Thread by @lindsaypcohn

Gather round, kids, and let me tell you about the time the federal govt delegated down to the military commanders of domestic regions the decision whether to respond to a State request for federal military aid ...

Granted, Wilson was incapacitated, but still. Sending out a telegram basically saying “hey, guys, there’s a lot going on - race riots and strikes and such - so, uh, if a governor asks you for help just, uh, do it, k?” seems a bit like an abdication of War Dept responsibilities.

So, it’s summer of 1919, there’s a post-war recession so labor is antsy, and white people are upset that black people (having participated in the war effort) seem to feel like they deserve some rights. Big race riots break out in DC and Chicago. National Guard handles Chicago.

In DC, Wilson brings in Army & USMC, but resists Congress’s request for a declaration of martial law and uses the troops primarily as a show of force. The troops’ orders are to assist the police - that’s it. And the only restrictive measure was that ppl couldn’t gather in groups.

The violence - which had killed at least four and injured around 70 before the troops arrived - essentially died, and troops were withdrawn.
This neutrality/relatively light hand was similar to how Wilson had handled the Ludlow massacre’s aftermath in CO in 1914. It worked.

In late Sep, however, Wilson’s health declined and on 2 Oct he had a stroke. His inner circle concealed his incapacity for months and refused to displace him even after his condition was public.

At exactly this time, the devastating mob attacks on African-Americans took place in Omaha NE and Elaine AR.
Gen Leonard Wood commanded the Cental Dept, and he essentially put Omaha under martial law, incl arresting ppl and holding them w/o bond as military prisoners.

In Elaine, troops arrived to quell the fighting, but in contrast to Wilson’s careful use of troops as neutral peacekeepers in CO, here they just rounded up a large number of African Americans and kept them in stockades (reportedly until a white employer could vouch for them).

In Oct, violence broke out bt striking steel workers and strikebreakers in Gary IN and Gen Wood showed up again. In this case, the federal troops aligned so clearly against the workers that there were several clashes bt them. Eventually the mayor requested that the troops leave.

From Nov-Dec, the War Dept sent troops to ten states to deal with strikes. None of them encountered serious disturbance.
It wasn’t until a year later, when Harding was dealing w the WV violence, that commanders were told not to respond anymore w/o reference to the Pres.

Part of the point of this story is that when US troops have been used as neutral peacekeepers in these situations, it has often worked well AND maintained the military’s non-partisan character. But when federal troops have taken sides, it has damaged their rep/effectiveness.

Also, if you liked this story you’ll love the one about Teddy Roosevelt basically getting punked by a Governor who just wanted the feds to pay for everything ...

P.s. for those of you wondering “where was the Natl Guard in all this?” The answer is that the NG was mobilized for WWI, but most states didn’t have a plan to reconstitute it after demob, so in 1919 most had few/no state forces avail to deal w unrest (only police/sheriffs).