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Multiple rebellions and closely related events have occurred in the United States, beginning from the colonial era up to present day. Events that are not commonly named strictly a rebellion (or using synonymous terms such as "revolt" or "uprising"), but have been noted by some as equivalent or very similar to a rebellion (such as an insurrection), or at least as having a few important elements of rebellion (such as an armed occupation of government property), are also included in this list. Anti-government acts by individuals are not included.
Name: | Date: | Location: | Events: | Rebel Groups: | Result: | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bacon's Rebellion | 1676 | Colony of Virginia | Bacon's forces attacked many of the neighboring Native tribes before driving governor William Berkeley from the capitol of Jamestown, burning the city. [1] | Virginian settlers led by Nathaniel Bacon | Suppressed by the Virginian colonial authorities after receiving reinforcements from privateer Thomas Larimore. The rebel forces, being composed of a mix of classes and races – many slaves and indentured whites among them – inspired the passing of the Virginia Slave Codes of 1705. [2] | |
Boston Revolt | April 18, 1689 | Dominion of New England | Popular uprising against the rule of Edmund Andros, the governor of the Dominion of New England. Dominion officials were arrested. Members of the Church of England were also taken into custody if they were believed to sympathize with the administration of the dominion. [3] | Boston colonists | Militia took control of Boston, reestablishing the Colony of Massachusetts Bay and Ending the Dominion of New England. Massachusetts's charter was permanently revoked in 1691. | |
Leisler's Rebellion | 1689–1691 | Province of New York | German American merchant and militia captain Jacob Leisler seized control of the southern portion of colonial New York and ruled it from 1689 to 1691. [4] | Leislerians | Nine Years War militia members rebelled, took control of New York City and made merchant Jacob Leisler governor. The crown retook control two years later and executed Leisler. [5] | |
War of the Regulation | 1765 – May 16, 1771 | Colony of North Carolina | War of the Regulation Battle at the Yadkin River Battle of Alamance | Regulators | Result – Decisive government victory. [6] Royal governor of North Carolina, William Tryon and General Hugh Waddell (general) with 1,500 men; 2,300+ Regulators Led by Commanders and leaders Herman Husband, James Hunter, James Few (POW), Charles Harrington; Benjamin Merrill (POW) – Executed | |
American Revolution | 1765–1783 | North America | American Revolutionary War Boston campaign Boston Massacre Pine Tree Riot | Thirteen Colonies | The Thirteen American Colonies rejected British colonial rule, overthrew the authority of the British Crown, and founded the United States of America. | |
Shays' Rebellion | August 1786 – June 1787 | Western Massachusetts | Paper Money Riot | Anti-austerity protesters and discontented Revolutionary War veterans led by Daniel Shays | Rising up against economic injustices and suspension of civil rights by Massachusetts. [7] Won economic reforms in a landslide election shortly after protestors were dispersed by a privately raised militia at the Springfield Armory. [8] Contributed to the convocation of the Constitutional Convention after the government established by the Articles of Confederation could not raise troops. | |
Whiskey Rebellion | 1791–1794 | Western Pennsylvania | Frontier tax protesters | Tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791, over 175 distillers from Kentucky were convicted of violating the tax law. [9] Suppressed by an army personally led by President Washington | No specific events | |
Fries's Rebellion | 1799–1800 | Rebel farmers | Armed tax revolt among Pennsylvania Dutch farmers. Thirty men went on trial in Federal court. [10] | |||
State of Muskogee | 1799–1803 | Florida | William Augustus Bowles, various tribes of Southeastern Native Americans | Bowles attempted to unite all the Native Americans to form a single country. [11] | Andrew Jackson destroyed the capitol Miccosukee—the largest town in Florida at the time—in 1817. | |
1811 German Coast Uprising | January 8–10, 1811 | Territory of Orleans | Rebel slaves | Between 64 and 125 enslaved men marched from sugar plantations near present-day LaPlace on the German Coast toward the city of New Orleans. [12] Militia companies were used to hunt down and kill the insurgents. | ||
Nat Turner's slave rebellion | August 21 – 23, 1831 | Southampton County, Virginia | Rebel slaves | Led by Nat Turner, rebel slaves killed anywhere from 55 to 65 people. [13] The rebellion was put down within a few days. [14] Local blacks were massacred. Led to discriminatory legislation against both free blacks and slaves | ||
Dorr Rebellion | 1841–42 | Rhode Island | Attempt to force a new government of Rhode Island under a new constitution that allowed more men to vote [15] | Dorrites | Charterite victory, but later legal expansion of voting rights | |
1842 Slave Revolt in the Cherokee Nation | 1842 | Indian Territory | Rebel slaves | Slaves escape and fight police, eventually captured. [16] | ||
Anti-Rent War | 1839–1845 | Upstate New York | Anti-Renters | The tenants could not pay the amounts demanded, could not secure favorable terms, and could not obtain relief in the courts, so they revolted against the patroon system. [17] There were trials of leaders of the revolt. | ||
Taos Revolt | January 19 – July 9, 1847 | New Mexico | Cienega Affair Las Vegas Affair Red River Canyon Affair Second Battle of Mora | Mexico Local rebels | New Mexicans and Pueblo allies rebel against the United States' occupation of present-day northern New Mexico during the Mexican-American War. [18] The rebels fought but after being defeated they abandoned open warfare. | |
John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry | October 16–18, 1859 | Harpers Ferry, Virginia | Abolitionists John Brown, Shields Green, John Henry Kagi and 21 known followers | Abolitionist John Brown initiates an armed slave revolt. [19] Eleven rebels killed and eight captured by U.S. Marines led by Col. Robert E. Lee, Lt. J.E.B. Stuart, and Lt. Israel Greene. | ||
American Civil War | April 12, 1861 – May 9, 1865 | Southern United States | Eastern Theater of the American Civil War Western Theater of the American Civil War Lower Seaboard Theater of the American Civil War Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War Pacific Coast Theater of the American Civil War | Confederate States of America | Seven Southern slave states seceded from the United States of America in response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as president. [20] Four more Southern states seceded in response to Lincoln's call for 75,000 volunteers to put down the rebellion. [21] These states formed the Confederate States of America. After four years of bloody warfare and over one million total casualties, the Confederates were defeated and Union reestablished. [22] See Reconstruction for aftermath. | |
New York City draft riots | July 13–16, 1863 | Lower Manhattan, New York City, New York | Riots expressing discontent with new draft law; white attack on blacks because of economic competition. [23] | Residents of New York City | New York Guard and Union Army troops restored order. | Largest civil and racially-charged insurrection in American history. [24] |
Battle of Liberty Place | September 14, 1874 | New Orleans, Louisiana | White League | Attempted insurrection by the Crescent City White League against the Reconstruction Louisiana state government. [25] Federal troops restored the elected government. | Part of anti-Reconstruction violence against the Union. | |
Election Riot of 1874 | November 3, 1874 | Eufaula, Alabama | White League | White supremacists take Republicans out of office and declared the Democrats as winners [26] | Part of anti-Reconstruction violence against the Union. | |
Greenwood, New York, insurrection of 1882 | February 1882 | New York Governor Alonzo Cornell proclaimed a state of insurrection after local residents resisted the seizure of property to pay for railroad bonds from the Rochester, Hornellsville, and Pine Creek Railroad. [27] Residents of Greenwood refused with violence and threats of more violence in response to the governor's attempts to get the citizens to pay a tax levied to repay money that Greenwood had borrowed to help construction of a never-built railroad. | Citizens of Greenwood | Taxes paid, insurrection ended at threat of calling out militia. | Molly Maguires said to be involved. | |
Wilmington insurrection of 1898 | November 10, 1898 | Wilmington, North Carolina | Waddell's Army Segregationist rioters | Successful removal of local government, retaining segregationist policies. [28] | ||
Green Corn Rebellion | August 2–3, 1917 | Seminole County, Oklahoma | Rebel farmers | The uprising was a reaction by radicalized European-Americans, tenant farmers, Seminoles, Muscogee Creeks and African-Americans to an attempt to enforce the Selective Draft Act of 1917 during World War I. [29] The country rebels met with a well-armed posse of townsmen, with whom shots were exchanged and three people killed. | ||
Coal Wars | c.1890 – 1930 | Eastern United States and Colorado | Coal Creek War Colorado Coalfield War Battle of Blair Mountain | Miners and unions | The Coal Wars, or the Coal Mine Wars, were a series of armed labor conflicts in the United States, they occurred mainly in the East, particularly in Appalachia. [30] | |
Battle of Athens (1946) | August 1–2, 1946 | McMinn County, Tennessee | Angered citizens, including World War II veterans | Citizens assaulted buildings in response to voter intimidation and election corruption. [31] This later resulted in reforms. | ||
San Juan Nationalist revolt | October 30, 1950 | Puerto Rico | Jayuya Uprising Utuado Uprising | Puerto Rican Nationalist Party | Nationalist revolt that took place on October 30, 1950, in the town of Jayuya, Puerto Rico. [32] The top leaders of the Nationalist party were arrested, including Albizu Campos and Blanca Canales, and sent to jail to serve long prison terms. | |
Black Power movement | 1960s – 1980s | Nationwide | Glenville shootout 1969 Greensboro uprising | Black Guerilla Family Black Liberation Army Black Panther Party Black Revolutionary Assault Team George Jackson Brigade M19CO MOVE Symbionese Liberation Army Weather Underground White Panther Party | Radicalization of the Civil Rights Movement. | |
