate Conscription Acts 1862–1864, as a means to regain the weakened man power lost in the Civil War. The Union followed suit as Abraham Lincoln passed the Enrollment Act, to enlist men in order to raise an, "effective army." [3] These acts specifically targeted white men between the ages of 25 and 35 and those who were unmarried would range from 25 to 45. [4] While the act did not specifically state that black people were exempt from this draft it only called for, "able-bodied white citizens." [5] This in turn, further enraged poor whites, particularly, Irish-Americans and Irish immigrants. The Irish community viewed this draft as an opportunity for African American to steal their jobs given the influx of migrants in New York, therefore the hatred against African Americans escalated. Though, this hatred was also directed towards the Republican Party, as the Irish community resented the idea that the Republicans and Abolitionists fought more for African Africans over them. [5]

The Irish community often felt marginalized by the Republican Party and Republican newspapers as demonstrated through a skirmish between African American longshoremen and Irish longshoremen that occurred on April 13, 1863. [6] A Republican newspaper, The Daily Tribune described how the quarrel was between Irishmen and African Americans, "A few, unoffending colored laborers on the wharves were suddenly attacked by two or three hundred Irishmen." [6] Meanwhile The Herald, a Democratic newspaper portrayed the attack between white and black laborers, "It appears that about a dozen negroes were engaged in discharging cargo..when several white laborers attacked them." [6] The distinct portrayals showcase the underlying frustrations of the Irish being viewed as solely Irish and not white. [6] This constant mistreatment from the Republican Party created an incentive for the Irish to support the Democratic Party as they felt equal and shared an anti-black and pro-slavery stance.

Lynching

It is unclear as to how Clarke and Mulliner encountered one another, however, multiple accounts of the incident indicate that Clarke had recently moved from County Heath to where Mulliner was living. [1] Mulliner was supposedly living in a black settlement outside of the city and had previously been arrested and jailed for petty crimes such as theft. [1]

On June 19, 1863, Robert Mulliner had been arrested on the charge of raping Clarke. [6] When the news broke out, it enraged the Irish community, and even more so when reportedly, a couple of Irish mobsters had personally known Clarke's parents in Ireland. [1] This only further influenced the Irish community to come together and seek vengeance against Mulliner. [1]

A few days later on June 21, 1863, a mob of around 50 Irishmen and the support of over hundreds of other Irish residents, surrounded the courthouse that Mulliner was being held in. [2] The mob demanded Mulliner be handed over as they ignored the pleas of the two judges, a parish priest by the name of E. J. O’Reilly, and a district attorney to "let the law take its course." [2] While these people attempted to dissuade the mob from killing Mulliner, it was to no avail. The mob eventually overpowered the courthouse by pushing through with the axes and sledges. [2] Once inside the mob forcibly pulled Mulliner out of his cell and dragged him outside. [2] Mulliner was violently beat while the mob was in the process of dragging him out. [2] Once outside, Mulliner was hanged on a tree just outside in the courthouse yard for all to see. [2] It is unclear as to how long Mulliners' body was left on the tree but reportedly, "hundreds visited the scene of the lynching the next day." [2]

Aftermath

Mulliner's death provoked many African Americans to flee New York as they feared the current ethnic tensions would only continue to arise. [2] Though, for the Irish community, this lynching further united one another as they pledged to "stand by each other." [1]

Following the death of Mulliner, Republican and Democratic newspapers attempted to pin the blame on one another for influencing the Irish community to commit this lynching. [6] The Daily Tribune, placed the blame on several Irish-American leaders, William McCleary and Cornelius McClean for allowing the lynching to take place. [6] However, the Democratic paper The Daily Telegraph argued that Mulliners' murder would have been justified had he not been arrested beforehand given that it would not go against the law. [7] The editor argued that offenses such as rape are not punished effectively by the state, thus the actions of the mob were valid given the frustrations over, "the inadequacy of our laws." [7] Though the Republican Journal, refuted this by highlighting the fact that this lynching was not correct as it occurred whilst Mulliner was in custody, therefore, adhering against the due process law. [7] With this back and forth between the papers it only heightened the political unrest, however, this would only be the start of what was to come.

