The full extent of class feeling and divisions existing in egalitarian America was revealed on a bloody Thursday in May 1849 at and around the Astor Place Opera House in New York City; The immediate catalyst was a long-standing feud between two leading actors, the Englishman William: Charles Macready and the American Edwin Forrest, who had become symbols of antithetical values.

Forrest's vigorous acting style, his militant love of his country, his outspoken belief in its citizenry, and his frequent articulation of the possibilities of self-improvement and social mobility endeared him to the American people. Macready's cerebral acting style, his aristocratic demeanor, and his identification with the wealthy gentry made him appear Forrest's diametric opposite.

On May 7, Macready and Forrest appeared against one another in separate productions of Macbeth. Forrest's performance, at the Broadway Theatre, was a triumph both dramatically and politically…. Macready's performance, at the Astor Place Opera House, was never heard - he was silenced by a storm of boos… and by an avalanche of eggs, apples, potatoes, lemons, and, ultimately, chairs hurled from the gallery, which forced him to leave the stage in the third act.

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