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<p>For most of the 160 years since the Civil War was fought, what was considered important about ordinary soldiers was <em>that</em> they fought, not what they <em>fought for</em>. In order to promote sectional harmony and reconciliation between North and South after the war, political and social leaders emphasized the valor of soldiers on both sides of the conflict. They chose to remember shared experiences and values like service, military strength, and sacrifice, rather than focusing on the very different political, social, and moral causes for which Civil War soldiers fought. We think, however, that it is critically important to understand why men (and occasionally women) joined their respective armies and engaged in such a long, bloody, and costly conflict. It is clear from soldiers' letters and actions that competing ideas of race, class, and citizenship were central to the conflict. </p>
<p>One of the enduring questions about soldiers' motivations in the war is <a href="../../../items/show/1748" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">why did so many non-slaveholding white southerners join the Confederate cause</a>? While it is true that a nascent Southern nationalism played a role for some, understanding the motivations of non-elite white southerners opens a window into mid-nineteenth century ideas about social mobility, class, and race. For white southerners, to get ahead meant to purchase a slave, build up capital, purchase more enslaved people, and to strive towards the economic, social, and political power of the plantation-owning gentry. This is why so many southerners struck out for cheaper lands in newly opened territories, bringing enslaved people and rending enslaved communities in the East, during the 1820s and 1830s; it is why so many supported the war with Mexico in the 1840s and fought bloody conflicts in Kansas in the 1850s. They hoped that new lands would offer new opportunities to get in the slave-holding, plantation-buidling game. This truth about social mobility in the antebellum South, and its dependence on the enslavement of black Americans, explains the quick and fierce loyalty to the Confederate cause on the part of so many poor whites: they fought to preserve slavery in order to preserve their chance to climb the social and economic ladders of their world. Looking at the motivations of white southern soldiers helps students understand the antebellum society they fought to maintain.</p>
<p>When we teach about the motivations of ordinary soldiers, we also see that the North was far from unified in its support for the war. Many disagreed with President Lincoln's aims throughout the conflict—to some he was a tyrant, pushing the nation into a war it did not want, while for others, Lincoln's desire to "preserve the union" did not go far enough in guaranteeing the end of slavery and the citizenship of African Americans. The issuance of the National Conscription Act in 1863 stoked class tensions, as poor and working-class men, many of them immigrants, were drafted into the Union army. Further inflaming tensions was the law's provision that allowed anyone who could pay $300 to avoid military service. In July 1863, violent anti-draft riots broke out in New York City, where a mostly working-class Irish immigrant contingent burned and looted the Colored Orphans Asylum and the draft office, and lynched African Americans. At least a dozen were killed before the riot was quelled by the arrival of Union troops, weary from their recent battle at Gettysburg. The draft riots underscore that deep divisions of race and class were alive and well in the North, as well as the South, and that the war, rather than solving these problems, exacerbated them.</p>
<p>In <a href="../../../items/show/709" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">an 1864 letter to Abraham Lincoln</a>, James Shorter, writing on behalf of his fellow soldiers in the 55th Massachusetts regiment, summarized the motivations of many black soldiers: "We came to fight For Liberty justice & Equality" [<em>sic</em>]. Although initially denied the opportunity to serve in the Union army, African Americans continually put pressure on government and military leaders to enlist black soldiers. After they were finally allowed to join, more than 200,000 black men signed up. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, refused to accept lower wages than white soldiers were paid. In their letters and acts of protest, black soldiers repeatedly claimed that they were entitled to equal and fair treatment to white soldiers. Further, they affirmed their right to enjoy the full privileges of citizenship because of their shared participation in the military struggle. Black soldiers often pointed out that they did not passively wait for freedom to be granted but, as soldiers, helped to win the war that ended slavery.</p>
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Background Essay on Why They Fought
Description
An account of the resource
This essay explores the motivations of soldiers on both sides of the U.S. Civil War.
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American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
Date
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2015
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Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1877)
Subject
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Slavery and Abolition
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ASHP
African-American Soldiers
Civil War
New York City Draft Riots
-
https://shec.ashp.cuny.edu/files/original/jobconflict_303d49caf8.tif
b9720c4b67caf900ca1dd3b5122a6b95
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1438
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1605
Cartoon
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"The Irrepressible Conflict"
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English
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American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
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An account of the resource
<p>In this cartoon from the weekly satirical magazine <em>Vanity Fair</em>, an Irish longshoreman tells a black worker seeking employment on New York's waterfront: "Well, ye may be and man and a brother, sure enough; but it's little hospitality ye'll get out of yer relations on this dock, me ould buck!" The sharp competition for unskilled jobs between Irish immigrants and free African Americans contributed to the New York draft riot of 1863, in which more than 100 New Yorkers were killed and many African Americans were attacked and murdered by the mostly Irish rioters. </p>
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Unknown
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"The Irrepressible Conflict," <em>Vanity Fair</em>, August 2, 1862; from <em>Who Built America? Working People and the Nation's Economy, Politics, Culture, and Society, Vol 1</em> (New York: Worth Publishers, 2000), 563.
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1
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1862
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Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1877)
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Race and Ethnicity
Irish Immigration
New York City Draft Riots
-
https://shec.ashp.cuny.edu/files/original/draft-riots-role-play-worksheet_d8aa6f531f.pdf
c58cb956af06a5d13f4d9a72e480127c
Worksheet
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New York City Draft Riots Role Play worksheet
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English
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American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
Description
An account of the resource
These worksheets help students prepare for role plays of black and Irish New Yorkers debating their actions during the New York City draft riots of 1863. The worksheets accompany the activity "The New York City Draft Riots: A Role Play."
Creator
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American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
Source
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American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, 2010.
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Copyright American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
<div><a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" alt="Creative Commons License" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</div>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2010
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1877)
New York City Draft Riots
-
Teaching Activity
Objectives
<ul><li>
<p>Students will be able to describe the conflicting viewpoints of and weigh social pressures on African Americans and Irish Americans in the midst of the New York City Draft Riots. Â </p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Students will perform a role play of characters debating their actions during the New York City Draft Riots. Â </p>
</li>
</ul>
Materials
1229, 524, 953, 971, 820, 589, 876, 1145, 1569
Historical Context
In New York implementation of the National Conscription Act of July 11, 1863, triggered four days of the worst rioting Americans had ever seen. Violence quickly spread through the entire city, and even homes in wealthy neighborhoods were looted. Both women and men, many of them poor Irish immigrants, attacked and killed Protestant missionaries, Republican draft officials, and wealthy businessmen. However, New York City's small free black population became the rioters' main targets. Immigrants, determined not to be drafted to fight for the freedom of a people they resented, turned on black New Yorkers in a rage. Rioters lynched at least a dozen African Americans and looted the burned the city's Colored Orphan Asylum. Leading trade unionists joined middle-class leaders in condemning the riots, but to no avail. The violence ended only when Union troops were rushed back from the front to put down the riot by force. At the end, over one hundred New Yorkers lay dead.
Lesson Plan Text
<p><strong>Step 1:</strong> Divide students into two groups, one to represent the African-American household and one to represent the Irish household. Tell students that they will be researching and performing a role play of black and Irish New Yorkers debating their options during the New York City Draft Riots of 1863. Explain the situation:</p>
<p>It is Wednesday, July 15, 1863--the third day of the riots.</p>
<p>In one house, three African Americans discuss their options. Â Should they seek help from neighboring families, flee, or stay put? Â They've heard about the violence in the streets, but know that they also may not be safe in their home. Â They have lived on the block for many years and are friendly with their neighbors. Â </p>
<p>Next door an Irish family discusses the violence. Â They know that their African-American neighbors are in danger, but cannot agree on whether to help them or not. Â </p>
<p><strong>Step 2:</strong> Divide each group into smaller subgroups of 2-3 students each. Â Assign each subgroup a different "character" to research for the role play. Â </p>
<p><em>African-American household (Family #192 from the 1855 Census)</em></p>
