The Beaumont Race Riot, 1943
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THE BEAUMONT RACE RIOT, 1943 by JAMES ALBERT BURRAN, III, B.A. A THESIS IN HISTORY Submitfced fco fche Graduafce Faculfcy of Texas Tech Universifcy in Partial Fulfillmenfc of fche Requiremenfcs for fche Degree of MASTER OF ARTS Approved Chairm,^ c/f fche Gommifcfcee / )f' 7^ Acc^pfced /^ Deatn/ of fche (^raduafcel/^hool August, 1973 6U>±> • I^H.^ •"* ^"^ :?7 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 1 am deeply indebfced fco Professor Alwyn Barr for his direcfcion of fchis fchesis and fco fche ofcher member of my commifcfcee. Professor Harry Jebsen, for his helpful criti cism. 11 CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS - ii ILLUSTRATION 12 I. INTRODUCTION: RACE RIOTS IN THE UNITED STATES 1 II. WAR AITD SOCIAL REDIRECTION 20 III. ANTECEDENTS TO VIOLENCE 59 IV. "IT WAS LIKE HELL": THE RIOT 64 V. "IT EQUALS THE MEUSE-ARGONNE SECTOR": THE AFTERMATH 100 VI. CONCLUSIONS 129 BIBLIOGRAPHY 144 111 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION: RACE RIOTS IN THE UNITED STATES The Unifced Sfcafces has been described as having a his tory, bufc nofc a fcradifcion of violence. Ifc has a hisfcory of violence because such acfcion has been frequenfc in fche growfch and developmenfc of America; almosfc commonplace afc fcimes. Bufc fche nafcion does nofc have a fcradifcion of domesfcic violence because fche violence has never had an ideological or geographic cenfcer, and mosfc Americans have preferred fco dismiss domesfcic violence, ifc seems, as an unhealfchy ex cess. The facfc remains, however, fchafc violence has been a parfc of American hisfcory. Ifcs frequency and persisfcence in our society, even in confcemporary fcimes, are impressive. Wifch regard fco American domesfcic violence fcwo basic generalizafcions can be made. Firsfc, American violence has been remarkably free of insurrecfcionary fcendencies. Mosfc violence in fche Unifced Sfcafces has been direcfced by one group of cifcizens againsfc anofcher, whefcher based on economic, efchnic, or social lines. The efchnic and economic diversifcy in fchis nafcion, as well as fche diffusion of governmenfcal power, has broughfc aboufc a minimum of cifcizen againsfc sfcafce violence and a frequency of cifcizen versus cifcizen conflicfc. Richard Hofsfcadfcer and Michael Wallace, eds., American Violence, A Documenfcary Hisfcory (New York, 1971), 337: The other generalization one can make about American violence is that it has had a predominantly conservative underpinning, or the tendency to retain the social status quo through the clear separation of whites and minorities. Violence has been unleashed on abolifcionisfcs, Cafcholics, radicals, labor organizers and workers, and efchnic minor ities, among ofchers. Ifc has been used fco profcecfc fche sfcereofcyped "American" or whifce Anglo-Saxon Profcesfcanfc genre. Much of fche violence in America has been perpe- fcrafced by fchose who have been mosfc sensifcive aboufc pro- fcecfcing fchis sfcereofcype, fche middle and especially lower class whifces. The lower class has represenfced fche closesfc socio-economic parallel fco many minorifcy groups, so fchafc fche members of fchis class, fco remain respecfcable in fche eyes of WASP sociefcy, were forced fco make clear fche disfcincfcion befcween fchemselves and minorifcies. So while lower classes have nofc precipifcafced all of American domesfcic violence, fchey have inifciafced much of ifc and have added fco fche main- fcenance of efchnic separafcion. 2 Slave insurrecfcions and fcheir suppression provide early and relafced forms of racial fcurbulence. In fchese cases oppressive condifcions produced violence by slaves which was almosfc wifchoufc excepfcion defeafced by overwhelming and offcen rufchless counfcerforce. Major insurrecfcions included fche ^Ibid. New York slave revolfc of 1712, the Gabriel Prosser incident of 1800, the Louisiana slave insurrection of 1811 (after _ which slaves' heads were placed on exhibit along the Mississippi River), and the Denmark Vesey and Nat Turner uprisings of 1822 and 1831.^ Lynching became a second major form of racial vio lence, especially after Reconsfcrucfcion. Vigilanfce commifcfcees conducfced mosfc lynchings which, like revolfcs and insurrecfcions, usually were planned in advance fco some degree and were nofc spontaneous activity. The historian Richard Hofstadter has noted that lynching was in fact so unparalleled elsewhere that it could be considered an American peculiarity. Confcrary fco popular belief, lynching fcook place across fche nafcion insfcead of solely in fche Soufch, and in some insfcances whifces were vicfcimized as well as blacks. There is an inherenfc difference befcween insurrecfcion ary acfcivifcies and lynching, and fche fchird general form of racial fcurbulence, riofcing. In fche firsfc fcwo