The Memphis Massacre

Summary

Podcast Summary: Stuff You Missed in History Class

Episode: The Memphis Massacre
Date: April 29, 2026
Hosts: Tracy V. Wilson & Holly Fry

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Episode Overview

Hosts Tracy and Holly delve into the history, causes, and consequences of the 1866 Memphis Massacre—a devastating episode of anti-Black violence that erupted shortly after the Civil War. The discussion contextualizes the event within broader patterns of post-Civil War racial violence, explores its distinctive aspects (including links to the 14th Amendment and early transgender history), and considers its long-term legacy and efforts at remembrance.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: Post-Civil War Memphis

• Geographic & Historic Context:
  • The site of Memphis was acquired in 1818 via the Treaty of Tuscaloosa (Jackson Purchase), involving Andrew Jackson and the Chickasaw Nation.
    • “Jackson would face allegations of corruption over his land speculations during these negotiations, and the Chickasaw Nation would later be one of the indigenous nations that was forced to move west under the Indian removal act…” (Tracy, 04:41)
• Demographics Leading Up to 1866:
  • Post-war Memphis saw a dramatic increase in Black residents escaping rural life and seeking safety under Union control.
  • The city’s Irish population also expanded rapidly, driven by economic opportunity and recent famine-driven migration.
    • “Prior to 1853, most of the manual laborers building railroads were enslaved Africans... It became more economical to hire Irish laborers who didn’t have that financial risk if they were hurt or killed doing the work.” (Holly, 08:18)
  • By 1865, Blacks represented 40% or even a majority of the city’s population (from 4,000 pre-war to 16,000+). (Tracy, 07:48)
  • Irish men held disproportionate political power post-war due to voting disenfranchisement of former Confederates.
    • “Irish men were elected to nine of the 16 seats on the Board of Aldermen. Irish people also held 2/3 of all the elected and appointed offices in the Memphis government…” (Tracy, 12:21)

2. Causes of Tension

• Competition between newly freed Blacks and Irish immigrants over scarce jobs and resources.
• Resentment and fear among whites, fueled by racist attitudes, economic insecurity, and aggressive local media.
  • “The Irish community also had a strong sense of solidarity… they faced so much bigotry and derision from other white people… Irish immigrants were thought of as the wrong kind of white people.” (Holly, 10:10)
• Black veterans in uniform were especially resented by whites, who refused them “dignity and respect.” (Tracy, 15:49)

3. The Events of the Massacre

• Triggering Incident (April 30–May 1, 1866):
  • A confrontation between Black Union soldiers and Irish policemen escalated into open violence after a street altercation.
    • “Four Irish police officers forced them off the sidewalk… words passed between the men… one of the soldiers fell, and then one of the police officers tripped over him. Then the police officers attacked the soldiers, including one who started beating the men with his pistol.” (Tracy, 16:59)
• Initial Celebration Leads to Mob Violence:
  • Black soldiers, post-muster and paid, celebrated on South Street; police intervened, and shooting followed.
    • “Police arrived, and they arrested two black men from the crowd... Several other black men tried to intervene… they fired their pistols into the air. The police officers... started firing into the crowd again.” (Tracy, 18:46)
• Rumors & Escalation:
  • Rumors circulated that Blacks were planning an uprising.
  • Public officials and local press, including city recorder John C. Creighton, called for whites to arm themselves.
    • “Creighton... made a speech on horseback, encouraging the white residents around them to arm themselves and to try to kill Memphis’s black population or drive them from the city.” (Holly, 19:25)
• Mob Rule (May 1–3, 1866):
  • For three days, white mobs (many Irish police and firefighters included) perpetrated murder, rape, theft, and widespread burning of Black homes, churches, schools, and businesses.
  • Black residents sought but were denied military protection.
  • Some Black veterans, having surrendered their service weapons, were left defenseless.
    • “Veterans who had turned in their service weapons when they were mustered out went to general Stoneman to ask to have them returned, and they were denied.” (Tracy, 22:34)
  • Martial law was eventually declared, but only after immense damage and death.
  • Death toll: 46 Black people (many veterans), 2 white (one by accidental discharge, one friendly fire).
    • “The mob had burned down between 50 and 90 homes along with every black church and school in Memphis.” (Tracy, 23:04)

4. Aftermath and Investigations

• Investigations:

  • Congressional committee interviewed 170 victims and witnesses, including Black women who testified about being raped.
  • Testimonies showed the violence was not a riot, but an unprovoked massacre perpetrated mainly by Irish members of the police and fire department.
    • Notable quote:
      • “...the black population of Memphis, ‘had nothing to do with it after the first day except to be killed and abused.’” (paraphrasing Gen. Stoneman, Holly, 33:08)
  • Reports highlighted not only the violence, but also the relative discipline and restraint of the Black troops when attacked.
    • “There is no number of white soldiers that I ever saw that could be held in such subjection as they were when their houses were being burned, as theirs were...” (Capt. Thomas J. Dornan, 31:17)
  • Republican and Democratic committee members sharply divided in their conclusions; Democrats blamed Black residents for the violence.

• Media Coverage:

  • Harper’s Weekly, among others, made the incident a national story—often comparing it to other anti-Black massacres such as the New York Draft Riots.

5. National Implications

• The Memphis Massacre and the 14th Amendment:
  • The massacre was repeatedly cited in the Congressional debates over the 14th Amendment, giving that measure new urgency.
    • “Let not those friends of secession sing to me their siren song of peace and goodwill until they can stop my ears to the screams and groans of the dying victims at Memphis.” (Rep. Thaddeus Stevens, 28:37)
  • Led to reforms in policing and a clean sweep of elected officials in the next election.
  • No perpetrators faced criminal charges, but the massacre helped galvanize Radical Republican support for stricter Reconstruction measures.

6. Frances Thompson: Early Transgender Testimony

• Unique Historical Note:
  • Frances Thompson, a Black woman and former enslaved person, testified before Congress about being raped during the massacre—the first known instance of a transgender person (by modern understanding) to testify before Congress, though the term did not exist at the time.
    • “She described herself as being, ‘of double sex, or most likely intersex in modern parlance.’ She said she had been wearing dresses since she was a child.” (Tracy, 39:44)
  • A decade later, Thompson was arrested for “cross-dressing,” forcibly examined, humiliated, and died as a result of abuse she endured. Reporting about her case was used to attack the credibility of Black witnesses and the Congressional investigation into the massacre.

7. Legacy & Remembrance

• Long-Term Impact:
  • By the early 20th century, the massacre had faded from public memory until the 150th anniversary renewed research and commemoration efforts in Memphis.
  • Debates continue over terminology—whether to call it a “race riot” or “massacre,” with Black activists pushing for the latter to more accurately reflect the events.
    • “The NAACP ultimately wound up putting up a marker privately in conjunction with the city headed 1866 Memphis Massacre. Rather than going through the state Historical Marker Commission and having that race riot language on there.” (Tracy, 44:23)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the scale of the violence:

  • “The city seemed to be under the control of a lawless mob. During this and the two succeeding days, all crimes imaginable were committed, from simple larceny to… rape and murder.”
    — Freedmen’s Bureau Report, read by Holly, 20:42

• On the motivations for violence:

  • “Irish laborers saw the influx of black people into Memphis as a threat to their livelihoods. And this was particularly true immediately after the Civil War, when slavery had been abolished and the city was in an economic recession…”
    — Tracy, 09:27

• On political ramifications:

  • “The Memphis massacre and the investigations and news reporting around it are credited with galvanizing radical Republicans and voters.”
    — Holly, 37:04

• On Frances Thompson’s testimony:

  • “She described herself as, ‘regarded always as a woman.’ … She was fined and sentenced to work on a chain gang despite the fact that she was physically disabled.”
    — Holly, 40:35

• On public memory:

  • “By the early 20th century, the Memphis Massacre and Francis Thompson had largely fallen out of public memory. That continued until the approach of the massacre’s 150th anniversary in 2016…”
    — Holly, 43:52

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:25] Introduction and context of the episode and anniversary
• [04:00–08:18] Background: land, demographics, and competing communities in Memphis
• [15:49–23:54] Detailed recounting of the massacre: triggers, escalation, atrocities
• [28:11–32:11] National reaction; congressional debate and investigation; 14th Amendment discussions
• [32:11–36:08] Testimonies, political divisions, and aftermath (no justice for perpetrators)
• [39:01–42:22] Frances Thompson: testimony, life, and post-massacre struggles
• [43:52–45:09] The massacre’s erasure and revival in public memory; debates over commemoration

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Summary

The Memphis Massacre episode offers a thorough and somber account of how a period of hope and transformation for Black Americans in the post-Civil War South was met with murderous race-based violence. Tracy and Holly underscore the massacre’s centrality to the passage of the 14th Amendment and to the extension (and later withdrawal) of federal protections for Black citizens. The episode’s attention to distinct details—notably Frances Thompson’s place in both Black and transgender history—makes it essential listening for anyone seeking to understand the complexity of Reconstruction, its setbacks, and its lingering echoes in American society.

Transcript

[Tracy V. Wilson]

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[Tracy V. Wilson]

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[Holly Fry]

Welcome to Stuff youf Missed in History Class, a production of iHeartradio.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Hello and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. Wilson.

[Holly Fry]

And I'm Holly Fry.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

We are coming up on the 160th anniversary of the Memphis Massacre of 1866, and it is a coincidence that this episode is coming out right alongside that anniversary. I had originally planned a somewhat different episode and the focus shifted along the way and we will talk about that in our Friday behind the Scenes. This was a truly horrific wave of destruction and violence, including sexual violence and murders against the black community of Memphis just a year after the end of the U.S. civil War. The perpetrators of this included police officers and firefighters, and the victims included veterans who had fought for the United States during the war. We've talked about a number of other similar waves of mass anti black violence on the show, including the Wilmington coup of 1898, the Tulsa massacre of 1921, and multiple incidents that took place in and around the red summer of 1919, just as examples. So the Memphis Massacre was part of this pattern of violence, and these incidents all had some similar traits. But what happened in Memphis also had a couple of aspects that really set it apart. It played a role in the passage and ratification of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. And the investigations that followed the massacre heard the first known testimony of a transgender person before a congressional committee.

[Holly Fry]

So, for background, in 1818, the United States and the Chickasaw Nation signed the Treaty of Tuscaloosa, also known as the Treaty of Old Town. The negotiators on the US Side were future President Andrew Jackson and former Kentucky Governor Isaac Shelby. And the Chickasaw Nation was represented by brothers Levi and George Colbert. Under this treaty, the U.S. purchased land between the Tennessee and Mississippi Rivers in what is now Kentucky and Tennessee, with the chickasaw Nation receiving $300,000 at the rate of $20,000 annually for 15 years. This became known as the Jackson Purchase.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

This, of course, is just one tiny piece of the United States relationship with the Chickasaw Nation. Among other things, the Treaty of Tuscaloosa was one of several that were signed in 1818. Jackson would face allegations of corruption over his land speculations during these negotiations, and the Chickasaw Nation would later be one of the indigenous nations that was forced to move west under the Indian removal act of 1830. That act, of course, was passed early in Jackson's presidency and was part of his overall policy toward indigenous people. The part of this history that is most relevant to today's Episode, though, is the Jackson Purchase, since a year later, the city of Memphis was established on a part of the acquired land.

[Holly Fry]

Tennessee had been admitted to the Union as a slave state in 1796, and on June 8, 1861, a few months after the start of the Civil War, Tennessee residents voted to secede from the Union. Tennessee was the last state to secede, and this vote was largely split along regional lines. East Tennessee voted decisively to remain in the Union, and a substantial majority of West Tennessee, where Memphis is, voted to secede. East Tennessee is in the Appalachian Mountains and foothills, and slavery was not widely practiced there, which was not the case in the western part of the state.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

The United States captured Memphis from the Confederacy on June 6, 1862. The Confederacy launched a series of raids and incursions into Memphis after this, including the Second Battle of Memphis in 1864. But the city remained in Union hands for the rest of the war, and the population of Memphis changed dramatically during that time. In 1860, Memphis had about 22,000 residents. The next census was not until 1870, so there's not an exact population number for 1866 when the massacre happened, but it's estimated to have been around 35,000 or 40,000 people.

[Holly Fry]

Many of those new residents were black, including people who had fled from more rural areas. After hearing that Memphis was under Union control, President Lincoln issued the emancipation proclamation on January 1, 1863, and and six months later, the third US colored heavy artillery was established and started recruiting black soldiers who were garrisoned at Fort Pickering in Memphis. That same year, the US Decided to consolidate some of its contraband camps in the Mississippi River Valley, and Memphis was chosen as one of the locations to move people to. We have done an episode about these camps. They were established to house people who liberated themselves from enslavement and made it to Union territory or were confiscated when Confederate sites were captured. Memphis also became home to a Freedmen's bureau office in 1865, which freed people saw as a resource for protection and help and became another reason to go to the city.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

There were about 4,000 enslaved and free black people in Memphis in 1860, and at that point, the city's population was about 80% white. As a result of everything we just talked about, when the war ended in 1865, the city's free black population had quadrupled to about 16,000 people and made up about 40% of the city's population. Some estimates are even higher, estimating a black majority in Memphis at some points

[Holly Fry]

in the mid-1860s, Memphis's Irish population had also grown dramatically. The Great Famine had started in 1845, and people fleeing Ireland typically arrived at northeastern ports. But many started making their way to Kentucky and Tennessee in the 1850s to find work building railroads. Prior to 1853, most of the manual laborers building railroads were enslaved Africans who the railroad companies rented from their enslavers. But that year, the Supreme Court of Alabama ruled that people who rented enslaved laborers would be liable if they were harmed doing work that they didn't typically do, like building a railroad instead of working in a field. In other words, the railroads would have to compensate enslavers for injuries or deaths among the people who were considered their property. It became more economical to hire Irish laborers who didn't have that financial risk if they were hurt or killed doing the work. In 1850, less than 10% of the population of Memphis was Irish. That number more than doubled by 1860.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

If you've listened to some of our other episodes about this kind of mob violence, including previous hosts episode on the New York draft riots of 1863, this probably sounds familiar. There were black and Irish entrepreneurs in Memphis, but aside from the soldiers, most black and Irish men were competing for the same jobs doing manual labor. Irish laborers saw the influx of black people into Memphis as a threat to their livelihoods. And this was particularly true immediately after the Civil War, when slavery had been abolished and the city was in an economic recession, mostly staying afloat through investments and loans from the North.