Red Power movement | 1960s – 1970s | Wounded Knee incident | American Indian Movement | Radicalization of a Native American movement. | ||
Occupation of Alcatraz | November 20, 1969 – June 11, 1971 | Alcatraz Island, San Francisco Bay, California | Native American activists, calling themselves as "Indians of All Tribes" seized the island of Alcatraz and lived there for two years. Though, probably related to the broader Red Power Movement, the main group of the movement, the American Indian Movement claimed that they were never involved in the occupation. | Indians of All Tribes | Occupation ended after several federal agencies swarmed the island and removed the remaining occupiers. | |
Attica Prison riot | September 9–13, 1971 | Attica Correctional Facility, Attica, New York | Prison riot after the killing of George Jackson | Inmates | Prison is retaken by the New York State Police on orders from Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller. [33] | No specific events |
Occupation of Catalina Island | August 30 – September 22, 1972 | Santa Catalina Island, Los Angeles County, California | Seizure of Santa Catalina Island by pro-Chicano militia. | Brown Berets | Los Angeles County Sheriff recaptured the island, the Brown Berets surrendered without resistance. | |
2014 Bundy Standoff | April 5–14, 2014 | Bunkerville, Nevada | Armed confrontation between Cliven Bundy's militia allies and the Bureau of Land Management over Bundy's refusal to pay fees for grazing his cattle on federal land, as Bundy asserted the federal government had no right to own the land. [34] Bundy also alleged that the BLM attempted to "round up his cattle". [35] | Oath Keepers Three Percenters Other local militia groups tied to the American militia movement | Bureau of Land Management ends attempt to round up cattle but continues actions in court. Bundy's son and friends would later occupy a wildlife refuge in Oregon for similar goals. | Related to the Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge |
Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge | January 2, 2016 – February 11, 2016 | Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Harney County, Oregon | Seizure and occupation of federal property by an armed group. [36] The participants were acting on their view that the federal government is constitutionally required to turn over most of the federal public land they manage through federal agencies, to the individual states. [37] | Radical right militias led by Ammon Bundy | Occupation ended by police followed by criminal proceedings and convictions. Most participants, including Ammon and Cliven Bundy, would be acquitted in federal court. | Related to the Bundy standoff. |
Capitol Hill Occupied Protest | June 8, 2020 – July 1, 2020 | Seattle, Washington | Protesters take over The Seattle Police Department's East Precinct and the surrounding region, declaring an autonomous zone. The city government was both unwilling and unable to control agitation, with the Seattle mayor describing the atmosphere to be "more like a block party atmosphere" than an "armed takeover." [38] contrasting with other reports that said that there were "roving bands of masked protesters smashing windows and looting" [39] and the Seattle Police Chief saying that there are "Rapes, robberies and all sorts of violent acts have been occurring in the area" [40] | George Floyd protesters | The zone was cleared of occupants by police on July 1. | Part of the Defund the Police movement |
2021 United States Capitol attack | January 6, 2021 | United States Capitol, Washington, DC | Supporters of President Donald Trump, some of whom were armed, stormed the Capitol building after a rally held in Washington D.C by the President, his sons, [41] and his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani. [42] They broke through barriers, assaulting Capitol Police officers, and broke down doors, smashed through windows, and stole public property. [41] The supporters obtained access to the Senate Floor, balconies, and offices; and sat at the Senate President's desk. [41] | Supporters of President Donald Trump Far-Right groups: Oath Keepers, Proud Boys, Three Percenters, Groyper Army, America First Movement and others | Failure to overturn the presidential election; delay of counting electoral votes by several hours; [43] resumption of presidential transition leading up to the inauguration of Joe Biden. Second impeachment of Trump. [44] Other political, legal, and social repercussions. | Part of the attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election Most severe assault on the Capitol since the 1814 burning of Washington by the British Army. [45] |
The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the United States Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government. It is located on Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Although no longer at the geographic center of the national capital, the U.S. Capitol forms the origin point for the street-numbering system of the district as well as its four quadrants.
