Account of the Terrific and Fatal Riot at the New-York Astor Place Opera House on the Night of May 10th, 1849 : With the Quarrels of Forrest and Macready Including All the Causes which Led to that Awful Tragedy Wherein an Infuriated Mob was Quelled by the Public Authorities and Military, with its Mournful Termination in the Sudden Death or Mutilation of more than Fifty Citizens, with Full and Authentic Particulars

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Anonymous

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"Account of the Terrific and Fatal Riot at the New-York Astor Place Opera House..." is a historical account produced by H. M. Ranney, written in the mid-19th century. This book recounts the events surrounding a violent riot that occurred on May 10th, 1849, at the Astor Place Opera House in New York City, focusing on the tensions between theatrical rivalries that contributed to the chaos. The narrative delves into the backdrop of social and class struggles during this tumultuous period in American history. The book details the conflicting performances of two prominent actors, Edwin Forrest, an American celebrity, and William C. Macready, an English import, sparking intense public sentiment. The narrative outlines how their rivalry, exacerbated by nationalistic fervor and class disparity, led to a massive crowd gathering at the Opera House determined to protest Macready's performance. As the performance proceeded despite the uproar, escalating violence ensued, culminating in a confrontation between rioters and the military, who had been called in to restore order. Tragically, the night resulted in numerous injuries and the deaths of several citizens, highlighting the chaos and intense emotions of the era, alongside a critique of the societal conditions that allowed such violence to erupt. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Credits:

Produced by Brian Wilsden and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)

Notes:

Reading ease score: 65.8 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read.

Release date is 2020-03-11