[Holly Fry]

Broadly speaking, the Irish community also had a strong sense of solidarity, in part because they faced so much bigotry and derision from other white people. Sometimes you'll see this described as Irish immigrants not being considered white, but that's not exactly true. Irish immigrants to the United States could and did become US Citizens. They could vote and own property and hold public office, things that people who were not considered white would not be allowed to do. They were barred from those activities. It was more like Irish immigrants were thought of as the wrong kind of white people. For example, a Freedmen's Bureau report on the massacre refers to the instigators who were predominantly Irish, as, quote, low whites. At two different points. The congressional report on the massacre uses both Irish and white.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

In 1866, Irish people also had a lot of political power and influence in Memphis. The year before, Tennessee had passed a disenfranchisement law that stripped former Confederates and Confederate sympathizers of the right to vote for a minimum of 15 years. A lot of the people who had previously held office in Memphis were wealthy landowners and slaveholders and they were affected by this law even if they hadn't explicitly sided with the Confederacy or if they had not been in favor of Tennessee's secession. A lot of them refused to do things like take a loyalty oath that was required and that endorsed the Emancipation Proclamation.

[Holly Fry]

Meanwhile, the vast majority of the Irish residents of Tennessee were newly arrived in the United States and didn't feel a real connection to the war or a reason to fight. They only did because they had been conscripted. Most were also poor and had never enslaved anyone. Some who had served in the Confederate military could make the case that they had been forced into service and had otherwise remained loyal to the United States. Others deserted the Confederacy and fought for the United States after the Union took control of the area where they were

[Tracy V. Wilson]

so in the 1865 municipal election in Memphis, Irish men were disproportionately still able to vote, while non Irish white men disproportionately were not. John park, who was either Irish or the child of Irish immigrants, I found sources calling him each of those things. He was elected mayor. Irish men were elected to nine of the 16 seats on the Board of Aldermen. Irish people also held 2/3 of all the elected and appointed offices in the Memphis government. The large majority of the police and firefighters in Memphis were also Irish.

[Holly Fry]

All of this is part of the context for this massacre, which we will talk about after we pause for a sponsor break. Wouldn't it be great to never buy gas again? EVs are as easy to charge as your phone, and they are a perfect addition to your everyday life. Most people are only driving about 40 miles a day, and most EVs can handle 200 to 400 miles of range on a charge. And there are hundreds of EV models available today, so there's something perfect for every lifestyle and budget. I drive an ev. I've had it for a couple of years. It's my favorite car I've ever owned. It is so fun to drive. The pickup is incredible. It's super agile and it is easy to maintain. The way forward is electric.

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[Tracy V. Wilson]

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[Tracy V. Wilson]

During and after the Civil War, the black population of Memphis fought to be treated with dignity and respect. This was particularly true of black soldiers and veterans who felt that they had earned that dignity and respect through their service to the United States and whose presence in uniform was just really galling to people who thought that they should not have it.

[Holly Fry]

For months leading up to the massacre, black people in Memphis had faced increasing antagonism and harassment from the city's white population, including and especially its predominantly Irish police force and firefighting forces. This really spiraled, with black soldiers and veterans and civilians pushing back against racism, wrongful arrest, police brutality and other mistreatment, only for the white population to become even more hostile. This whole cycle also seemed to strengthen the sense of solidarity among Irish immigrants who had an increasingly us versus Them mentality, with us specifically meaning Irish people, not white people more broadly.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

In April of 1866, the Civil War was over and black soldiers stationed at Fort Pickering were waiting to be paid and mustered out of the army. On April 30, a group of black soldiers were walking down Causey street when four Irish police officers forced them off the sidewalk. The details of this aren't clear. Like, I don't know if there was some instigation of forcing them off the sidewalk besides, just to be antagonistic, but one witness said that some words passed between the men, but not what was said other than that strong language was used on both sides. One of the soldiers fell, and then one of the police officers tripped over him. Then the police officers attacked the soldiers, including one who started beating the men with his pistol. And this fight went on for several minutes. And in the words of the Freedmen's Bureau report on the massacre, both parties then separated, deferring the settlement by mutual consent to some future time.

[Holly Fry]

Most of the black soldiers were mustered out of the army on April 30, but they didn't receive their back pay until May 1. That day, after being paid, many of them went out to celebrate. A large group of people, including women and children, congregated on south street, which was seen as a border between white and black neighborhoods of Memphis. This crowd was boisterous and loud with some people singing and dancing. Some of them were intoxicated, none of which is surprising since they had just been mustered out of the army after serving in a war and had just gotten the back pay that they had been waiting for.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah, this was definitely rowdy.

[Holly Fry]

Understandably, that is exactly the time you should celebrate.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Correct. Police arrived, and they arrested two black men from the crowd and tried to escort them from the scene. Several other black men tried to intervene. They surrounded the police and the men they'd taken into custody, and they fired their pistols into the air. The police officers thought they were being fired upon, and they started firing into the crowd again. In the words of the Freedmen's Bureau report, quote, during this affray, one police officer was wounded in the finger. Another, Stevens was shot by the accidental discharge of the pistol in his own hand and afterward died.

