Muncy Abolition Riot of 1842
Encyclopedia
The Muncy Abolition Riot of 1842 occurred in April 1842 in Muncy
, Lycoming County
, Pennsylvania
in the United States
. The riot started as an attack on a schoolhouse where an abolitionist
speaker, invited by local Quakers, spoke against slavery. The speaker and his host, Enos Hawley, were then attacked as they fled to Hawley's house. Eighteen men were initially arrested and charged for the riot. Thirteen men were convicted for their actions in the riot, but were ultimately pardoned by Pennsylvania Governor David R. Porter
.
passed a law to slowly abolish it. The new law stated that all people who were slaves in 1780 were to remain slaves until they were freed by their owners and that all children of slaves would remain as slaves until they reached the age of 28. This slow abolition of slavery lasted until 1847 (67 years) when it was fully abolished.
The census of 1790 showed that slaves made up one percent of the population of Pennsylvania (for comparison, in New York
and New Jersey
slaves made up to six percent of the population in the same census). Two cultural influences in Pennsylvania helped keep the numbers of slaves down. The Quaker founders of Pennsylvania were, as a rule, anti-slavery. Their Testimony of Equality
held that all people are created equal in the eyes of God
. They believed that since all people embodied the same divine
spark, all people deserved equal treatment. Quakers were some of the first to value women as important ministers and to campaign for women's rights. They became leaders in the anti-slavery movement, and were among the first to pioneer humane treatment for the mentally ill and for prisoners. Another group of settlers in early Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Dutch
, were self-reliant in their beliefs. They avoided the "outside world" as much as possible and had no need for slaves.
This does not mean that all Pennsylvanians of that time were against slavery. Many of the immigrants that followed the Quakers and the various sects of Pennsylvania Dutch were pro-slavery, or at least definitely not abolitionists. They saw freed slaves as competitors for their jobs. One of the common misconceptions about United States history prior to the Civil War is that all the citizens of the northern states were against slavery. In fact many of the "Yankees" were for slavery, especially in states closer to what became the Confederacy
, such as Pennsylvania, Ohio
and Delaware
.
that lead to the near destruction of a local schoolhouse and the controversial pardon
ing of the rioters by Pennsylvania Governor David R. Porter
.
The abolitionist speaker gave his speech at a one-room school in Muncy in April 1842. During the course of the speech eighteen men gathered outside the schoolhouse. They began throwing rocks and other debris at the school, breaking all of the windows. Enos Hawley and the guest speaker were both injured in the assault. Upon fleeing the school, the abolitionists were pelted with eggs
. The rioters followed Hawley and his guest to Hawley's home at the corner of High and Main Streets in Muncy. They continued the assault on Hawley's home until after midnight, when the local law enforcement officers were able to quell the riot and arrest the rioters.
in September and went to trial
in October, when thirteen of the eighteen rioters were found guilty as charged. The jury's
deliberation
was quite a long process. Abraham Updegraff was a member of the jury who was the driving force that led to the conviction of the rioters. Updegraff, an ardent abolitionist who was a vital member of the Underground Railroad
in Lycoming County, was able to convince his peers that the rioters deserved to be punished. The first jury vote was eleven to one in favor of acquittal
, with Updegraff being the lone dissent
er finding the men guilty. Updegraff argued that "we have been sworn to try this case according to the law and the evidence presented and that if no contradictory evidence offered by the defendants than we could do nothing more than to convict
them." He was also able to make his argument in German
, which was the native tongue of three other jurors. The second vote was nine finding the men "guilty" to three in favor of acquittal. A third unanimous vote finally resulted in the conviction of thirteen of the eighteen men charged in the Muncy Abolition Riot.
This conviction was essentially overturned by Governor David R. Porter when he pardoned the rioters several days later. Governor Porter's statement of pardon said: "It is represented to me by highly respected citizens of Lycoming County, that this prosecution was instituted more with a view to the accomplishment of political ends than to serve the cause of law and order
."
