Date of Award

Spring 1975

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

History

Committee Director

Peter C. Stewart

Committee Member

John W. Kuehl

Committee Member

Richard Rutyna

Call Number for Print

Special Collections LD4331.H47 S69

Abstract

This study examines mob violence in pre-Revolutionary Norfolk, Virginia. Four chronologically distinct mob incidents are considered: the Arundel riot of 1762, the Stamp Act riot of 1766, the impressment riot of 1767, and the smallpox riots of 1768-1769. Emphasis is placed on the identification of mob participants and the motives for their involvement. Quantitative methods are used to assess the degree of participation by influential Norfolk residents in mass violence.

Statistical evidence reveals that an unusually large number of rioters were influential Norfolkians. Motivation for their participation is attributed to English Parliamentary decrees and the growing economic and political influence of the Scots that threatened the security of the established Americans.

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