The Causes Of The Chicago Race Riot Of 1919

On July 27, 1919, the streets of Chicago, Illinois, were filled with racially fueled violence, which resulted in numerous deaths and injuries to both sides. Once again the Nation witnessed another outbreak of violence between the African American and Caucasian populations. The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 was considered to be one of the worst of the estimated twenty-three riots that occurred during what historians have labeled, due to the large amounts of violence and deaths throughout the nation, as the Red Summer. The violence lasted from July 27th to August 3rd, spanning over a period of eight days. With the riot lasting as long as it had, the combined developments of structures being set on fire, stores being looted, and numerous deaths, made …show more content…
Governor Lowden was born in January 26, 1861, in Sunrise Township, Minnesota. He then resided in Iowa after his family moved when he was seven years old. When Lowden was fifteen, he began a five-year long teaching career in Hubbard, Iowa. After teaching, Lowden moved on to graduating from the Union College of Law and proceeded to teach law at Northwestern University in Illinois. Gaining immense popularity for his many accomplishments, Lowden was selected to be the delegate of the Republican National Convention furthering his political career. By 1906 he was elected as the US representative for Illinois and in 1917, the Governor of Illinois. The intellectual prodigy was able to get widespread recognition for his successful reorganization of the Illinois government. He managed to reduce the tax rate, regardless of the increase in prices, allowing for a more efficient state budget. Although he was a strong supporter of Capital Punishment, he was also an even larger supporter of the right for women to vote. After the Chicago Race Riot of 1919 had come to an end, Governor Frank Lowden created the Commission on Race Relations to establish the cause of the riot and figure out ways to alleviate the situation. His Commission consisted of six African American and six White community leaders, which was a very progressive move during the time period. The commission determined the start of the riot to be the incident at the beach and various factors that were all fully explained in the 1919 issue of The Negro in Chicago, an African American friendly journal. The vast collection of data was used to create a strategic outline to prevent future race riots from developing. By developing more racially conscious urban developments with emphasis on low-income