Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Chicago's Mayor Levi Boone-- Part 2

From Wikipedia. Continued from October 11th.

This is where Levi Boone's history gets really interesting.

In the 1855 election for mayor, Boone received support from Temperance people and the American Party (known better as the "Know-Nothings." He ran on an anti-immigrant platform and won.

There were claims that voted from the Bridgeport district, largely Irish and German immigrants, weren't counted.

One of Boone's first moves in office was to establish the first Chicago police force. He also banned all immigrants from city jobs.

Soon afterwards, he raised the city liquor licenses from $50 to $75 a year and thenk, as a Temperance proponent, he enforced a law already on the books, but not enforced, the closing of taverns on Sundays. This move led to the Lager Beer Riot, which I will write about later.

After the riots, Irish and German immigrants joined together to defeat Boone and the Know Nothings the next election.

During the Civil War, Levi Boone was held 38 days at Camp Douglas under suspicion that he had helped a Confederate prisoner escape.

He was buried at Chicago's Rosehill Cemetery in 1882.

Some Chicago Politics Don't Change. --Cooter

No comments: