Exploring the cause of the Draft Riots of 1863 in New York.
Exploring the cause of the Draft Riots of 1863 in New York.
The Draft Riots showed that groups can only be discriminated against and mistreated for so long, before they will rise up and seek justice. The riots occurred in July of 1863 on the streets of New York by Irish Americans and the actions of the protest were aimed at the wealthy, as well as African Americans, who were able to buy their way out of the draft or were considered exempt.[1]The fact that the Irish, who already felt like victims of the city, were at their breaking point, when the majority of Immigrants were chosen by the draft.
This sparked outrage and the Irish burnt homes of the wealthy, businesses, as well as an orphanage for African American children. The protesters also drowned, maimed, and hung any African American they encountered upon the streets. The riots began on July 13, on a Monday morning when names started to be chosen, and it went on until Friday the 17th. The rioting went on for so long, because the Union army was at the battle of Gettysburg. When Union soldiers were brought back to New York, is when order was finally brought back into the city.[2]
There are multiple perspectives to examine when trying to answer the question of what caused the Draft Riots to occur? One perspective claims the Draft Riots were a direct result of the unfair treatment of Irish Immigrants. Another perspective to examine is that the events of the Draft occurring in the North at this time, to gather an army for the Union is believed to be what caused the riots. The last perspective to consider, and the one that supports the thesis is that the events were a direct response to racial tensions, and the effect of the Emancipation Proclamation.[3]
One claim to be examined is that the Draft Riots were sparked by the treatment of the Irish Immigrants in the city. According to the author of Never One Nation any immigrant that fled to New York was immediately despised by the general public.[4] They were forced into tenements, and had to fight for the lowest of paying jobs, and the basic human rights needed to survive. These living conditions were unbearable, and thousands died of disease each year, because of the poor conditions.
When the Irish fled to the city after the Potato Famine occuring in the 1840s and 1850s which caused death and unimaginable hunger through the country of Ireland, they misplaced African Americans from their jobs, and their living quarters in the tenements.[6] This made for a culture of tension, and that is why it is a plausible argument that their unfair treatment for centuries, culminated in the acts of the Draft Riot.
Another perspective to be evaluated is that the Draft Riots of 1863, were caused by the Drafts that were set into place to gather soldiers for the Union Army.[7]
The Draft was believed to be the fair way of recruiting soldiers, however the rich and upper class men were able to buy their way out of the draft for $300 a person.[8]
This left the Irish who had little to no money to support their family, out of luck and they were the ones who ended up being recruited into the army.[9] These people had fled from Ireland to escape starvation, poverty, and persecution, and had ended up in a worse situation than that of what they started in. Which can be seen as the irony of America, and that the country does not live up to the idea of the “American Dream”. The Immigrants then engaged in the Draft Riots, where they burnt the draft office, effectively halting the process of drafting any more citizens in the city. They then went on to target the upper class citizens, by burning their homes and businesses, in a sort of payback manner. This evidence helps to support the argument, that the Draft Riots were caused by the drafting process.
The most likely cause of the Riots however, was the racial tensions, and the Emancipation Proclamation.[10] They had to constantly fight for employment, food, and living quarters. However, these tensions were heightened even further by that of the Emancipation Proclamation.[11]Which freed all slaves, therefore the African American population would have more job opportunities and housing options within the city, and would therefore threaten the job security of the Irish.during the riots, the Irish killed more than 100 people, the majority of those being African American.[12]They mutilated, molested, and even murdered African Americans, John Torrey, stated that early Wednesday July the 15th he saw an African American man hung by a street light.[13]
[1] Allen, Pusey. “Draft Lottery Sparks NYC Riots.” ABA Journal 104, no. 7 (2018)
[2]Allen, Pusey
[3] Barnet, Schecter. “ The Gettysburg Campaign and the New York City Draft Riots: Conspiracy or Coincidence,” 187–98. The North’s Civil War. Fordham University, 2015.
[4]Linda, Frost. “Chapter Two: Emancipation Anxiety and the New York City Draft Riots.” In Never One Nation, 30–55. University Of Minnesota Press, 2005.
[5]Linda, Frost.
[6]Linda, Frost.
[7]Barnet, Schecter.
[8]Barnet, Schecter.
[9]Barnet, Schecter.
[10]Walter Licht. “The New York City Draft Riots: Their Significance for American Society and Politics in the Age of the Civil War by Iver Bernstein.” The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 115, no. 3 (1991): 428–30.
[11]Barnet,Schecter.
[12]Linda, Frost.
[13] Hunter A. Dupree, Leslie H. Fishel An Eyewitness Account of the New York Draft Riots,July,1863.” The Mississippi Valley Historical Review 47, no. 3 (1960): 472–79.
