The real identity of Hennessy’s murderer was never determined. It galvanized national opposition to the moderate Reconstruction policies of President Andrew Johnson and ushered in much more sweeping Congressional Reconstruction in 1867. Sicilian Lynchings in New Orleans After the murder of New Orleans police chief David Hennessey in 1890, political conflict between reformers and ward bosses resulted in mob violence and lynching, and eleven Sicilians were killed. On March 14, 1891, a mob of thousands stormed a prison in New Orleans, demanding blood. It was 1891, and the crowd was about to participate in the largest lynching in U.S. history. Terms of Use These immigrants were hardworking and religious, but they were not welcomed by New Orleans residents. “Rise, people of New Orleans!” wrote the Daily States newspaper. Why Maine and Nebraska Split Their Electoral Votes, New Prehistoric Marine Reptile Resembled a Miniature Mix of Loch Ness Monster, Alligator and Toothy T. Rex, Researchers Find Remnants of Jousting Field Where Henry VIII Almost Died, See Strange Squid Filmed in the Wild for the First Time, Delaware-Sized Iceberg Could Decimate Wildlife on South Atlantic Island, The Hunt for Julius Caesar's Assassins Marked the Last Days of the Roman Republic, When Catherine of Aragon Led England's Armies to Victory Over Scotland, Four Times the Results of a Presidential Election Were Contested, The CIA’s Most Highly-Trained Spies Weren’t Even Human. At the time of Hennessy’s murder, a feud had broken out between two Sicilian families, the Provenzanos and the Matrangas. Rioting whites in Memphis killed forty-six African-Americans in May 1866. Though many managed to integrate into the life of the city, finding work and eventually building their own businesses, they were not universally welcomed. It began with the murder of David Hennessy. On March 14, 1891, a mob of thousands stormed a prison in New Orleans, demanding blood. And yet, they were thrown back into prison with the rest of the accused, making it impossible for them to escape the violence that was to come. “Sicilians were viewed by many Americans as culturally backward and racially suspect,” writes historian Manfred Berg. Two months later, thirty-four blacks and three white supporters were murdered by a white mob in New Orleans. Give a Gift. They assumed that the Mafia had somehow influenced jurors or fixed the trial and that justice had not been served. Her work has appeared in a number of publications, including NYmag.com, Flavorwire and Tina Brown Media's Women in the World. “Though Italians had been living in New Orleans since before the Louisiana Purchase, their language and customs were considered foreign and even dangerous by some,” writes Erin Blakemore for History.com. Local officials also gave tacit or overt support to intense racist violence. Rioting whites in Memphis killed forty-six African-Americans in May 1866. Though many managed to integrate into the life of the city, finding work and eventually building their own businesses, they were not universally welcomed. News of the acquittals unleashed a fury in New Orleans. In the years after, the supposed (and unproven) Mafia conspiracy behind the acquittals was used as an excuse to discriminate against other Italian-Americans for decades afterward. Bigoted sentiments surged again during World War II, when Italy entered the war on Germany’s side. Between 1884 and 1924, nearly 300,000 Italian immigrants, most of them Sicilian, moved to New Orleans, earning the French Quarter the nickname “Little Palermo.”. Nearly 5,000 lynchings—vigilante murders that included shootings, hangings and other forms of mob “justice”—were recorded in the United States between 1882 and 1968. Lynchers in 1891 storming the New Orleans city jail, where they killed 11 Italian-Americans accused in the fatal shooting of Chief Hennessy. In this picture, Thomas Nast gave his view of Andrew Johnson’s role in the July 1866 New Orleans riot. But for the mob of vigilantes, fired up by anti-immigrant sentiment, due process didn’t matter. Smithsonian Institution, (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images), Immigrants who came to the U.S. from Europe and Asia in the late 19th century often confronted hostility in their new homeland. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. Italian immigrants, who often had darker complexions, became the focus of pseudo-scientific theories that trumpeted the superiority of individuals of northern European heritage over “Mediterranean types,” according to the Library of Congress. But he had other enemies, too: As chief of police, he made a series of unpopular decisions to consolidate the force, and helped collect taxes on brothels and gambling houses. According to Jessica Williams of the Advocate, the victims included: "fruit peddlers Antonio Bagnetto, Antonio Marchesi and Antonio Scaffidi; stevedores James Caruso and Rocco Geraci; cobbler Pietro Monasterio; tinsmith Loreto Comitis; street vendor Emmanuele Polizzi; fruit importer Joseph P. Macheca; ward politician Frank Romero; and rice plantation laborer Charles Traina.” Some of them had not yet been tried in court, others had already been acquitted. The lynchings were the most violent expression of anti-Italian feeling in America, but far from an isolated event. Continue Democrats considered the reco… Advertising Notice As they ran toward the prison, they shouted, “We want the Dagoes!”. Impassioned speakers whipped the mob into a frenzy, painting Italian immigrants as criminals who needed to be driven out of the city. A popular police chief, Hennessy was shot down by gunmen while walking home from work. Italian rioters breaking into a Parish Prison, New Orleans, 1891. All Rights Reserved. Though the grand jury said the crowd included some of “the first, best, and even the most law-abiding, of the citizens of this city,” it claimed that none of the killers could be identified. Italian immigrants, who often had darker complexions, became the focus of pseudo-scientific theories that trumpeted the superiority of individuals of northern European heritage over “Mediterranean types,” according to the. “Alien hands of oath-bound assassins have set the blot of a martyr’s blood upon your vaunted civilization.” The message was clear: If the New Orleans justice system couldn’t punish Italians, the people of New Orleans would have to do so instead. “Some corpses were hung; what remained of others were torn apart and plundered for souvenirs.”, Michael Santo, special counsel to the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy, told Flynn that he’s not just upset by the brutality of the attack, but also by the way the national media covered it. What's the Difference Between England, Britain and the U.K.? There was no solid evidence against them; of the nine sent to trial, six of the accused were acquitted and the attempt to prosecute an additional three men ended in a mistrial. (Credit: World History Archive/Alamy Stock Photo), That slur was used often in New Orleans, which was home to more Italian immigrants than any other Southern state at the time.