1. Tuesday, February 13, 2018
DC History

2. Warm-Up
Your table group is the Washington, DC City Council in the Fall of 1835.
In the aftermath of the Snow Riots, what law(s) or policy/policies would you enact in response to the week of violence against Washington’s African-American community, perpetrated by working class white?

3. The Response: A Tougher “Black Code”:
1) Blacks were denied licenses to own/manage restaurants and bars
2) The only legal employment for free blacks was driving carts and hackney carriages (“cabs”)
3) To receive their “papers”, free blacks had to post “peace bonds” of $1000, and produce signatures from five reputable white men testifying to their good character

4. Race Relations in Pre-War DC

5. DC’s Free Black Population
DC’s population from its founding until the Civil War was around 25% African American
Initially this population was predominantly slave;
By 1830 the majority of African Americans in DC were free
In the 1820s and 1830s, many free blacks in DC became successful businessmen – many of them restaurant and tavern owners
Questions
1) Why did DC’s free black population rapidly increase between 1800 and 1830?
2) Why did a large number of free blacks in DC become successful business owners?

6. DC’s Working Class White Population
White residents of Washington City who did not work in the Federal Government or in service industries were mainly manual laborers;
They worked primarily in construction
Why not in factories?
Even when employed, this class of people was materially very poor;
Fulfilling the basic necessities of life was a constant challenge
Questions
1) Why would poor whites in DC be frustrated by the city’s economy and society?
2) What comparison can you draw to the current political climate in the U.S?

7. DC’s Slave Population
Although DC had a significant slave population, the nature of slavery was very different than in the Deep South
Questions
1) Why?
2) Why might this have increased the frustrations of poor whites in the city?

8. Reprise: The Snow Riots and the Black Code
1) Blacks were denied licenses to own/manage restaurants and bars
2) The only legal employment for free blacks was driving carts and hackney carriages (“cabs”)
3) To receive their “papers”, free blacks had to post “peace bonds” of $1000, and produce signatures from five reputable white men testifying to their good character
How did these provisions address the grievances of working class whites in DC?
Why did the City Council respond to the Snow Riots in this way?

9. Primary Source Reading and Writing Assignment
Read the excerpt from the memoirs of Margaret Bayard Smith;
This source gives a view of the opposite end of DC society: the “elites”
As you read, imagine yourself as a free African American or a working class white resident of Washington, DC
Writing Assignment: Write a letter to Ms. Smith, expressing your feelings about the elite society that she inhabited

10. Homework
City of Magnificent Intentions: Social Classes in Early DC