[Holly Fry]

Word of what was happening started to spread through Memphis, including rumors that black residents were going to try to take over the city. John C. Creighton, the city recorder, went out into the streets and made a speech on horseback, encouraging the white residents around them to arm themselves and to try to kill Memphis's black population or drive them from the city.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Shelby County Sheriff T.M. winters went to Major General George Stoneman, who was in command of the troops in Memphis, to ask for military help in restoring order. By that point, though, most of the troops who had been in Memphis had been mustered out or transferred elsewhere. Where Stoneman argued that he only had enough men on hand to try to protect government property from the mob. He also pointed out that the people of Memphis had been very ready to get rid of the federal troops who had been stationed there to enforce the law. His attitude was sort of like, well, you all claimed you were competent and able to take care of yourselves, so we sent most of the troops away like you asked, and now look where we are. Meanwhile, Winters raised a posse that seemed to add to the violence rather than controlling it.

[Holly Fry]

The violence in Memphis stretched from May 1st through the 3rd, 1866. Again, in the words of the freedmen's Bureau report, quote, the city seemed to be under the control of a lawless mob. During this and the two succeeding days, all crimes imaginable were committed, from simple larceny to. To rape and murder. Several women and children were shot in bed. One woman, Rachel Johnson, was shot and then thrown into the flames of a burning house and consumed. Another was forced twice through the flames and finally escaped. In some instances, houses were fired and armed men guarded them to prevent the escape of those inside. A number of men whose loyalty is undoubted long. Residents of Memphis who deprecated the riot during its progress were denominated Yankees and abolitionists and were informed in language more emphatic than gentlemanly, that their presence here was unnecessary.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Mayor John park was described as totally losing control of his subordinates. Those subordinates, including the police officers and firefighters, who terrorized, raped, robbed, and killed black residents of the city. Park was described as intoxicated during part or most of the time and unable to carry out his duties as the mayor. While other people characterized him as intentionally sowing discord and disorder among the other city officials to try to get them to grant him emergency powers. He did make his own request for Stoneman to send troops, and Stoneman told him that 150 troops would be made available, but only in the case of, quote, extreme necessity. He left it up to park to determine whether the need was extreme.

[Holly Fry]

Meanwhile, black residents of Memphis flooded the Freedmen's Bureau office to ask brevet brigadier general Ben P. Runkle, chief superintendent for the bureau in Memphis, for help. He described himself as humiliated in his inability to help them. He had no troops to deploy, and when he went out to appeal to the mob, no one would listen to him. Veterans who had turned in their service weapons when they were mustered out went to general Stoneman to ask to have them returned, and they were denied.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Eventually, on May 3, Stoneman declared martial law, banned the posse that the sheriff had rallied and deployed reinforcements from the 4th U.S. cavalry to restore order. By that point, 46 black Americans, many of them U.S. army veterans, had been murdered at the hands of white perpetrators. Many of those perpetrators were Irish police officers and firefighters. About 75 other black people had been injured. At least five black women had been raped. Police and civilians had fired at patients who were sitting in front of the Freedmen's Bureau hospital and then fired into the hospital itself. The mob had burned down between 50 and 90 homes along with every black church and school school in Memphis. And they had robbed and burned down black owned businesses.

[Holly Fry]

Two white men were killed over those three days. The police officer named Stevens who was killed when his own pistol accidentally discharged, and a firefighter named Dunn who was shot and killed by another white man by mistake.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

A number of civic and business leaders, many of whom were Irish, intentionally spread racism and panic during all this. That included Attorney General William Wallace, who made public speeches to stoke anger and racism. And business leader John Pendergrass, who allowed rioters to use his home as a planning and rallying point. News reporting played a role as well, with conservative newspapers including the Daily Argus and the Memphis Avalanche publishing just incendiary articles. These newspapers were already highly critical of the Republican governments of both the United States and Tennessee and and they were especially critical of the radical Republican faction which was known for their opposition to slavery and their efforts to secure freedom and equal rights for black people. These newspapers framed radical Republicans as violent and dangerous and described black people using racist stereotypes. The Avalanche started printing the names of radical Republicans and rumors that black men who had been mustered out of service were going to attack the town.

[Holly Fry]

Multiple investigations were launched within days of the massacre. We're going to talk more about that after we pause for a sponsor break. Wouldn't it be great to never buy gas again? EVs are as easy to charge as your phone and they are a perfect addition to your everyday life. Most people are only driving about 40 miles a day and most EVs can handle 200 to 400 miles of range on a charge. And there are hundreds of EV models available today, so there's something perfect for every lifestyle and budget. I drive an ev. I've had it for a couple of years. It's my favorite car I've ever owned. It is so fun to drive. The pickup is incredible. It's super agile and it is easy to maintain. The way forward is electric.

[Podcast Advertiser/Announcer]

Learn [e-mail] Liberty Mutual customizes your car and home insurance. And now we're customizing this ad for your morning commute to wake you up, which could help your driving. Science says that stimulating the brain increases alertness. So here's a pop quiz. How many months have 28 days? What gets wetter as it dries? What has keys but can't open Locks? If you don't want to hear the answers, turn off this Liberty mutual ad now. 12 months. A towel piano. Enjoy being fully alert.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty.

[Robert Smigel]

Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy not quite on Humor Me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Jim Gag to Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier this week. My guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an acapella band with their between songs banter. The worst singer in the group. The worst. Yeah, me. Is there anything to the idea that because you're from Harvard, you only got in because your parents made a huge donation?