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800 when the national capital was moved from Philadelphia. The term "White House" is often used as a figure of speech for the president and his advisers.
A slave rebellion is an armed uprising by slaves, as a way of fighting for their freedom. Rebellions of slaves have occurred in nearly all societies that practice slavery or have practiced slavery in the past. A desire for freedom and the dream of successful rebellion is often the greatest object of song, art, and culture amongst the enslaved population. These events, however, are often violently opposed and suppressed by slaveholders.
Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes on both individuals and their trades. The fighting took place in the areas around Springfield during 1786 and 1787. Historically, scholars have argued that the four thousand rebels, called Shaysites, who protested against economic and civil rights injustices by the Massachusetts Government were led by Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays. However, recent scholarship has suggested that Shays's role in the protests was significantly and strategically exaggerated by Massachusetts elites, who had a political interest in shifting blame for bad economic conditions away from themselves.
The Whiskey Rebellion was a violent tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791 and ending in 1794 during the presidency of George Washington. The so-called "whiskey tax" was the first tax imposed on a domestic product by the newly formed federal government. Beer was difficult to transport and spoiled more easily than rum and whiskey. Rum distillation in the United States had been disrupted during the American Revolutionary War, and whiskey distribution and consumption increased afterwards. The "whiskey tax" became law in 1791, and was intended to generate revenue to pay the war debt incurred during the Revolutionary War. The tax applied to all distilled spirits, but consumption of American whiskey was rapidly expanding in the late 18th century, so the excise became widely known as a "whiskey tax". Farmers of the western frontier were accustomed to distilling their surplus rye, barley, wheat, corn, or fermented grain mixtures to make whiskey. These farmers resisted the tax. In these regions, whiskey often served as a medium of exchange. Many of the resisters were war veterans who believed that they were fighting for the principles of the American Revolution, in particular against taxation without local representation, while the federal government maintained that the taxes were the legal expression of Congressional taxation powers.
The West South Central states, colloquially known as the South Central states, is a region of the United States defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as covering four states: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. The West South Central or South Central region is located within the Southern United States and Gulf Coast regions, bordering the Mountain states and Midwestern U.S. regions to its north and west. The Gulf of Mexico is to the south of the region. Houston is the South Central's largest city, and the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area is the region's largest metropolis.
The Insurrection Act of 1807 is a United States federal law that empowers the president of the United States to deploy U.S. military and federalized National Guard troops within the United States in particular circumstances, such as to suppress civil disorder, insurrection, or rebellion.
Nat Turner's Rebellion, historically known as the Southampton Insurrection, was a rebellion of enslaved Virginians that took place in Southampton County, Virginia, in August 1831. Led by Nat Turner, the rebels killed between 55 and 65 White people, making it the deadliest slave revolt for white people in U.S. history. The rebellion was effectively suppressed within a few days, at Belmont Plantation on the morning of August 23, but Turner survived in hiding for more than 30 days afterward.
