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List of incidents of civil unrest in the United States

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 3, 2026
Entity authorityQ6623932 ↗
Source-derived summary

Listed are major episodes of civil unrest in the United States. This list does not include the numerous incidents of destruction and violence associated with various sporting events.

18th century

1783 – Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783, June 20. Anti-government protest by soldiers of the Continental Army against the Congress of the Confederation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1786 – Shays's Rebellion, August 29, 1786 – February 3, 1787, Western Massachusetts

1786 – Paper Money Riot, September 20, Exeter, New Hampshire

1788 – Doctors Mob Riot, New York City

1791–1794 – Whiskey Rebellion, Western Pennsylvania (anti-excise tax on whiskey)

1799 – Fries's Rebellion, 1799–1800, Tax revolt by Pennsylvania Dutch farmers, Pennsylvania

19th century

1800–1849

1811 – 1811 German Coast uprising, slave revolt in the Territory of Orleans

1812 – Baltimore riots, these took place shortly before the War of 1812

1824 – Hard Scrabble and Snow Town Riots, 1824 & 1831 respectively, Providence, RI (race riots)

1829 – Cincinnati riots of 1829, August 15–22, Cincinnati, Ohio; race riots triggered by labor competition between Irish immigrants and southern black migrants

1831 – Nat Turner's Rebellion, August 21–23, Southampton County, Virginia

1833 – Sylvester Graham Riot, Providence, Rhode Island

1834 – Anti-abolitionist riot, New York City

1834 – Philadelphia race riot, August 12– 14

1834 – Attack on Canterbury Female Boarding School, Canterbury, Connecticut, one of the first schools for African American girls

1834 – Sylvester Graham Riot, Portland, Maine

1835 – Baltimore bank riot, August 6–9

1835 – Gentleman's Riot, numerous riots throughout 1835 targeting abolitionists, Boston, Massachusetts

1835 – Snow Riot, Washington D.C.; race riot caused by labor competition

1835 – Destruction of Noyes Academy, Canaan, New Hampshire, a racially integrated school

1835–1836 – Toledo War, a boundary dispute between states of Michigan and Ohio

1836 – Cincinnati Riots of 1836, Cincinnati, Ohio (race riots)

1837 – Flour Riots, New York City

1837 – Murder of abolitionist Elijah Lovejoy

1837 – Sylvester Graham Riot, Boston, Massachusetts

1838 – Burning of Pennsylvania Hall; a lecture hall built with the intention of debating abolition, women's rights, and other reforms is burned down only 4 days after opening.

1839 – Honey War, Iowa-Missouri border

1839 – Anti-Rent War, Hudson Valley, New York

1841 – Dorr Rebellion, Rhode Island

1841 – Cincinnati Riots of 1841, early September, Cincinnati, Ohio (race riot)

1842 – Lombard Street Riot, (a.k.a. the Abolition Riots), August 1, Philadelphia

1842 – Muncy Abolition riot of 1842

1844 – Philadelphia Nativist Riots, May 6–8, July 6–7, Philadelphia (anti-Catholic)

1845 – Milwaukee Bridge War

1849 – Astor Place riot, May 10, New York City, (anti-British)

1850–1859

1851 – Christiana Riot, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

1853 – Cincinnati Riot of 1853, Cincinnati, Ohio (anti-Catholic)

1855 – Cincinnati riots of 1855 (anti-immigration)

1855 – Lager Beer Riot, April 21, Chicago, Illinois

1855 – Portland Rum Riot, June 2, Portland, Maine

1855 – Bloody Monday, Know-Nothing Party riot, August 6, Louisville, Kentucky (anti-immigration)

1855 – Detroit brothel riots, 1855–1859, Detroit, Michigan

1856 – Sacking of Lawrence, Kansas, May 21, 1856, when proslavery settlers ransacked Lawrence, Kansas, founded by antislavery Yankees. Kansas Territory became known as Bleeding Kansas.

1856 – Battle of Seattle (1856), Jan 26, Attack by Native American tribesmen upon Seattle, Washington.

1856 – Pottawatomie massacre, May 24, Franklin County, Kansas

1856 – Baltimore Know-Nothing riots of 1856, (anti-immigration)

1856 – San Francisco Vigilance Movement, San Francisco, California

1857 – Know-Nothing Riot, June 1, Washington D.C. (anti-immigration)

1857 – New York City Police Riot, June 16, New York City

1857 – Dead Rabbits Riot, July 4–5, New York City

1858 – Know-Nothing Riot 1858, New Orleans, Louisiana (anti-immigration)

1858 – Staten Island Quarantine War, September 1 & 2, 1858

1859 – John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, October 16, Harpers Ferry, Virginia

1860–1869

1861–1865: American Civil War, April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865, United States

1861 – Baltimore Riot of 1861, April 19, (a.k.a. the Pratt Street Riot), Baltimore, Maryland

1861 – Camp Jackson Affair, May 10, Union forces clash with Confederate sympathizers on the streets of St.

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