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Evidence Tables: Serial Premeditation, Self-Defense & Property Destruction
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Philadelphia Anti-Black Mob Attacks of 1834, 1835, 1842, and 1849
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1838 Black Metropolis · compiled evidence for article drafting
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PurposeThis workbook tabulates the documentary evidence for the article's thesis: that these four attacks were premeditated assaults on Black property, institutions, and prosperity, and that Black Philadelphians practiced armed and legal self-defense a decade before the Fugitive Slave Act crisis. It extends Emma Lapsansky's 1834 argument serially across all four attacks and extends Kellie Carter Jackson's account of Black political violence backward to ordinary Philadelphians.
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Sheet 1 — Premeditation EvidenceEvery documented sign that an attack was planned in advance: threats and warnings circulating days ahead, weapons prepared before marches, targets pre-selected (incl. the white-candle signal), official foreknowledge, planning meetings, and coordination signals. Also logs documented Black DEFENSIVE preparation (arms and bricks brought in before an attack). The 'Party' column separates aggressor premeditation from defensive preparation.
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Sheet 2 — Self-Defense & ResistanceEvery documented instance of self-defense and resistance, from one person raising a gun, to fortifying a home, to coordinated collective defense, to arguing self-defense in court, to suing for damages, to protest in the press.
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Sheet 3 — Property DestructionEvery documented instance of property destroyed: what it was (church, hall, home, tavern, shop, furniture, fire equipment, banners) and how (arson, axes, stones/brickbats, smashed windows and doors, furniture broken up).
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Sheet 4 — Legal Proceedings & Damage ClaimsThe courtroom and civil aftermath in chronological order: riot-act lawsuits, criminal trials, verdicts, compensation amounts, and prosecutions from 1842 through 1851.
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Number columns (for totals)Each data sheet has one numeric column you can add up, with a filter-aware total two rows below the data (it uses SUBTOTAL, so it re-totals whatever your filter shows). Filter to one year and the total updates to that year.
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 • Premeditation'Days Before Attack' = documented lead time (0 = same day). The total row COUNTS the visible indicators.
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 • Self-Defense'# Aggressors Hit' = mob members documented as shot/struck by Black defenders (a conservative minimum; blank where unrecorded).
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 • Property Destruction'# Structures' = buildings destroyed or damaged (homes, halls, churches, taverns, shops, stables). Movable property (furniture, banners, fixtures, fire equipment) is described in text but NOT counted here, to keep the structure total clean. The 1834 '40+ homes' aggregate row is left blank so it does not double-count the individually-named homes below it.
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 • Legal'Damages Awarded ($)' = compensation won, where a figure is recorded.
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Scope noteThe four main attacks plus surrounding St. Mary's Street incidents (1834 Christmas, 1845, 1846, 1848, 1850-51) are included; context incidents are marked 'Context' in the Year column so they can be filtered in or out.
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Sourcing & conflictsThe Source column cites the newspaper, record, or secondary work as given in your two source compilations (2024 '1842 Lombard Street ... Beneficial Hall' report; 2026 '1849 California House Mob Attack Sources') and the four StoryMap timelines. Where accounts conflict, the conflict is noted in the row rather than resolved.
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Color key1834 = peach · 1835 = gold · 1842 = green · 1849/1850 = blue · Context = grey (applied to the ID cell).
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