<ul><li>
<p>Matthew Fletcher, Male, 48: A well-established local printer and landowner</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>John Johnston, Male, 36: Although ineligible for conscription, is interested in enlisting in the Union Army</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Hannah Day, Female, 42: Has heard stories about the violence in the streets--knows that the rioters are mainly targeting men</p>
</li>
</ul><p><span style="font-style:italic;">Irish household (Family #194 from the 1855 Census)</span></p>
<ul><li>
<p>Edward Galher, Male, 53, Policeman: Has been out in the streets for two days for two days trying to put down the riot and has seen the violence firsthand</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Catherine Galher, Female, 55: Sees many similarities between the experiences of the Irish and African Americans in America</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>John Galher, Male, 26: As a male citizen of draft age, is concerned about his future</p>
</li>
</ul><p><strong>Step 3:</strong> Give all students the two background documents (the background essay on the riots and 1855 Census page) and the character talking points worksheet. Â Then, depending on whether they are portraying Irish or African-Americans, give them either of the two packets:</p>
<p><em>African-American household documents:</em> "Men of Color, To Arms!"; African-American Victims Describe the New York City Draft Riots; The Emancipation Proclamation (excerpt)</p>
<p><em>Irish household documents:</em> New York City Policy Respond to the Draft Riots; Congress Issues the Conscription Act; The People of Ireland Ask the Irish in America to Support Abolition</p>
<p><strong>Step 4:</strong> Students prepare for roles by (in their subgroups) reviewing the readings and selecting evidence and information they wish to include in the exchange. Â Students should record their talking points on the worksheet, noting the source where each point comes from. Â Remind students to think about the arguments and evidence the characters would use, and how he/she would counter the arguments of the opposing household members. Â </p>
<p><strong>Step 5:</strong> Each subgroup should choose a member who will play its role for the whole class. Â Have the three African-American characters perform first, then the three Irish characters. Â Each character should explain what they think their household should do and try to convince the others of this position. Â </p>
<p><strong>Step 6:</strong> After the role plays have been performed, lead students in a discussion. Â </p>
<ul><li>
<p>How did different characters see issues differently, and why?</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>How did the perspectives of individual group members vary, depending on what role they played and on how they interpreted the role and the historical evidence? Â </p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Were the arguments that were presented in the role play grounded in the historical evidence and context provided? Â </p>
</li>
</ul>
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Language
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English
Publisher
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American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
Title
A name given to the resource
The New York City Draft Riots: A Role Play
Description
An account of the resource
In this activity students research roles as either Irish immigrants or African-American residents in the midst of the New York City Draft Riots that took place in July 1863. Students gather evidence from primary sources to develop their characters, based on actual census records, and then enact a role play debating whether to stay in the city or flee (if they are African American) and whether to participate in the riots or protect their black neighbors (if they are Irish immigrants).
Creator
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American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, 2008.
Rights
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Copyright American Social History Project/Center for Media and LearningÂ
<div><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License</a>.</div>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2008
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1877)
Civil War
Group Work
Irish Immigration
New York City Draft Riots
Role Play and Debate
-
Teaching Activity
Objectives
<ul>
<li>
<p>Students will analyze letters and printed sheet music to determine attitudes in the North about the draft during the Civil War. </p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Students will identify who fought for the North and how the draft affected the composition of the Union army during the Civil War. </p>
</li>
</ul>
Materials
524, 846, 949
Historical Context
<p>Despite the economic hardships that secession brought on in many northern cities, the outbreak of fighting galvanized northern workers. White workers, both native- and foreign-born, rushed to recruiting stations. Midwestern farmers and laborers, the backbone of the free soil movement, also enlisted in large numbers, making up nearly half the Union Army. Most northerners believed that Union military victory over the Confederacy would be quick and decisive. The North possessed a larger population (more than twice that in the South), a growing industrial base, and a better transportation network. The quick military victory was not to be, however, and Union soldiers (along with their Confederate counterparts) suffered tremendous hardships. For every soldier who died as a result of battle, three died of disease. Food was scarce, as were fresh uniforms and even shoes. Medical care was primitive. </p>
