This page was created by Rachel Boyle.
Clark Street Bridge, 1855
Charging City Hall
On April 21, 1855, the mayor of Chicago deputized emergency policemen and stationed canons in front of City Hall. A first-term mayor and champion of temperance, Levi Boone braced for a second wave of protesters after making arrests and dispersing a crowd at City Hall earlier that day. The protestors consisted largely of German immigrants who resented Boone's implementation of higher liquor fees, shortened liquor licenses, and enforcement of a law prohibiting open saloons on Sundays. After all, taverns served an important social function as a gathering place for immigrant communities in nineteenth-century Chicago. An incensed contingent marched south from their North Side neighborhoods to join and defend their fellow protesters.The mayor’s forces intercepted the march at Clark Street Bridge—a symbolic and literal crossroads that connected the city center with North Side immigrant neighborhoods. The Chicago River flowing underneath the bridge also transported goods and people, serving as a crucial link between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River after the completion of the Illinois and Michigan Canal in 1848. The convergence of railroads in Chicago further contributed to the rapid expansion of the city, necessitating a workforce and attracting the German and Irish immigrants now marching on their mayor.
Boone's men bought more time by raising the bridge and temporarily stalling the protestors. Once the police arrived in force and lowered the bridge, a violent skirmish ensued that left one protestor dead and dozens more arrested. The conflict destroyed Boone’s career. The Lager Beer Riot lived on in Chicago's collective memory, both as evidence of the power of the people as well as sparking fear of ethnic difference and mobilization.