Porter's pardon message placed the blame for the riot on the abolitionist speaker. Porter stated that the speech was "notoriously offensive to the minds of those to whom they were addressed and were calculated to bring about a breach of the peace." This pardon led to Governor Porter being given the less than flattering nickname
s of the "Previous Pardon Porter" and "The Pardoning Governor." Historians believe that Porter pardoned the rioters under rampant political pressure regarding the issue of slavery, as was often the case in the years prior to the Civil War.
Muncy, Pennsylvania
For other places named 'Muncy', please see Muncy .Muncy is a borough in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The name Muncy comes from the Munsee Indians who once lived in the area. The population was 2,663 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Williamsport, Pennsylvania...
, Lycoming County
Lycoming County, Pennsylvania
-Appalachian Mountains and Allegheny Plateau:Lycoming County is divided between the Appalachian Mountains in the south, the dissected Allegheny Plateau in the north and east, and the valley of the West Branch Susquehanna River between these.-West Branch Susquehanna River:The West Branch of the...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The riot started as an attack on a schoolhouse where an abolitionist
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
speaker, invited by local Quakers, spoke against slavery. The speaker and his host, Enos Hawley, were then attacked as they fled to Hawley's house. Eighteen men were initially arrested and charged for the riot. Thirteen men were convicted for their actions in the riot, but were ultimately pardoned by Pennsylvania Governor David R. Porter
David R. Porter
David Rittenhouse Porter was the ninth Governor of Pennsylvania. He served from 1839 to 1845.-Life:Porter, the first governor under the State Constitution of 1838 was born October 31, 1788, near Norristown, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania spending his boyhood at Selma Mansion, a home built by his...
.
Background
The process of banning slavery in Pennsylvania began in 1780, when the Pennsylvania General AssemblyPennsylvania General Assembly
The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times , the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly. Since the Constitution of 1776, written by...
passed a law to slowly abolish it. The new law stated that all people who were slaves in 1780 were to remain slaves until they were freed by their owners and that all children of slaves would remain as slaves until they reached the age of 28. This slow abolition of slavery lasted until 1847 (67 years) when it was fully abolished.
The census of 1790 showed that slaves made up one percent of the population of Pennsylvania (for comparison, in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
slaves made up to six percent of the population in the same census). Two cultural influences in Pennsylvania helped keep the numbers of slaves down. The Quaker founders of Pennsylvania were, as a rule, anti-slavery. Their Testimony of Equality
Testimony of Equality
Testimony of equality is a shorthand description of the action generally taken by members of the Religious Society of Friends towards equality, arising from Friends' belief that all people are created equal in the eyes of God. The word testimony describes the way that Friends testify or bear...
held that all people are created equal in the eyes of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
. They believed that since all people embodied the same divine
Divinity
Divinity and divine are broadly applied but loosely defined terms, used variously within different faiths and belief systems — and even by different individuals within a given faith — to refer to some transcendent or transcendental power or deity, or its attributes or manifestations in...
spark, all people deserved equal treatment. Quakers were some of the first to value women as important ministers and to campaign for women's rights. They became leaders in the anti-slavery movement, and were among the first to pioneer humane treatment for the mentally ill and for prisoners. Another group of settlers in early Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Dutch
Pennsylvania Dutch
Pennsylvania Dutch refers to immigrants and their descendants from southwestern Germany and Switzerland who settled in Pennsylvania in the 17th and 18th centuries...
, were self-reliant in their beliefs. They avoided the "outside world" as much as possible and had no need for slaves.
This does not mean that all Pennsylvanians of that time were against slavery. Many of the immigrants that followed the Quakers and the various sects of Pennsylvania Dutch were pro-slavery, or at least definitely not abolitionists. They saw freed slaves as competitors for their jobs. One of the common misconceptions about United States history prior to the Civil War is that all the citizens of the northern states were against slavery. In fact many of the "Yankees" were for slavery, especially in states closer to what became the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
, such as Pennsylvania, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
and Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
.
