Flour Riot of 1837
| Date | 1837 |
|---|---|
| Location | New York City |
| Participants | Locofocos |
| Outcome | 500-600 barrels of flour and 1,000 bushels of wheat stolen or destroyed |
The flour riot of 1837 was a riot that broke out in New York City in 1837 and lasted less than a day. It resulted from a combination of the rising cost of flour and the recession triggered by the Panic of 1837.
The Panic of 1837 was largely influenced by the monetary policies of US President Andrew Jackson, including the executive order known as the Specie Circular, which required hard money for the purchase of federal land in the west, in addition to subsequent changes in banking policy. These resulted in widespread rising prices and bank failures. Within two months the losses from bank failures in New York alone aggregated nearly $100 million. Out of 850 banks in the United States, 343 closed entirely, 62 failed partially, and the system of State banks received a shock from which it never fully recovered.
Over the winter of the previous year, the price of flour rose from between $5.62 and $7 a barrel to $12. The cost of meat rose substantially, with pork going from $13 to $24.50 over three years. Coal, used for home heating, did likewise, reaching $10 per ton. The prices of rent grew such that efforts were underway to organize tenants to refuse to leave their residences when their leases expired, and force their land lords to court.
In February of that year, a rumor circulated that there was only three or four weeks supply of flour on hand. This was picked up in newspapers, who added reports that vast supplies were being hoarded by merchants for the purpose of driving up prices yet higher. The railed against "an atrocious and wicked conspiracy by rich speculators," a group of "veritable vermin who prey upon the community".
Some in the temperance movement sought to blame prices on the amount of grain used by distilleries, but the scorn of many fell local commission merchants, with large stores of grain in their facilities. Rumors and anonymous letter began to circulate about plots to raid the stores.
On February 10 a bulletin was posted throughout the city reading:
The voice of the people shall be heard and will prevail. The people will meet in the Park, rain or shine at four o'clock Monday afternoon to inquire into the cause of the present unexampled distress, and to devise a suitable remedy. All friends of humanity, determined to resist monopolists and extortioners, are invited to attend.
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