[Holly Fry]

The Yardbirds, right? That's the name.

[Robert Smigel]

The Harvard Yard. They're open if you have a name suggestion.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

We're open.

[Robert Smigel]

Since you guys are middle aged. One erection. Listen to Humor Me with Robert Smigel and friends on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Humor Me.

[Robert Smigel]

I need some jokes to make me seem funny.

[Podcast Advertiser/Announcer]

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[Tracy V. Wilson]

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[Podcast Advertiser/Announcer]

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[Tracy V. Wilson]

The Memphis massacre took place during congressional debates over a constitutional amendment that had been proposed by the Joint Committee on Reconstruction. Earlier drafts of this amendment had failed, but the one that the committee reported to Congress on April 30, 1866, was largely the same as today's 14th Amendment. Debates over the newly drafted amendment started a few days after the massacre ended on May 10. During debates in the House, Representative Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania referenced the massacre in a speech about the amendment's third provision, which barred anyone who had, quote, engaged in an insurrection or rebellion against the United States from holding civil or military office. Speaking to representatives who thought this language was too strong, Stephen said, quote, let not those friends of secession sing to me their siren song of peace and goodwill until they can stop my ears to the screams and groans of the dying victims at Memphis. I hold in my hand an elaborate account from a man whom I know to be of the highest respectability in the country, every word of which I believe. This account of that foul transaction only reached me last night. It is more horrible in its atrocity, although not to the same extent than the massacre in Jamaica. Tell me Tennessee or any other state is loyal of whom such things are proved.

[Holly Fry]

On May 14, as the debates continued, Stevens motioned for the House to send a committee to Memphis to investigate what had happened. The resulting House Select Committee was made up of two Republicans, Elihu Washburn of Illinois and John Brumal of Pennsylvania, and one Democrat, George Shanklin of Kentucky. They arrived in Memphis on May 22. They interviewed 170 victims and witnesses, as well as officials who had been ostensibly in charge in Memphis during the massacre, including Major General Stoneman and Mayor John Park.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

The resulting report, which is not the Freedmen's Bureau report that we have read from earlier, that was a much shorter report. The resulting congressional report was about 400 pages long and was printed through the Government Printing Office. It detailed the initial altercation on April 30, the incidents that happened afterward, and the decisions made by civil and military leaders. It reported on the destruction of the schools, churches, businesses and homes, and on the murders, sexual assaults and rapes. It also detailed incidents of white residents trying to shelter and protect black people. Most often these were landlords and employers who were trying to protect people who lived on their property or worked for them. Although at least 40 of the known perpetrators served in the Confederate army, the people who were interviewed really focused on the fact that they were Irish, not on their status as far as former Confederates.

[Holly Fry]

In his testimony, General Stoneman tried to dispel ideas that were circulating about the soldiers conduct having justified the massacre. He acknowledged that some had behaved lawlessly on the night of May 1st and said that was inexcusable. But he said that overall their conduct compared very favorably to that of white troops in similar circumstances. Other officers also testified to the black troops general good conduct and said that none of them had tried to mistreat or attack the white population in any way. Captain Thomas J. Dornan said, quote, I never saw any riotous act among them. And one thing I will say for them, that there is no number of white soldiers that I ever saw that could be held in such subjection as they were when their houses were being burned, as theirs were. I could not have expected it, never could have Believed it could be done.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

The congressional report also included the oral testimonies of the people who were interviewed. These testimonies included those of five black women who bravely testified about having been raped. Those were Lucy Tibbs, Harriet Armour, Frances Thompson, Lucy Smith, and Rebecca Ann Bloom. Lucy Smith was Frances Thompson's 16 year old housemate. Both of them testified that men had come to their house. Frances had said there were six men and Lucy said there were seven. Both of them said that men had demanded food so they had fed them. They both testified that after the men were done eating, they raped Smith and Thompson both so badly that they had to get medical treatment and stay in bed for about two weeks afterward. Lucy thought that the men had been particularly violent toward them because they had pictures of Union officers in the house, including one of Union General Joseph Hooker.

[Holly Fry]

The committee's members came to very different conclusions, and those conclusions fell along political lines. Its Republican members concluded that what happened in Memphis was not a riot, it was a massacre. They paraphrased General Stoneman as saying, the black population of Memphis, quote, had nothing to do with it after the first day except to be killed and abused. Conversely, Democrat George Shanklin put more of the blame on the black community for instigating the violence and Tennessee's disenfranchisement law for barring most of the city's property owners and businessmen from voting, leaving people from, quote, the more inferior classes of society to be elected, quote, against the consent of the masses of the better population of the city. Shanklin also cited the, quote, antagonistic interest and feelings of hostility that exist between the laboring classes of foreign population and the Negro race.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah, just to be clear, the black population had not instigated the violence. He was blaming them here for things that had they had not done. As the Select Committee was conducting its interviews, Harper's Weekly printed a front page article about the massacre. It was illustrated with a depiction of a mob burning down a freedman schoolhouse and one of a group of houses in flames with black families trying to flee as men brandished weapons and fired at them. Harper's described this incident as, quote, a disgrace to civilization. But it also framed the, quote, lower class of white citizens and the Third United States Colored infantry as equally responsible for the original incident on the first day. But after that point, Harper's described the mob as indiscriminately killing people who were simply going about their days, doing their jobs or trying to get to safety. This article also made a comparison between what happened in Memphis and the 1863 New York draft riots, which were similarly carried out by a predominantly Irish mob.