American militia movement is a term used by law enforcement and security analysts to refer to a number of private organizations that include paramilitary or similar elements. These groups may refer to themselves as militia, unorganized militia, and constitutional militia. While groups such as the Posse Comitatus existed as early as the 1980s, the movement gained momentum after standoffs with government agents in the early 1990s. By the mid-1990s, such groups were active in all 50 US states, with membership estimated at between 20,000 and 60,000. The movement is most closely associated with the American right-wing.
The 1811 German Coast uprising was a revolt of slaves in parts of the Territory of Orleans on January 8–10, 1811. The uprising occurred on the east bank of the Mississippi River in what is now St. John the Baptist, St. Charles and Jefferson Parishes, Louisiana. The slave insurgency was the largest in U.S. history, but the rebels killed only two White men. Confrontations with militia, combined with post-trial executions, resulted in the deaths of 95 enslaved people.
The conclusion of the American Civil War commenced with the articles of surrender agreement of the Army of Northern Virginia on April 9, at Appomattox Court House, by General Robert E. Lee and concluded with the surrender of the CSS Shenandoah on November 6, 1865, bringing the hostilities of the American Civil War to a close. Legally, the war did not end until a proclamation by President Andrew Johnson on August 20, 1866, when he declared "that the said insurrection is at an end and that peace, order, tranquillity, and civil authority now exist in and throughout the whole of the United States of America."
Oath Keepers is an American far-right anti-government militia whose leaders have been convicted of violently opposing the government of the United States, including the transfer of presidential power as prescribed by the United States constitution. It was incorporated in 2009 by founder Elmer Stewart Rhodes, a lawyer and former paratrooper. In 2023, Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years for seditious conspiracy for his role in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, and another Oath Keepers leader, Kelly Meggs, was sentenced to 12 years for the same crime. Three other members have pleaded guilty to this crime, and four other members have been convicted of it.
Seditious conspiracy is a crime in various jurisdictions of conspiring against the authority or legitimacy of the state. As a form of sedition, it has been described as a serious but lesser counterpart to treason, targeting activities that undermine the state without directly attacking it.
The Three Percenters are an American and Canadian far-right anti-government militia.
On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of then-U.S. president Donald Trump, two months after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. They sought to keep Trump in power by occupying the Capitol and preventing a joint session of Congress counting the Electoral College votes to formalize the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. The attack was ultimately unsuccessful in preventing the certification of the election results. According to the bipartisan House select committee that investigated the incident, the attack was the culmination of a seven-part plan by Trump to overturn the election.
The January 6 United States Capitol attack was followed by political, legal, and social repercussions. The second impeachment of Donald Trump, who was charged for incitement of insurrection for his conduct, occurred on January 13. At the same time, Cabinet officials were pressured to invoke the 25th Amendment for removing Trump from office. Trump was subsequently acquitted in the Senate trial, which was held in February after Trump had already left office. The result was a 57–43 vote in favor of conviction, with every Democrat and seven Republicans voting to convict, but two-thirds of the Senate are required to convict. Many in the Trump administration resigned. Several large companies announced they were halting all political donations, and others have suspended funding the lawmakers who had objected to certifying Electoral College results. A bill was introduced to form an independent commission, similar to the 9/11 Commission, to investigate the events surrounding the attack; it passed the House but was blocked by Republicans in the Senate. The House then approved a House "select committee" to investigate the attack. In June, the Senate released the results of its own investigation of the attack. The event led to strong criticism of law enforcement agencies. Leading figures within the United States Capitol Police resigned. A large-scale criminal investigation was undertaken, with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opening more than 1,200 case files. Federal law enforcement undertook a nationwide manhunt for the perpetrators, with arrests and indictments following within days. Over 890 people had been found guilty of federal crimes.
The United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., became the meeting place of the United States Congress when the building was initially completed in 1800. Since that time, there have been many violent and dangerous incidents, including shootings, fistfights, bombings, poisonings and a major riot.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)For the first time on Wednesday, it was the site of an armed insurrection incited by the sitting president. ... Not since 1814 has the building been breached. Then, it was by British troops who set fire to the building during a broader attack on Washington in the war of 1812.
While this is the first large-scale occupation of the U.S. Capitol since 1814, there have been several other instances of violence at the U.S. Capitol, particularly in the 20th century.
The attack, which some historians called the most severe assault on the Capitol since the British sacked the building in 1814