In Lincoln's Shadow: The 1908 Race Riot in Springfield Illinois

About this book

Winner of the Gustavus Myers Center Award for the Study of Human Rights in the United States! Winner of the Illinois State Historical Society Superior Achievement Award! This detailed case study of the 1908 race riot in Springfield Illinois which began only a few blocks from Abraham Lincolns family home explores the social origins of rioting by whites against the citys African American community after a white woman alleged that a black man had raped her. Over two days rioters wrecked black-owned businesses burned neighborhoods to the ground killed two black men and injured many others. Author Roberta Senechal de la Roche draws from a wide range of sources to describe the riot identify the rioters and their victims and challenge previous interpretations that attribute rioting to interracial competition for jobs housing or political influence. Written in a direct and clear style In Lincolns Shadow documents a violent explosion of racial hatred that shocked the nation and reveals the complexity of white racial attitudes in the early twentieth century.