The Soulard voting riot of 1852
Voters in the region will go to the polls tomorrow. In St. Louis County voters will be asked to approve Proposition A to help fund local public transit.
It was on this day in 1852 that voting led to a riot. From the book “St. Louis Day by Day” by Frances Hurd Stadler:
“This election day was filled with bloody rioting between recently enfranchised Germans and native-born Americans with the battlefield centered in the Soulard Market area. Early in the morning First Ward poll workers discouraged Whig voters from casting their ballots. The discouragement increased until some would-be voters barely escaped with their lives. When the rumor spread that Germans had taken over the First Ward polls, a large group of Americans moved in.”
From the history of Soulard Market:
In St. Louis, the burgeoning German immigrant population sided fervently with the abolitionist North, while most of the Americans and French were Southern sympathizers. During mayoral election day in April 1852, some German men began preventing, by the threat of bodily harm, the presumed opposition from voting at the Soulard Market polling place.
Word quickly spread of this action, which enraged the American population. A mob of 5,000 Americans moved through the streets that afternoon toward the market. They were greeted by firsts, rocks, brickbats, and even gunshots, but 200 or so of the Americans broke through and seized the Soulard Market poll with shouts of “Free suffrage!”. The violence lasted into the night; persons were killed and a nearby tavern was set ablaze.
Voting tomorrow should be less dramatic! If you are a registered voter in St. Louis County please support Prop A.
– Steve Patterson
I'm all for public transportation, but has metro outlined a long-term plan of exactly what they plan to do, considering this is a forever tax?
Pam,
try this
http://www.movingtransitforward.org/
seen it. fluff
I'm not sure you are gonna get a plan much clearer than that before a county-wide election. Basically they've said that within 5 years and after the service restorations and needed upgrades to their current facilities, plans for one of the MetroLink expansions will be set and a construction of the BRT lines will be under way. I'm not sure how you feel about the County Council, but you should know that as part of the ordinance, funds raised from Prop A may only be distributed for Metro projects after Metro has been audited, the County Council has approved its use and federal matching funds have been secured.
There is no timetable for Metrolink expansion or BRT creation. Could be 10, 20 or 30 years. That's not a clear plan. Vote “no.”
Vote Yes! Yes, Metro is in a tough position, having over-promised and under-delivered in the recent past. And yes, it requires a leap of faith on the new-construction side of the equation. But a No vote will guarantee that Metro will grow smaller and even less relevent to suburban transportation needs.
Should Metro have more robust expansion plans and defined ways of paying for them? Yes! The recent planning effort, for better or worse, includes only one future Metrolink line. If more suburban areas had more assurances of receiving something more than more buses (“What's in it for me?”). then there would likely be more support for a tax increase. But pleading poverty isn't a very effective strategy if what you're selling isn't something most voters don't see themselves using . . .