August 7, 1495
The Diet of Worms abolished private warfare in Holy Roman Empire. The Ewiger Landfriede (variously translated as “Perpetual Peace”, “Eternal Peace”, “Perpetual Public Peace”) of 1495, banned the medieval right of vendetta (Fehderecht.) It established the monopoly of the state in the use of force: internal conflicts were to be resolved by legal process. (A Diet is a general assembly; it is derived from the Greek diaita, meaning “way of living.” The Japanese and German assemblies are still called Diets. Worms is a city in Germany.)
August 7, 1854
The St. Louis “Know Nothing” riots started when rumors started that recent Catholic immigrants — many of them Irish Catholics who immigrated after the Irish potato famine of 1845–1846 and the failed Irish uprising of 1848— were attempting to vote. That morning, the Missouri Republic announced: “A large number of illegal votes will be attempted. Watch them close.” Vigilante groups deployed to the heavily Irish 5th Ward. Ten people were killed, 33 wounded, and 93 buildings were damaged. The influx of Irish Catholic immigrants was sparked by the Irish potato famine of 1845–1846 and the failed Irish uprising of 1848. Similar riots occurred in Philadelphia in 1844, Louisville in 1855, Baltimore in 1857 and New Orleans in 1858. The illustration below is of the Philadelphia riots.
