[Religious Riots of Philadelphia]: Death of George Shifler in Kensington. Philadelphia: Wm. Smith, 1844. Hand-colored lithograph by Jonathan L. Magee depicting a fallen Shifler on a cobblestone street, bleeding from a chest wound, surrounded by three comrades as he clutches an American flag. In the background rioters can be seen in the street. 

10 1/2 x 13 3/4".

As was the case in many other large cities on the Eastern seaboard, anti-Catholic sentiment in Philadelphia grew throughout the 1840s in response to the arrival of waves of Irish immigrants. These tensions came to a head in 1844, amid rumors that Catholics were agitating to remove Protestant Bibles from schools. A series of riots began on May 6, when the American Republican Party, nativist precursor to the Know-Nothings, staged a rally in the Kensington neighborhood. George Shifler, the tanner and nativist depicted in this lithograph, was the first casualty. His death was exploited as a propaganda tool by the Know-Nothings. 

A few light marks in margins, else fine.