Chicago’s Lager Beer Riot Challenges Nativist Liquor Enforcement

On April 21, 1855, protesters and police clashed in Chicago after Mayor Levi Boone’s administration raised liquor-license costs and enforced Sunday closing rules against taverns. German immigrants regarded the measures as attacks on their businesses, social customs, and political standing; one person died and dozens were arrested. The Lager Beer Riot shows that beer regulation could become a conflict over immigration, religion, class, and municipal power. It also helped make Chicago’s German community a more organized force in city politics.