Flour Riot

The Flour Riot of 1837 by Joel T. Headley gives us insight at what happens when people are pushed into a corner, and how far they will go for what they believe is right.  The riot that occurred during 1837 was set off by a series of events and its effects, such as the great fire that caused a shortage of crop, which lead to a scarcity of flour, which in turn lead to the cost of a barrel of flour to go up, and finally causing  greed to taking over as owners withheld excess barrels of flour in order to drive prices higher.  The price of flour and cost of living were too much for those below the poverty line to bear, their families were starving and they were finding it hard to care for them properly. Then for them to read in the newspapers as to what those with money were doing to line their pockets further, was what pushed them towards the ledge. At this point it only takes one person to speak words of "encouragement", to rally them behind their agenda, people like Alexander Ming Jr.  Whether their intentions are good or bad is for you to decide, but it doesn't take much to whip a crowd into a frenzy in the heat of the moment.  Morals are thrown away and passion over takes them, as they decide to destroy Hart & Co for their flours and wheat.  Neither side has theor hands clean in this sad display of human behavior. One side has led greed take precedents over remotely caring what happens to those that will likely starve, only caring about themselves and their riches. The other side has let their passion get the better of them as they turn monstrous with every action taken, to even throw the very thing that they are fighting for out the window and have it go to waste on the floor.  It is then that we must ask ourselves, must we become something we are not in order to right a wrong? Or is there a better way of finding the solution to these problems without losing our morals and beliefs?