Riot
There were more than a few abolitionists in Pennsylvania and Enos Hawley, a Quaker citizen of Muncy was one of the most prominent abolitionists in Lycoming County. Hawley, a tanner by trade, was, like most Quakers, a strong supporter of the abolition of slavery. Hawley invited a speaker (whose name is now unknown) to come to Muncy to speak against slavery. This speaker and his speech set off a tremendous riotRiot
A riot is a form of civil disorder characterized often by what is thought of as disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against authority, property or people. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are thought to be typically chaotic and...
that lead to the near destruction of a local schoolhouse and the controversial pardon
Pardon
Clemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...
ing of the rioters by Pennsylvania Governor David R. Porter
David R. Porter
David Rittenhouse Porter was the ninth Governor of Pennsylvania. He served from 1839 to 1845.-Life:Porter, the first governor under the State Constitution of 1838 was born October 31, 1788, near Norristown, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania spending his boyhood at Selma Mansion, a home built by his...
.
The abolitionist speaker gave his speech at a one-room school in Muncy in April 1842. During the course of the speech eighteen men gathered outside the schoolhouse. They began throwing rocks and other debris at the school, breaking all of the windows. Enos Hawley and the guest speaker were both injured in the assault. Upon fleeing the school, the abolitionists were pelted with eggs
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
. The rioters followed Hawley and his guest to Hawley's home at the corner of High and Main Streets in Muncy. They continued the assault on Hawley's home until after midnight, when the local law enforcement officers were able to quell the riot and arrest the rioters.
Trial and Pardons
The rioters were indictedIndictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
in September and went to trial
Trial
A trial is, in the most general sense, a test, usually a test to see whether something does or does not meet a given standard.It may refer to:*Trial , the presentation of information in a formal setting, usually a court...
in October, when thirteen of the eighteen rioters were found guilty as charged. The jury's
Jury
A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
deliberation
Deliberation
Deliberation is a process of thoughtfully weighing options, usually prior to voting. In legal settings a jury famously uses deliberation because it is given specific options, like guilty or not guilty, along with information and arguments to evaluate. Deliberation emphasizes the use of logic and...
was quite a long process. Abraham Updegraff was a member of the jury who was the driving force that led to the conviction of the rioters. Updegraff, an ardent abolitionist who was a vital member of the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
in Lycoming County, was able to convince his peers that the rioters deserved to be punished. The first jury vote was eleven to one in favor of acquittal
Acquittal
In the common law tradition, an acquittal formally certifies the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as the criminal law is concerned. This is so even where the prosecution is abandoned nolle prosequi...
, with Updegraff being the lone dissent
Dissent
Dissent is a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or an entity...
er finding the men guilty. Updegraff argued that "we have been sworn to try this case according to the law and the evidence presented and that if no contradictory evidence offered by the defendants than we could do nothing more than to convict
Conviction
In law, a conviction is the verdict that results when a court of law finds a defendant guilty of a crime.The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal . In Scotland and in the Netherlands, there can also be a verdict of "not proven", which counts as an acquittal...
them." He was also able to make his argument in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, which was the native tongue of three other jurors. The second vote was nine finding the men "guilty" to three in favor of acquittal. A third unanimous vote finally resulted in the conviction of thirteen of the eighteen men charged in the Muncy Abolition Riot.
This conviction was essentially overturned by Governor David R. Porter when he pardoned the rioters several days later. Governor Porter's statement of pardon said: "It is represented to me by highly respected citizens of Lycoming County, that this prosecution was instituted more with a view to the accomplishment of political ends than to serve the cause of law and order
Law and order (politics)
In politics, law and order refers to demands for a strict criminal justice system, especially in relation to violent and property crime, through harsher criminal penalties...
."
Porter's pardon message placed the blame for the riot on the abolitionist speaker. Porter stated that the speech was "notoriously offensive to the minds of those to whom they were addressed and were calculated to bring about a breach of the peace." This pardon led to Governor Porter being given the less than flattering nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
s of the "Previous Pardon Porter" and "The Pardoning Governor." Historians believe that Porter pardoned the rioters under rampant political pressure regarding the issue of slavery, as was often the case in the years prior to the Civil War.