[Holly Fry]

The House Select Committee left Memphis for Washington, D.C. on June 6, and by that point the massacre had become a national news story. Beyond the reporting Tracy just talked about in Harper's Weekly. On June 13, the House voted to propose that the 14th Amendment be ratified, and it was sent to the states for ratification on June 16, 1866. The massacre has been credited with giving this a sense of urgency since the 14th Amendment's first section includes, quote, no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States. Nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

On July 24, 1866, perhaps surprisingly considering that it had just been the site of a racist massacre two months before Tennessee was readmitted to the Union. Although the House Committee, the Freedmen's Bureau, and the military all investigated the massacre, no charges were ever filed against any of the perpetrators. Almost all of Memphis's elected officials were replaced in the 1866 election, and the police and firefighting forces also turned over almost completely. Tennessee also passed the Metropolitan police bill in 1866, which gave the governor the authority to appoint commissioners to oversee the police in four cities. One of those was Memphis. Basically took control of the police force out of Memphis's direct hands. This law was repealed in 1869 while

[Holly Fry]

there were virtually no consequences for the perpetrators beyond being voted out of office. The Memphis massacre and the investigations and news reporting around it are credited with galvanizing radical Republicans and voters. As a quick recap, black activists, radical Republican legislators, and others had been pushing President Abraham Lincoln on the need for rights and protections for black people and for strict requirements before Confederate states could be readmitted to the Union. That was happening for years before his assassination in 1865. His successor, Vice President Andrew Johnson, who had served as military governor of Tennessee, was more lenient toward the rebelling states and former Confederate leaders. His less ambitious plan became known as Presidential Reconstruction.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

But in the elections that took place the November after this massacre, Republicans won majorities in both the Senate and the House, and that began the era known as Congressional Reconstruction or Radical Reconstruction. Congress passed the Reconstruction Acts of 1867, which organized the rebelling states or the formally rebelling states into military districts, except for Tennessee, which had already been readmitted and then required those states to pass new constitutions that had to be approved by Congress. Those constitutions had to include suffrage for all men, regardless of race, and the states had to approve the 14th Amendment to be readmitted. The Memphis massacre and another massacre that took place in New Orleans in July of 1866 are seen as providing obvious evidence that the black population had to have equal rights and equal protections under the laws. This also connects to the ratification of the 14th Amendment by the states. It was ratified on July 9, 1868.

[Holly Fry]

At the top of the show, we said that the first known transgender person to testify before a congressional committee did so after the Memphis riots. To be clear, the word transgender, as is just a term that didn't exist in 1866, and it's not a concept that was part of the commonly held understanding of sex and gender in the US at the time. But there have always been people across cultures and throughout history whose gender or sexual orientation hasn't aligned with the standards and expectations of their culture. So we're using the broad definition of transgender here, meaning a person whose gender does not align with the sex they were assigned at birth.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

That was the case with Frances Thompson, who had been born in Maryland and enslaved from birth before eventually moving to Memphis and being freed. Not actually sure the order in which that happened. Her move and her freedom. On July 11, 1876, a decade after the massacre, she was arrested for suspicion of cross dressing. When she was questioned, she described herself as being, quote, of double sex, or most likely intersex in modern parlance. She said she had been wearing dresses since she was a child. All of her friends and neighbors knew her to be a woman, and she said that had been the case for 27 years. In an article in the Memphis Daily Appeal, she described herself as, quote, regarded always as a woman.

[Holly Fry]

After these allegations, Thompson was forced to undergo a physical examination by a panel of four doctors. They concluded that she was male. Afterwards, she was forced to wear men's clothing, and a station housekeeper basically put her on exhibit at the jail. She was fined and sentenced to work on a chain gang despite the fact that she was physically disabled. She used a cane and said that she'd had cancer in her foot. Thompson contracted pneumonia while being forced to work on that chain gang and died in a Hospital on November 1, 1876.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

This is obviously a sad and dehumanizing thing to have happened to her. And news reporting around all of this was horrible. Articles implied or stated that Thompson was a sex worker. It's really not clear whether that was true, since cross dressing was associated with sexual sex work. And she's also described as a cook and a domestic worker, sometimes in the same article. Regardless, the idea of sex work was used to discredit her. Articles also framed her as criminal and deviant. When she said she planned to leave Memphis after being released, police took photographs of her, one in a dress and one in a men's shirt, jacket and hat, so that they could distribute those photographs to other jurisdictions. A New York publication called the Day's Doings made illustrations from these photographs and published them. Newspapers also dug up other examples of people accused of cross dressing, especially other black people accused of cross dressing, to hype up the idea that this was some kind of ongoing massive scourge.

