The Anti-Abolitionist Riots in New York: How the Progressive and Free North Feared Racial Equality

Key Points:

On July 7, 1834, New York City was shaken by one of the most violent incidents in its early history. The violence, known as the anti-abolitionist riots, also called the Farren Riot or Tappan Riot, did not remain small or isolated. What began as scattered unrest quickly turned into nearly a week of mob violence. The situation became so severe that military forces had to be deployed to bring the city back under control.

For several days, rioters effectively ruled parts of New York. They attacked the homes, businesses, and churches of well-known abolitionists and carried out widespread destruction in Black neighbourhoods.

The violence did not happen suddenly or without cause. It grew out of deep social tensions in a city that was changing rapidly. One major factor was nativism—the belief that people born in the country were superior to immigrants. At the same time, there was strong opposition to abolitionism, the movement to end slavery.

For years, Protestant elites had dominated New York’s political and social life. But the city was transforming. Immigration was increasing, jobs were harder to find, and fears related to race, religion, and power were growing. These pressures created an atmosphere ready to explode.

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The Tappan Brothers and Anti-Abolitionist Riots

At the heart of the controversy were Lewis and Arthur Tappan, wealthy merchants and major supporters of the American abolitionist movement. Using their business success, the brothers helped finance anti-slavery causes at a time when opposing slavery was dangerous and unpopular.

Their public stand against slavery angered powerful pro-slavery groups and slave-owning interests. As their influence grew, so did hostility toward them. In July 1834, tensions finally erupted. A pro-slavery mob gathered outside Chatham Street Chapel in New York City to disrupt an abolitionist sermon.

Much of the anger was triggered by a recent incident involving Arthur Tappan. Weeks earlier, he had invited Reverend Samuel Cornish, a Black Presbyterian minister and co-founder of the American Anti-Slavery Society, to sit with his family during Sunday church service. While the act was peaceful, it directly challenged racial segregation in religious worship.

For many white New Yorkers, this crossed an unspoken boundary. Soon, rumours and conspiracy theories spread through newspapers, falsely accusing the Tappan brothers—who were religious and pacifist—of plotting slave revolts. They quickly became symbols of everything the rioters opposed.

Today, the abolition movement is often remembered as heroic. But in the early 19th century, abolitionism was deeply controversial. Many white Americans viewed free Black communities as economic and social threats. This fear was especially strong in Atlantic port cities like New York, where competition for jobs and housing was intense.

Irish Immigrants and an Unspoken Incident of Mob Violence

Irish immigration added to these tensions. After Britain relaxed emigration rules in 1827, migration from Ireland increased sharply. Around 20,000 Irish immigrants arrived soon after, and by 1835, more than 30,000 were arriving each year.

Many Irish immigrants settled in the same working-class neighbourhoods as free Black families. This close proximity increased competition for work and housing, leading to resentment and conflict. As the riots spread, thousands of white rioters moved through the city. They destroyed churches, burned abolitionist homes, and then turned their violence toward Black neighbourhoods.

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Some historical accounts say that in areas where Black and Irish families lived side by side, mobs distributed handbills instructing residents to place a candle in their window if they were white. Homes without candles were attacked. The Five Points area suffered the worst destruction.

Black families reportedly watched in fear as neighbours they had lived beside for years placed candles in their windows while mobs destroyed nearby homes. Entire streets were left in ruins. The violence became so widespread that local authorities lost control. The New York National Guard was eventually deployed and occupied large parts of the city. Only then did the riots come to an end.

Was New York Always Progressive?

These events did not happen in the slaveholding South. They happened in New York, a city often celebrated as a symbol of freedom and progress. The riots revealed a troubling truth: fear of racial equality and Black economic independence ran deep, even in the North.

Some white abolitionists opposed slavery but still wanted to protect what they believed was “pure” American Protestant Christianity, viewing Catholic immigrants with suspicion. The reality of 1834 was that progress frightened many people. Ending slavery threatened existing economic systems, racial hierarchies, and social control. For some, fear quickly turned into violence.

The anti-abolitionist riots remain a powerful reminder that the fight for justice in America has always been contested—even in places that claim liberty as their defining value.

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