Hamburg Riot

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HAMBURG RIOT

HAMBURG RIOT (8 July 1876), the pivotal clash in the struggle between the Radical Republicans and the Democrats for the control of South Carolina. Several hundred armed white men gathered in Hamburg to force the disarming of a black militia company accused of obstructing the streets. In the melee that followed, one white man and seven black men were killed. Daniel H. Chamberlain, the Republican governor, called the affair a massacre engineered for political purposes. His remarks alienated the governor's white supporters and assured victory for the enemies of compromise in the state Democratic convention the following August.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Holt, Thomas C. Black over White: Negro Political Leadership in South Carolina During Reconstruction. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1977.

Zuczek, Richard. State of Rebellion: Reconstruction in South Carolina. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1996.

Francis B.Simkins/a. r.

See alsoReconstruction ; Red Shirts ; Riots .