We shall not pretend, that we do not exceedingly
regret this sanguinary termination
of the tragedy. For the fair fame of our town,
we could wish that it had not been resorted
to. But, we believe, that if the same terrible
scene had been enacted in any other town of
the Union, under the same sudden and tumultuous
excitement, similar summary proceedings
would have been adopted. Let the veil of
oblivion be drawn over the fatal affair!"
_The St. Louis Republican_, April 30, 1836
"Turn, then, to that horror-striking scene at St. Louis. A single victim was only sacrificed there. His story is very short; and is, perhaps, the most highly tragic, if anything of its length, that has ever been witnessed in real life. A mulatto man, by the name of McIntosh, was seized in the street, dragged to the suburbs of the city, chained to a tree, and actually burned to death; and all within a single hour from the time he had been a freeman, attending to his own business, and at peace with the world." "Such are the effects of mob law; and such as the scenes, becoming more and more frequent in this land so lately famed for love of law and order; and the stories of which, have even now grown too familiar, to attract any thing more, than an idle remark." --Abraham Lincoln, "The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions: Address Before the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois," January 27, 1838.
Embedded below is an account of of that horrifying--but surely culturally telling--episode, which occured in 1836 in St. Louis. Assuming that all of the factual claims in this account are true, what does it tell us about St. Louis's culture in 1836? Further below, I've embedded a Google Street View of the site today where Mr. McIntosh was summarily murdered by a mob. Is it haunting, or liberating, that a long-ago horror in such a place goes unmarked today, and almost entirely forgotten?
Below: the scene today at the site where Mr. McMcIntosh was summarily murdered by the mob. Is it haunting, or liberating, that a long-ago horror in such a place goes unmarked today, and almost entirely forgotten?
Here is how Elijah P. Lovejoy, of Alton, Illinois reacted:
“Awful Murder and Savage Barbarity.” Newspaper Editorial on the Lynching of Francis McIntosh; Elijah P. Lovejoy, editor, St. Louis Observer, May 5, 1836, as seen at http://collections.mohistory.org/exhibit/EXH:CWMO-61
See also:
11.2 (Jun 1, 1980): 37.
Here are embedded several further accounts:
Abraham Lincoln responded to the killing of McIntosh in his Lyceum Address of 27 January 1838.
Here is the text of Lincoln's Address.
Here is the site where Lincoln gave it:
_The St. Louis Republican_, April 30, 1836
"Turn, then, to that horror-striking scene at St. Louis. A single victim was only sacrificed there. His story is very short; and is, perhaps, the most highly tragic, if anything of its length, that has ever been witnessed in real life. A mulatto man, by the name of McIntosh, was seized in the street, dragged to the suburbs of the city, chained to a tree, and actually burned to death; and all within a single hour from the time he had been a freeman, attending to his own business, and at peace with the world." "Such are the effects of mob law; and such as the scenes, becoming more and more frequent in this land so lately famed for love of law and order; and the stories of which, have even now grown too familiar, to attract any thing more, than an idle remark." --Abraham Lincoln, "The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions: Address Before the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois," January 27, 1838.
Embedded below is an account of of that horrifying--but surely culturally telling--episode, which occured in 1836 in St. Louis. Assuming that all of the factual claims in this account are true, what does it tell us about St. Louis's culture in 1836? Further below, I've embedded a Google Street View of the site today where Mr. McIntosh was summarily murdered by a mob. Is it haunting, or liberating, that a long-ago horror in such a place goes unmarked today, and almost entirely forgotten?
Below: the scene today at the site where Mr. McMcIntosh was summarily murdered by the mob. Is it haunting, or liberating, that a long-ago horror in such a place goes unmarked today, and almost entirely forgotten?
Here is how Elijah P. Lovejoy, of Alton, Illinois reacted:
“Awful Murder and Savage Barbarity.” Newspaper Editorial on the Lynching of Francis McIntosh; Elijah P. Lovejoy, editor, St. Louis Observer, May 5, 1836, as seen at http://collections.mohistory.org/exhibit/EXH:CWMO-61
See also:
The Burning of Francis L. McIntosh: A Note to a Dickens Letter from America
Schwarzbach, F S. Dickens Studies Newsletter11.2 (Jun 1, 1980): 37. Here are embedded several further accounts:
Abraham Lincoln responded to the killing of McIntosh in his Lyceum Address of 27 January 1838.
Here is the text of Lincoln's Address.
Here is the site where Lincoln gave it:
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