Editing Muncy, Pennsylvania (section)

===19th century===
{{Further|Muncy Abolition Riot of 1842}}
The town grew slowly and was nothing but a village for many years. More than a quarter of a century passed before an act of incorporation was applied for. Finally, by act approved March 15, 1826, it was incorporated as a borough.

On January 19, 1827, with a population of less than 600, the name was changed from Pennsborough to Muncy. This was done because many persons thought it was "too flat and long," and the new name would be more in accordance with the historical associations of the place, and serve to perpetuate the name of the tribe that first dwelt there, a tribe of [[Lenape]], named [[Christian Munsee|Monseys]].

One of the common misconceptions about United States history prior to the [[United States Civil War|Civil War]] is that all the citizens of the northern states were against [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]].<ref name="riot">{{cite web |url = http://www.newsofyesteryear.com/archives/1389 |title = Lycoming Remembers Muncy Abolition Riot |access-date = February 15, 2012 |author = Lou Hunsinger Jr. |publisher = [[Williamsport Sun-Gazette]] |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120420085811/http://www.newsofyesteryear.com/archives/1389 |archive-date = April 20, 2012 |url-status = dead |df = mdy-all }}</ref> In fact many of the "Yankees", were all for slavery, especially in states closer to the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] like Pennsylvania, [[Ohio]] and [[Delaware]]. There were more than a few abolitionists in Pennsylvania, and Enos Hawley, a [[Religious Society of Friends|Quaker]] citizen of Muncy, was one of the most prominent [[abolitionism in the United States|abolitionists]] in Lycoming County. Hawley, a [[tanner (occupation)|tanner]] by trade, was, like most Quakers, a strong supporter of the abolition of slavery.<ref name="riot"/> Hawley invited a now unknown speaker to come to Muncy to speak against slavery. This speaker arrived in April 1842. His arrival and resultant speech set off a tremendous [[riot]] that led to the near destruction of a local [[one room school|schoolhouse]] and the controversial [[pardon]]ing of the rioters by [[Pennsylvania Governor]] [[David R. Porter]].

The anti-slavery speaker gave his speech at a one-room school in Muncy in April 1842. During the course of the speech, eighteen men gathered outside the schoolhouse. They began throwing rocks and other debris at the school, breaking all of the windows.<ref name="riot"/> Enos Hawley and the guest speaker were both injured in the assault. Upon fleeing the school, the abolitionists were pelted with [[egg (food)|eggs]]. The rioters followed Hawley and his guest to Hawley's home at the corner of High and Main Streets. They continued the assault on Hawley's home until after midnight, when the local law enforcement officers were able to quell the riot and arrest the rioters.<ref name="rumors">{{cite web |url = http://www.forum4future.org/forum4future/lib/forum4future/ugrrrtourdraft72606_for_events.pdf |title = Riots, Rumors and Stories: The Underground Railroad Period in Pennsylvania's Heartland |access-date = May 15, 2007 |publisher = Pennsylvania Heartland Humanities Council |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070621035233/http://www.forum4future.org/forum4future/lib/forum4future/ugrrrtourdraft72606_for_events.pdf <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = June 21, 2007}}</ref> The rioters were [[indictment|indicted]] in September and went to [[trial]] in October, when thirteen of the eighteen rioters were found guilty as charged. The [[jury]]'s [[deliberation]] was quite a long process.<ref name="riot"/>

Abraham Updegraff was a member of the jury who was the driving force that led to the conviction of the rioters. Updegraff, an ardent abolitionist who was a vital member of the [[Underground Railroad]] in Lycoming County, was able to convince his peers that the rioters deserved to be punished. The first jury vote was 11 to 1 in favor of [[acquittal]], with Updegraff being the lone [[dissent]]er. Updegraff argued that "we have been sworn to try this case according to the law and the evidence presented and that if no contradictory evidence [is] offered by the defendants than we could do nothing more than to [[conviction|convict]] them." He was able to make his argument in [[German language|German]] which was the native tongue of three other jurors. The second vote was 9 to 3 in favor of acquittal. A third vote brought about the conviction of 13 of the 18 men charged in the Muncy Abolition Riot of 1842. This conviction was essentially overturned by Governor David R. Porter when he pardoned the rioters several days later. Governor Porter's statement of pardon said, "It is represented to me by highly respected citizens of Lycoming County, that this prosecution was instituted more with a view to the accomplishment of political ends than to serve the cause of [[Law and order (politics)|law and order]]."

Porter's pardon message placed the blame for the riot on the abolitionist speaker. Porter stated that the speech was "notoriously offensive to the minds of those to whom they were addressed and were calculated to bring about a breach of the peace."<ref name="riot"/> This pardon led to Governor Porter being given the less than flattering [[nickname]] of the "Previous Pardonin Porter."<ref name="rumors"/> Historians believe that Porter pardoned the rioters under political pressure that was rampant, in the years prior to the Civil War, regarding the issue of slavery.