<p>In March, 1863, faced with inadequate numbers of volunteers and rising numbers of deserters, the U.S. Congress passed a draft law. The Conscription Act made all single men aged twenty to forty-five and married men up to thirty-five subject to a draft lottery. In addition, the act allowed drafted men to avoid conscription entirely by supplying someone to take their place or to pay the government a three hundred-dollar exemption fee. Not surprisingly, only the wealthy could afford to buy their way out of the draft. Workers deeply resented both the draft law's profound inequality and the recent expansion of the North's war aims to include the emancipation of the slaves who, they assumed, would join already free blacks as competitors for scarce jobs after the war ended. When the draft was implemented in the summer of 1863, rioting broke out in several northern cities, and the most widespread and devastating violence occurred in New York City.</p>
Lesson Plan Text
<p><strong>Step 1: </strong>Ask students to consider the question: Who fought for the Union during the Civil War? </p>
<p><strong>Step 2:</strong> Break students into small groups of 3-5. In their groups, have students read the historical background information on the New York City draft riots of 1863. </p>
<p><strong>Step 3: </strong>Next ask students to read "A New York Rioter Explains His Opposition to the Draft" and answer the following questions:</p>
<div>
<ul>
<li>
<p>What is the letter's point of view? What is his argument on behalf of those who rioted to protest the draft?</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>What argument does the New York Times make about the draft in response to the letter writer?</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Can you determine from the documents what each writer thinks about the causes of the Civil War? </p>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Step 4:</strong> Ask students to look closely at the details in the sheet music--both the cover art and the song lyrics--and answer the following questions: </p>
<div>
<ul>
<li>
<p>What images appear on the cover of the sheet music?</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>How do the two men depicted differ from each other? In their hair? facial expressions?</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>What is written over each of the images? Is this a clue to which man is the "substitute"? </p>
</li>
<li>
<p>What do the song lyrics describe? Do you think these lyrics are meant to be satirical? </p>
</li>
<li>
<p>What might the audience for a song like this have been? Do you think that the song format influenced the way people thought about its message about the draft? </p>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Step 5:</strong> Have students discuss within their groups what they learned from the letter and from the sheet music about attitudes toward the Union military draft during the Civil War. As a group, students should summarize who fought for the Union. As a whole class, lead a discussion comparing and contrasting the information in the sheet music and the information in the letter. Ask students what kind of information sheet music conveys that is different than a letter to the editor in a newspaper. </p>
</div>
</div>
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The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Language
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English
Publisher
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American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
Title
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Who Fought for the Union?
Description
An account of the resource
In this activity students examine sheet music and letters from draft rioters to examine Union attitudes about the military draft during the Civil War.
Creator
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American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
Source
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American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, 2008.
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Copyright American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
<div><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/" rel="license"><img style="border-width: 0;" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" alt="Creative Commons License" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/" rel="license">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</div>
Date
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2008
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1877)
Civil War
Group Work
Literature in the History Classroom
Making Connections
New York City Draft Riots
-
Pamphlet/Petition
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound.
<strong>Abraham Franklin</strong><br /><br />This young man who was murdered by the mob on the corner of Twenty-seventh St., and Seventh avenue, was a quiet, inoffensive man, 23 years of age, of unexceptionable character, and a member of the Zion African Church in this city. Although a cripple, he earned a living for himself and his mother by serving a gentleman in the capacity of a coachman. A short time previous to the assault upon his person he called upon his mother to see if anything could be done by him for her safety. The old lady, who is noted for her piety and her Christian deportment, said she considered herself perfectly safe; but if her time to die had come, she was ready to die. Her son then knelt down by her side, and implored the protection of Heaven in behalf of his mother. The old lady was affected to tears, and said to our informant that it seemed to her that good angels were present in the room. Scarcely had the supplicant risen from his knees, when the mob broke down the door, seized him, beat him over the head and face with fists and clubs, and then hanged him in the presence of his mother.<br /><br /><strong>Wm. Henry Nichols</strong><br /><br />Died July 16th, from injuries received at the hands of the rioters on the 15th of July.