The Enrollment Act that Abraham Lincoln had passed, had not yet taken effect in New York as those Democratic politicians who opposed the draft, had prevented it from being passed in New York. [8] Different factions of the Democratic known as the Peace or Copperhead faction believed that the Republican party was at fault for the thousands of casualties in the Civil War. [8] As a result they created a movement called the Peace Movement in an attempt to prevent the draft selection in New York and maintain the peace. [9] This however, was unsuccessful as Lincoln ordered the troops in New York to advance across the Mason-Dixon Line. . [9] This left New York unprotected and raised the question as to how the draft selection would take place without military presence. . [9] Just three weeks after Robert Mulliners' lynching saw the outbreak of the New York City Draft Riots.

Notes

Related Research Articles

In the broader context of racism in the United States, mass racial violence in the United States consists of ethnic conflicts and race riots, along with such events as:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lynching</span> Extrajudicial killing by a group

Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an extreme form of informal group social control, and it is often conducted with the display of a public spectacle for maximum intimidation. Instances of lynchings and similar mob violence can be found in every society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania</span> Borough in Pennsylvania, United States

Stroudsburg is a borough and county seat of Monroe County, Pennsylvania, United States. It lies within the Poconos region approximately five miles (8 km) from the Delaware Water Gap at the confluence of Brodhead Creek, McMichaels, and Pocono Creeks in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Stroudsburg is part of the East Stroudsburg, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the New York combined statistical area. The population was 5,927 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City draft riots</span> 1863 civil unrest protesting American Civil War conscription

The New York City draft riots, sometimes referred to as the Manhattan draft riots and known at the time as Draft Week, were violent disturbances in Lower Manhattan, widely regarded as the culmination of working-class discontent with new laws passed by Congress that year to draft men to fight in the ongoing American Civil War. The riots remain the largest civil and most racially charged urban disturbance in American history. According to Toby Joyce, the riot represented a "civil war" within the city's Irish community, in that "mostly Irish American rioters confronted police, [while] soldiers, and pro-war politicians ... were also to a considerable extent from the local Irish immigrant community."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Omaha race riot of 1919</span> Racial violence in Omaha, Nebraska, United States

The Omaha Race Riot occurred in Omaha, Nebraska, September 28–29, 1919. The race riot resulted in the lynching of Will Brown, a black civilian; the death of two white rioters; the injuries of many Omaha Police Department officers and civilians, including the attempted hanging of Mayor Edward Parsons Smith; and a public rampage by thousands of white rioters who set fire to the Douglas County Courthouse in downtown Omaha. It followed more than 20 race riots that occurred in major industrial cities and certain rural areas of the United States during the Red Summer of 1919.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lynching in the United States</span> Extrajudicial killings in the United States by mobs or vigilante groups

Lynching was the widespread occurrence of extrajudicial killings which began in the United States' pre–Civil War South in the 1830s and ended during the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. Although the victims of lynchings were members of various ethnicities, after roughly 4 million enslaved African Americans were emancipated, they became the primary targets of white Southerners. Lynchings in the U.S. reached their height from the 1890s to the 1920s, and they primarily victimized ethnic minorities. Most of the lynchings occurred in the American South, as the majority of African Americans lived there, but racially motivated lynchings also occurred in the Midwest and border states. In 1891, the largest single mass lynching in American history was perpetrated in New Orleans against Italian immigrants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caddo Parish, Louisiana</span> Parish in Louisiana, United States

Caddo Parish is a parish located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Louisiana. According to the 2020 U.S. census, the parish had a population of 237,848. The parish seat is Shreveport, which developed along the Red River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Militia Act of 1862</span> Military draft legislation of the American Civil War

The Militia Act of 1862 was an Act of the 37th United States Congress, during the American Civil War, that authorized a militia draft within a state when the state could not meet its quota with volunteers. The Act, for the first time, also allowed African-Americans to serve in the militias as soldiers and war laborers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lynching of Jesse Washington</span> 1916 event in Waco, Texas, United States

Jesse Washington was a seventeen-year-old African American farmhand who was lynched in the county seat of Waco, Texas, on May 15, 1916, in what became a well-known example of lynching. Washington was convicted of raping and murdering Lucy Fryer, the wife of his white employer in rural Robinson, Texas. He was chained by his neck and dragged out of the county court by observers. He was then paraded through the street, all while being stabbed and beaten, before being held down and castrated. He was then lynched in front of Waco's city hall.

Popular opposition to the American Civil War, which lasted from 1861 to 1865, was widespread. Although there had been many attempts at compromise prior to the outbreak of war, there were those who felt it could still be ended peacefully or did not believe it should have occurred in the first place. Opposition took the form of both those in the North who believed the South had the right to be independent and those in the South who wanted neither war nor a Union advance into the newly declared Confederate States of America.

