formation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), organized to work on civil rights for African Americans. Background In 1908, Springfield was a transportation hub, connected by railroad to other major cities such as Indianapolis, Louisville, and Kansas City, etc. Illinois is often considered a microcosm of the U.S. and Springfield, with about 45,000 people at the time, most of whom were working class, was described as an "average American community". Economy In July 1908, the US was pulling itself out of the Panic of 1907, which occurred during a lengthy economic contraction between May 1907 and June 1908. This contraction led to suspension of cash payments by banks, a halt in lending, and a fall in the stock market, all resulting in significant economic disruption. Industrial production dropped, and the period saw the second-highest volume of bankruptcies to that date, with the dollar volume increasing nearly 50 percent. Production fell over 10 percent, commodity prices dropped by more than 20 percent, imports fell by over 25 percent, and unemployment, which had been less than 3 percent prior to the panic, increased to 8 percent, resulting in fierce job competition. As of April 1908, there were 200,000 unemployed men in Illinois, with 55 percent of those residing outside of Chicago. Comparatively, neighboring Iowa and Missouri, which had populations that were 40 percent and 60 percent of Illinois' (5.5 million), had 2,000 and 43,000 unemployed men, respectively. Prior to the Panic, over one million immigrants had arrived in the U.S. during each of the previous two years. However, after the Panic, the rate of arrival began declining by nearly 40 percent. Due to its dependence on mines, railroad, and vice industries, such as saloons, Springfield was largely insulated from much of the contraction. However, the city still could not escape the economic downturn of the region, including new alcohol policies passed in 1908 that would suddenly put the employees at nearly 2,000 bars across the state out of work, including 20 percent of the saloons across Sangamon County. There was growing unrest among railroad workers after the Illinois Central Railroad began a "retrenchment" (cost-cutting) policy in December 1907. For example, men in nearby Clinton saw their work week drop from seven to four days a week by March 1908. That same month, the railroad also began streamlining positions to further cut expenses, which caused many to be