<br /><br />Mrs. Statts, his mother, tells this story: <br /><br />At 3 o'clock of that day the mob arrived and immediately commenced an attack with terrific yells, and a shower of stones and bricks, upon the house. In the next room to where I was sitting was a poor woman, who had been confined with a child on Sunday, three days previous. Some of the rioters broke through the front door with pick axes, and came rushing into the room.... Knowing that their rate was chiefly directed against men, I hid my son behind me and ran with him through the back door, down into the basement. In a few minutes streams of water came pouring down into the basement, the mob had cut the Croton [city] water-pipes with their axes. Fearing we should be drowned in the cellar, (there were ten of us, mostly women and children, there) I took my boy and flewout to the rear of the yard, hoping to escape with him through an open lot into 29th street; but here, to our horror and dismay, we met the mob again; I, with my son, had climbed the fence, but the sight of those maddened demons so affected me that I fell back, fainting, into the yard; my son jumped down from the fence to pick me up, and a dozen of the rioters came leaping over the fence after him. As they surrounded us my son exclaimed, "save my mother, gentlemen, if you kill me." "Well, we will kill you," they answered; and with that two ruffians seized him, each taking hold of an arm, while a third, armed with a crow-bar, calling upon them to stand and hold his arms apart, deliberately struck him a heavy blow over the head, felling him, like a bullock, to the ground. (He died in the N.Y. hospital two days after.) I believe if I were to live a hundred years I would never forget that scene, or cease to hear the horrid voices of that demoniacal mob resounding in my ears.<br /><br />I, with several others, then ran to the 29th street Station House, but we were here refused admittance, and told by the Captain that we were frightened without cause. A gentleman who accompanied us told the Captain of the facts, but we were all turned away.<br /><br />I then went down to my husband's, in Broome Street, and there I encountered another mob, who, before I could escape commenced stoning me. They beat me severely.<br /><br /><strong>Interesting Statement</strong><br /><br />I am a whitewasher by trade, and have worked, boy and man, in this city for sixty-three years. On Tuesday afternoon I was standing on the corner of Thirtieth street and Second avenue, when a crowd of young men came running along shouting. Almost before I knew of their intention, I was knocked down, kicked here and there, badgered and battered without mercy, until a cry of "the Peelers [police] are coming" was raised; and I was left almost senseless, with a broken arm and a face covered with blood, on the railroad track. I was helped home on a cart by the officers, who were very kind to me, and gave me some brandy before I got home. I entertain no malice and have no desire for revenge against these people. Why should they hurt me or my colored brethren? We are poor men like them; we work hard and get but little for it. <br /><br /><strong>White Women</strong><br /><br />Some four or five white women, wives of colored men applied for relief. In every instance they had been severly dealt with by the mob. One Irish woman, Mrs. C. was so persecuted and shunned by every one, that when she called for aid, she was nearly insane.
Text
Any textual data included in the document.
<p><strong>Abraham Franklin </strong></p>
<p>This young man who was murdered by the mob on the corner of Twenty-seventh St., and Seventh avenue, was a quiet, inoffensive man, 23 years of age, of unexceptionable character, and a member of the Zion African Church in this city. Although a cripple, he earned a living for himself and his mother by serving a gentleman in the capacity of a coachman. A short time previous to the assault upon his person he called upon his mother to see if anything could be done by him for her safety. The old lady, who is noted for her piety and her Christian deportment, said she considered herself perfectly safe; but if her time to die had come, she was ready to die. Her son then knelt down by her side, and implored the protection of Heaven in behalf of his mother. The old lady was affected to tears, and said to our informant that it seemed to her that good angels were present in the room. Scarcely had the supplicant risen from his knees, when the mob broke down the door, seized him, beat him over the head and face with fists and clubs, and then hanged him in the presence of his mother. </p>
<p><strong>Wm. Henry Nichols</strong>
</p>
<p>Died July 16th, from injuries received at the hands of the rioters on the 15th of July.
Mrs. Statts, his mother, tells this story:
At 3 o'clock of that day the mob arrived and immediately commenced an attack with terrific yells, and a shower of stones and bricks, upon the house. In the next room to where I was sitting was a poor woman, who had been confined with a child on Sunday, three days previous. Some of the rioters broke through the front door with pick axes, and came rushing into the room.... Knowing that their rate was chiefly directed against men, I hid my son behind me and ran with him through the back door, down into the basement. In a few minutes streams of water came pouring down into the basement, the mob had cut the Croton [city] water-pipes with their axes. Fearing we should be drowned in the cellar, (there were ten of us, mostly women and children, there) I took my boy and flewout to the rear of the yard, hoping to escape with him through an open lot into 29th street; but here, to our horror and dismay, we met the mob again; I, with my son, had climbed the fence, but the sight of those maddened demons so affected me that I fell back, fainting, into the yard; my son jumped down from the fence to pick me up, and a dozen of the rioters came leaping over the fence after him. As they surrounded us my son exclaimed, "save my mother, gentlemen, if you kill me." "Well, we will kill you," they answered; and with that two ruffians seized him, each taking hold of an arm, while a third, armed with a crow-bar, calling upon them to stand and hold his arms apart, deliberately struck him a heavy blow over the head, felling him, like a bullock, to the ground. (He died in the N.Y. hospital two days after.) I believe if I were to live a hundred years I would never forget that scene, or cease to hear the horrid voices of that demoniacal mob resounding in my ears.
I, with several others, then ran to the 29th street Station House, but we were here refused admittance, and told by the Captain that we were frightened without cause. A gentleman who accompanied us told the Captain of the facts, but we were all turned away.
