ABSTRACT
Race riots are simultaneously seen as high-profile examples of inter-ethnic tension but also as curiously impotent, having little or no effect in the longer run. The effects of riots have received little attention because the focus in the aftermath has been on governmental response to riots, which is generally acknowledged to be ineffectual. This verdict, however, is based largely on the federal government’s response to the race riots of the 1960s: in the broader sweep of the twentieth century this period is the exception rather than the rule.
