Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions on personal use. Permission to publish material from the Eyewitness account of the Snow Riot must be obtained from Special Collections and Archives, George Mason University Libraries.

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Alternative Form Available

Digitized version of this item can be found here: Eyewitness Account of the Snow Riot.

Preferred Citation

Eyewitness account of the Snow Riot, C0291, Special Collections and Archives, George Mason University Libraries.

Acquisition Information

Purchased by Special Collections Research Center circa 2005.

Processing Information

Processing completed by Elizabeth Beckman in June 2016. EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in June 2016. Finding Aid updated by Amanda Brent in January 2019.

Historical note

According to a 2005 Washington Post article by Jefferson Morley, the Snow Riot of August 1835 began with a young African American enslaved man named Arthur Bowen drunkenly carrying an axe into his mistress's bedroom. The incident inflamed white sentiments, particularly among Irish laborers who already resented competition from African Americans for manual jobs. The laborers formed a mob, attempted to lynch Bowen, and attacked African American businesses and institutions, including a restaurant owned by Beverly Snow, by whose name the riot became known (Morely, 'The Snow Riot').

Scope and Content

Letter, probably from Mary Elizabeth Fendall (according to dealer information accompanying the letter), to a woman named Else. The letter describes the 1835 Snow Riot, a racially motivated riot in Washington, D.C. in which young white men attacked and destroyed property belonging to Beverly Snow and other African Americans in the city.

Arrangement

Letter is boxed by itself.

Index Terms

Subjects:

• Race riots--Washington (D.C.)