Joe Coe, also known as George Smith, was an African-American laborer who was lynched on October 10, 1891, in Omaha, Nebraska. Overwhelmed by a mob of one thousand at the Douglas County Courthouse, the twelve city police officers stood by without intervening. Afterward, the mayor called the lynching "the most deplorable thing that has ever happened in the history of the country."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas County Courthouse (Nebraska)</span> United States historic place

The present Douglas County Courthouse is located at 1701 Farnam Street in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Built in 1912, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Notable events at the courthouse include two lynchings and the city's first sit-in during the Civil Rights Movement. Five years after it was opened, the building was almost destroyed by mob violence in the Omaha Race Riot of 1919.

The Detroit race riot of 1863 occurred on March 6, 1863, in the city of Detroit, Michigan, during the American Civil War. At the time, the Detroit Free Press reported these events as "the bloodiest day that ever dawned upon Detroit." It began due to unrest among the working class related to racism and the military draft, which was heightened after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln. Based in a free state, some recent immigrants and other workers resented being drafted for a war that they thought was waged for the benefit of slaves in the Southern United States, and they feared competition from Black people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phoenix election riot</span>

The Phoenix election riot occurred on November 8, 1898, near Greenwood County, South Carolina, when a group of local white Democrats attempted to stop a Republican election official from taking the affidavits of African Americans who had been denied the ability to vote. The race-based riot was part of numerous efforts by white conservative Democrats to suppress voting by blacks, as they had largely supported the Republican Party since the Reconstruction era. Beginning with Mississippi in 1890, and South Carolina in 1895, southern states were passing new constitutions and laws designed to disenfranchise blacks by making voter registration and voting more difficult.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1891 New Orleans lynchings</span> Murder of eleven Italian men by a mob

The 1891 New Orleans lynchings were the murders of 11 Italian Americans and Italian immigrants in New Orleans by a mob for their alleged role in the murder of police chief David Hennessy after some of them had been acquitted at trial. It was the largest single mass lynching in American history. Most of the lynching victims accused in the murder had been rounded up and charged due to their Italian ethnicity.

In the early hours of 3 June 1893, a black day-laborer named Samuel J. Bush was forcibly taken from the Macon County, Illinois, jail and lynched. Mr. Bush stood accused of raping Minnie Cameron Vest, a white woman, who lived in the nearby town of Mount Zion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lynching of Paul Reed and Will Cato</span> Murders and lynchings in Statesboro, Georgia in 1904

The lynching of Paul Reed and Will Cato occurred in Statesboro, Georgia on August 16, 1904. Five members of a white farm family, the Hodges, had been murdered and their house burned to hide the crime. Paul Reed and Will Cato, who were African-American, were tried and convicted for the murders. Despite militia having been brought in from Savannah to protect them, the two men were taken by a mob from the courthouse immediately after their trials, chained to a tree stump, and burned. In the immediate aftermath, four more African-Americans were shot, three of them dying, and others were flogged.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lynching of George White</span> 1903 murder of African American man in Delaware

The lynching of George White occurred on Tuesday, June 23, 1903, in Wilmington, Delaware. White was a black farmer who was accused of the rape and murder of Helen Bishop, who was arrested and brought to the workhouse. On the evening of June 22, under the impression that the local authorities were not reacting severely or soon enough, a large mob of white men marched to the workhouse, broke their way in, and forced White out of his cell. He was then brought to the site of Helen Bishop's death, tied to a stake, and burned. It is often referred to as the only documented lynching in Delaware.

George Marshall Clark was an African American barber in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. On September 6, 1861, Clark was forcibly taken from the city jail in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, questioned, and lynched by a crowd of fifty to seventy-five Irishmen. Marshall Clark, along with another fellow African American named James P. Shelton, had exchanged insults and blows with two Irishmen who accused them of bothering two white women on the street, and Shelton ended up fatally stabbing Irishman Darby Carney. Clark was eventually hanged from a pile driver later that night.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lynching of William Andrews</span> 1897 lynching in Princess Anne, Maryland

William Andrews was an African American laborer who was lynched by a white mob in Princess Anne, Maryland on June 9, 1897. Andrews, then 17, was tried, convicted, and hanged all in one day after being accused of assaulting Mrs. Benjamin T. Kelley.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.