I then went down to my husband's, in Broome Street, and there I encountered another mob, who, before I could escape commenced stoning me. They beat me severely. </p>
<p><strong>Interesting Statement</strong>
</p>
<p>I am a whitewasher by trade, and have worked, boy and man, in this city for sixty-three years. On Tuesday afternoon I was standing on the corner of Thirtieth street and Second avenue, when a crowd of young men came running along shouting. Almost before I knew of their intention, I was knocked down, kicked here and there, badgered and battered without mercy, until a cry of "the Peelers [police] are coming" was raised; and I was left almost senseless, with a broken arm and a face covered with blood, on the railroad track. I was helped home on a cart by the officers, who were very kind to me, and gave me some brandy before I got home. I entertain no malice and have no desire for revenge against these people. Why should they hurt me or my colored brethren? We are poor men like them; we work hard and get but little for it. </p>
<p><strong>White Women</strong>
</p>
<p>Some four or five white women, wives of colored men applied for relief. In every instance they had been severly dealt with by the mob. One Irish woman, Mrs. C. was so persecuted and shunned by every one, that when she called for aid, she was nearly insane.</p>
<div><strong></strong></div>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Type
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Oral History
Title
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African-American Victims Describe the New York City Draft Riots
Language
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English
Publisher
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American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
Description
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On July 20, four days after federal troops put down the 1863 Draft Riot, a group of Wall Street businessmen formed a committee to aid New York's devastated black community. The Committee of Merchants for the Relief of Colored People Suffering from the Late Riots gathered and distributed funds, and collected the following testimony.
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Committee of Merchants for the Relief of Colored People
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Report of the Committee of Merchants for the Relief of Colored People, Suffering From the Late Riots in the City of New York. (New York, 1863); from <em>History Matters: the U.S. Survey Course on the Web</em>, http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6216.
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1
Date
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1863 (Circa)
Coverage
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Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1877)
Civil War
New York City Draft Riots
-
Newspaper/Magazine
Text
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<p><em>New York Times</em>, July 15, 1863, p. 4<br /><br />A Letter from one of the Rioters<br />Monday Night—Up Town.<br /><br /><em>To the Editor of the New-York Times</em>:<br /><br />You will, no doubt, be hard on us rioters tomorrow morning, but that 300-dollar law has made us nobodies, vagabonds and cast-outs of society, for whom nobody cares when we must go to war and be shot down. We are the poor rabble, and the rich rabble is our enemy by this law. Therefore we will give our enemy battle right here, and ask no quarter. Although we got hard fists, and are dirty without, we have soft hearts, and have clean consciences within, and that’s the reason we love our wives and children more than the rich, because we got not much besides them, and we will not go and leave them at home for to starve. Until that draft law is repealed, I for one am willing to knock down more such rum-hole politicians as Kennedy. Why don’t they let the nigger kill the slave-driving race and take possession of the South, as it belongs to them.<br /><br />— A Poor Man, But A Man For All That.</p>
<p>[Editor's reply]: </p>
<p>Our correspondent is evidently very much in earnest, but he is in a very dense fog on the subject of the draft. It may be very hard that a poor man should be compelled to serve his country as a soldier, but he is not asked to do it gratuitously, and every possible precaution is taken to provide for his wife and children. Thousands and hundreds of thousands of such men have volunteered to defend their country now that its existence is in danger, and have never dreamed that they became either “vagabonds” or a “rabble” on that account. It is true that men who have $300 can purchase exemption from this honorable duty—but their $300 goes into the pockets of the poor men who may volunteer to take their places. Money will purchase exemption from a great many of the labors of life, and there always will be a great many men willing to use it for that purpose; and neither laws nor anything else can change this state of things. <br /><br />But if our correspondent thinks that this justifies him in committing murder and arson, or that he shows his love for his wife and children by plunging the society in which they live into the midst of anarchy and crime, he will live to find out his mistake.</p>
Dublin Core
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Type
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Newspaper/Magazine Article
Title
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A New York Rioter Explains His Opposition to the Draft
Language
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English
Publisher
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American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
Description
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In 1863, Congress issued a Conscription Act to draft more people into the army to fight the Civil War. The draft law also included a provision that allowed wealthy men to pay $300 to a substitute, thus avoiding military service. In response, in New York City protesters led four days of violent attacks against African Americans, draft officials, wealthy businessmen, and Protestant missionaries. One rioter attempted to explain why he participated in the draft riots, in this letter to the editor. The newspaper editor's response to the letter is also included. This letter contains racist language.
