History Of The New York Draft Riots

While reading about 1863 New York Riots, it seems that these riots should be taught in the introductory courses. The North namely New York City, was strongly dependent on the South for cotton and textiles. The textiles mills processed cotton for manufacturing in New York’s clothing shops. Without this, the employment of the working class people would be in jeopardy. The New York City draft riots occurred July 13–16, 1863 and were referred to Draft Week. At this time Congress passed laws to draft men to fight in the American Civil War. The working class were very upset at this law and did not approve of drafting. At first the riots were against the draft, but this turned into a race riot. Much of the Irish were new to the

Irish workers and foreign immigrant workers rush to the streets. The rioters attacked the city and “ransacked or destroyed numerous public buildings, two Protestant churches, the homes of various abolitionists or sympathizers, many black homes, and the Colored Orphan Asylum at 44th Street and Fifth Avenue, which was burned to the ground”.2 The New York draft riot was associated with racial competition for jobs. The Northern labor feared that the emancipation of slaves would cause and increase of African American workers from the South, and that employers used black workers as strike breakers at this time. The New York draft riot was internal fighting within the North. It was the North versus the North. While the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg were directly related to the Civil War it was the Union soldier’s versus the Confederate

On July 4th the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg was found. Previously the Army of Northern Virginia suffered major losses in manpower, supplies and livestock. During the defeat, General “Stonewall” Jackson was killed. This was a big a loss to the Confederate army and this loss was evident during future battles. Jackson was a known for his tactical strategies. The Battle of Gettysburg was the deadliest battle of the Civil War. Had Jackson been present, the battle may have been fought differently. There were around 46,000 casualties including nearly 8,000 deaths during this battle