fcypes organ- izafcion and planned acfcivifcy foimed infcegral parfcs of fche fcofcal scheme. Bufc in race riofcs violence erupfced spon- fcaneously, fche riofcers were of varied socio-economic 5 •^Hofsfcadfcer and Wallace, American Violence, 187-201; Clemenfc Eafcon, A Hisfcory of fche Old Soufch, C2nd ed., New York, 1966), 23T. ZL Hofsfcadfcer and Wallace, American Violence, 20-21. classes, and fche vicfcims were chosen in a random and unpafc- fcerned fashion. So while general causes for violence were similar in all fcypes of racial fcurbulence, fche means fco effecfc fchis fcurbulence and fche physical characfcerisfcics were highly varied. In a broad sense race riofcs may be defined as "gener alized responses in which fchere is cafcegorical assaulfc on persons and properfcy by virfcue of fcheir racial membership." This is somewhafc oversimplified bufc does convey a general concepfc from which one may sfcudy fche many variefcies of race riofcs.^ By way of furfcher definifcion race riofcs in general have developed from similar circumsfcances, regard less of fche fcime of occurrence or physical and emofcional sefcfcings of fche disorders. Riofcs are mosfc likely fco occur when social insfci- fcufcions funcfcion inadequafcely, or when grievances are nofc resolved, or cannofc be resolved under exisfcing insfcifcufcional arrangemenfcs. The failure of funcfcionaries fco perform fche roles expecfced by one or bofch of fche racial groups, cross-pressures, or fche absence of an insfcifcufcion capable of handling a communifcy problem involving infcerracial relafcions will creafce fche condifcions under which riofcs are mosfc likely.^ Periods of social duress and insfcabilifcy have provided the atmosphere for much of fche nafcion's efchnic riofcing. -^Sfcanley Lieberson and Arnold R. Silverman, "The Precipifcanfcs and Underlying Condifcions of Race Riofcs," in Racial Violence in fche Unifced Sfcafces, ed. by Allen D. Grimshaw CGhicago, I969J, 36S-69. ^Ibid. The mosfc concenfcrafced periods of racial oufcbreaks include fche years surrounding World War I, fche World War II era, and fche 1960's, ofcherwise known as fche civil righfcs revolu tion. Wifchoufc excepfcion fchese fcimes of social redirecfcion and change fosfcered mass insecurifcy on fche one hand and new opporfcunifcies and hopes on fche ofcher. The lack of domesfcic manpower during fche fcwo world wars, for insfcance, vacafced a number of herefcofore predominanfcly whifce posifcions infco which blacks were fchrusfc. Conversely, in fche 1960's a lack of opporfcunifcies in economic and social befcfcermenfc in fche face of rising expecfcafcions aroused frusfcrafcions and sub- sequenfc reacfcions againsfc fche whifce majorifcy, while fco whifces fche desfcrucfcive and vociferous black populafcion represented a fchreafc fco fcradifcional social norms. The resulfc of fchese periods has been domesfcic racial violence in one form or anofcher, usually by riofcing. The black populafcion saw sociefcy changing fcoo slowly while fche socially conservafcive whifce majorifcy saw sociefcy changing fcoo rapidly. A seemingly hopeless dilemma was creafced, and was offcen solved by violence, which fco many was fche only possible form of recfcificafcion. Furfcher generalizafcions may be exfcended fco include fche developmenfc and physical characfcerisfcics of fcypical race riofcs. The precipifcafcing facfcors usually were confcinua- fcions of some exisfcing pafcfcern which occurred when fche afcmosphere was mosfc flammable, bufc fchey could have been evenfcs so complefcely new and unexpecfced fchafc fchey sfcirred immediate anger. Following fche precipifcafcing incidenfc have been a series of common sfcages in fche progression of race riofcs. These include crowd formafcion,' rumoring and exaggerafcion, fche emergence of leadership, and fche spread of fche riofc acfcion. Affcer fche violence reached ifcs peak governing in- sfcifcufcions fcook refcaliafcory acfcion, which usually involved fche deploymenfc of sfcafce or nafcional fcroops. The riofcs fchen ended in one of fcwo ways; fchey were eifcher broughfc under confcrol by force or exhausfced fchemselves.^ These generalizafcions and broad sfcafcemenfcs may be consfcrued fco include fche various fcypes of riofcs fchafc fche Unifced Sfcafces has experienced. These include anfci- abolifcionisfc riofcs, which basically resemble race riofcs, polifcical riofcs, food riofcs, and indusfcrial riofcs, among ofchers. However, fchese generalizafcions can besfc be infcer- prefced as mosfc consonanfc wifch race riofcs, which have been fche mosfc frequenfc as well as fche mosfc desfcrucfcive fcype of riofcing in America. Whafc may be considered race riofcing began in fchis counfcry as early as fche 1830's. Some of fche mosfc imporfcanfc early racial confronfcafcions fcook fche form of anfci-abolifcion ^Nafchan S. Caplan and Jeffery