[Holly Fry]

This happened as the period of Reconstruction was coming to an end. The former Confederate states had all been readmitted to the Union, and there had been a brief window in which civil rights and legal protections for black people had led to some first steps toward racial equality. But a backlash had followed, including the passage of discriminatory laws that relegated Black Americans to second class citizenship. Reconstruction is considered to have ended in 1877 after a compromise to settle the outcome of the 1876 election included the removal of the last federal troops from the former Confederate states. The US Was on the cusp of the period that has been described as the nadir of race relations.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

The news reporting around Francis Thompson's 1876 arrest and sentencing was connected to this. Newspapers all across the country either wrote or republished articles that led with her testimony before the Select Committee. And then they accused her of committing perjury during that testimony, saying that she was lying about having been raped. These reports called not just her testimony into question, but the whole investigation into the 1866 massacre and by extension, extension, Congressional Republicans and the entire project of Congressional Reconstruction.

[Holly Fry]

By the early 20th century, the Memphis Massacre and Francis Thompson had largely fallen out of public memory. That continued until the approach of the massacre's 150th anniversary in 2016. Among other things, the University of Memphis hosted a whole semester of workshops, talks by historians, and other events, culminating in a symposium on the massacre. This was to both encourage new research into the massacre and to spread awareness of its history.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

A historical marker was also erected in 2016, and that's something that illustrates how debates over how to interpret this event have continued until today. The Tennessee Historical Marker Commission wanted the term race riot at the top of the marker, while black historians, the NAACP and others felt that term was not reflective of what had actually happened and would give people who only looked at the heading the wrong idea about what had happened. The NAACP ultimately wound up putting up a marker privately in conjunction with the city headed 1866 Memphis Massacre. Rather than going through the state Historical Marker Commission and having that race riot language on there.

[Holly Fry]

Sometimes you gotta go around instead of through.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

You do.

[Holly Fry]

Do you have listener mail for us?

[Tracy V. Wilson]

I do have listener mail. This listener mail is from Amelia who wrote about an episode Holly wrote and one about one I wrote. Amelia wrote hey Holly and Tracy. I live in metro Atlanta and recently returned from a trip to Philadelphia, so the Richard Peters podcast was well timed and I enjoyed learning about his life and lasting impacts on the city of Atlanta. Can you imagine what the property he owned would be worth today? Ivy hall, built by Richard's son, is a beautiful home and I tried to get married there but it didn't work out. We later got married in the hay house in Macon. The Mom's Mabley podcast reminded me of my trip to Mom's hometown of Brevard, North Carolina. Did you know the town is known for their white squirrels? All the downtown businesses promote the white squirrel with merchandise and signage and even have a big festival each year. I thought it was just a funny mascot until I saw one myself. Rumor has it a white squirrel escaped from a carnival. I attached a picture of myself as a white squirrel with my aunts and a picture of the real squirrel. Thank you for your podcast. You've covered topics I have never thought to wonder about in topics I greatly enjoy like embroidery. We also have a lot of fur babies, so I have no shortage of pet tacks. I've attached a picture of Indy, my black German shepherd husky mix who loves cold weather like me and my cats Juniper the tuxedo orb, the Russian blue and Helena the blind tortie. They're pictured together. And we recently foster failed with Dani, a three legged tortie who fits right in with our pack. We frequently find them all sleeping together in one big cat pile. Sincerely, Amelia thank you so much for this Amelia. I When I read this I was like why have I never heard of this white squirrel situation in Brevard? Because I've been to Brevard a number of times and then I realized that like my going to Brevard was never to the downtown area of Brevard. It was to get to Pisgah National Forest and go hiking.

[Holly Fry]

There you go.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Had no concept that there was a white squirrel. Trend is not the right word. There are real white squirrels that live there and they're also kind of a theme. And then we have adorable animal pictures they're always so good. So thank you so much Amelia for this email. If you would like to write to us, we're@history podcastheartradio.com if you would like to look at the show notes for all of our episodes, they are at our website, which [e-mail] and you can subscribe to our show on the iHeartRadio app and anywhere else you like to get your podcasts. Stuff youf Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

[Holly Fry]

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[Tracy V. Wilson]

I love eggs. I turn to them all the time as a quick and easy way to start a meal. And Vital Farms eggs are brought to you by hens that have access to fresh air and sunsh sunshine and you can actually look up on the carton and see the farm that those eggs came from. Vital Farms is also a certified B corporation with a purpose to improve the lives of people, animals and the planet through food. Look for the black egg carton in the egg aisle and visit vitalfarms.com to learn more. Vital Farms Good Eggs no shortcuts Liberty

[Podcast Advertiser/Announcer]

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[Tracy V. Wilson]

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[Robert Smigel]

Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy not quite on Humor Me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier this week. My guests, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an acapella band with their between songs banter.

[Holly Fry]

Where does your group perform?

[Robert Smigel]

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to Humor Me with Robert Smigel and friends on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.