Tompkins Square Riot (1874)
| Tompkins Square riot | |||
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Crowd driven from Tompkins Square by the mounted police
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| Date | January 13, 1874 | ||
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New York City 40°43′43″N 73°58′53″W / 40.72861°N 73.98139°W |
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| Goals | Panic of 1873 labor relief | ||
| Methods | Strikes, Protest, Demonstrations | ||
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 New York City
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The Tompkins Square Park riot occurred on January 13, 1874 when the New York City Police Department clashed with a demonstration involving thousands of unemployed civilians in New York City's Tompkins Square Park, located in what is today called the East Village.
The riot occurred in the midst of the Panic of 1873, a depression that began in 1873 and lasted for several years. Workers movements throughout the United States had been making demands of the government to help ease the strain of the depression. Organizations rejected offers of charity and instead asked for public works programs that would provide jobs for the masses of unemployed. Formed in December 1873, The Committee of Safety in New York City tried to organize a meeting with city officials but was denied any such opportunity. In response, the committee organized a demonstration for January 13, 1874 to meet in Tompkins Square Park, which had often been used as a gathering point for demonstrations, and planned to march to City Hall. Demonstrators would demand that Mayor William F. Havemeyer establish a public works program to generate employment opportunities by donating $100,000 to a Labor Relief Bureau to be established by the committee.
A separate organization, headed by Patrick Dunn, then called for a more militant demonstration on January 5, urging workers to use direct action if the government did not respond to demands. Members of the Committee of Safety attended the protest, at first trying to discourage workers from marching to City Hall that day but then joining the committee that lead the march once it became clear that the demonstration could not be prevented. The demonstrators' demands were turned down by Aldermen at City Hall, and Committee of Safety members encouraged people to return for another demonstration on January 8.
Over 1,000 people showed up for the January 8th demonstration in Union Square. The police also sent one precinct's full reserve force. Dunn proposed for the crowd to march on City Hall again but was outnumbered by Committee of Safety supporters, who instead chose to march to Tompkins Square. At Tompkins Square, several demands, including the 8 hour day, were voted for, and the crowd was then encouraged to return again on January 13 for the original march organized by the Committee of Safety. Another precinct had its reserve force ready in Tompkins Square, but the police did not take any action that day.
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