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Anonymous
Source
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"A Letter from one of the Rioters," <em>The New York Times</em>, 15 July 1863, 4; from William Friedman with Ronald Jackson, <em>Freedom's Unfinished Revolution: An Inquiry into the Civil War and Reconstruction </em>(New York: The New Press, 1996), 96.
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1
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524
Date
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1863
Coverage
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Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1877)
Civil War
New York City Draft Riots
-
Laws/Court Cases
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<p>Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all able-bodies male citizens of the United States, and persons of foreign birth who shall have declared on oath their intention to become citizens under and in pursuance of the laws thereof, between the ages of twenty and forty-five years, except as hereinafter excepted, are hereby declared to constitute the national forces, and shall be liable to perform military duty in the service of the United States when called out by the President for that purpose.<br /><br />That any person drafted and notified to appear may furnish an acceptable substitute to take his place in the draft; or he may pay to such person as the Secretary of War may authorize to receive it, such sum, not exceeding three hundred dollars and thereupon such person so furnishing the substitute, or paying the money, shall be discharged from further liability under that draft. And any person failing to report after due service of notice, as herein prescribed, without furnishing a substitute, or paying the required sum therefor, shall be deemed a deserter, and shall be arrested by the provost-marshal and sent to the nearest military post for trial by court-martial, unless, upon proper showing that he is not liable to do military duty, the board of enrolment shall relive [<em>sic</em>] him from the draft.</p>
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The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Type
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Laws/Courts
Language
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English
Publisher
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American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
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Congress Issues the Conscription Act
Description
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Between July 13 and 16, 1863, the largest riots the United States had yet seen shook New York City. In the so-called Civil War draft riots, the city's poor white working people, many of them Irish immigrants, bloodily protested the federally-imposed draft requiring all men to enlist in the Union Army. The rioters took out their rage on their perceived enemies: the Republicans whose wealth allowed them to purchase substitutes for military service, and the poor African Americans who were their rivals in the city's labor market and for whom the war was being faught. African Americans, who were not recognized as citizens, were excluded from conscription.
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U.S. Congress
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"An act for enrolling and calling out the national Forces, and for other Purposes," <em>Congressional Record</em>, 37th Congress, 3rd Session, Ch. 74, 75, 3 March 1863; from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, http://www.gilderlehrman.org/search/display_results.php?id=GLC03951
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1
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1863
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Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1877)
Civil War
New York City Draft Riots
-
Book (excerpt)
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<p><strong>Sixth Precinct.</strong></p>
<p>This precinct, Capt. JOHN JOURDAN, No. 9 Franklin Street, had no little work to do. At 3 P. M. on Monday an attack was made by a large mob on premises of colored people at No. 42 Baxter Street. Capt. JOURDAN, with Sergeants WALSH and McGIVEN and the second platoon, were soon at the spot, and after a severe fight, in which the force was boldly opposed, the rioters were dispersed, many of them badly injured. Of the force, Roundsman RYAN was the only one hurt; he was knocked down and his club wrenched from him, but was at once on his feet again and in the thickest of the fray. Soon after, the Captain, with same officers and platoon, repaired to CROOK’S, No. 74 Chatham Street, which was being assailed by a mob. A charge was made unexpectedly upon the rascals, the locust liberally used, and a general scattering ensued. At 5 1/2 P. M. some three hundred men, women, and boys attacked the dwellings of colored people in Pell, near Mott, Street; with the same officers and force, the Captain repaired thither, charged upon and routed the assailants. In this cowardly attack by the rioters, Elizabeth Hennesy, a colored woman, 57 years of age, was struck and severely injured by a brick; she was rescued by the police, and conveyed to the City Hospital.</p>
Dublin Core
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Type
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Book
Title
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New York City Police Respond to the Draft Riots
Language
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English
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American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
Description
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This account, originally published as a series of articles for the <em>New York Times</em>, details the activities of police in the 6th precinct during the 1863 Draft Riots. The 6th precinct was in the northern part of the 6th Ward, home of New York's "Five Points" neighborhood.
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David M. Barnes
Source
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David M. Barnes, <em>The Draft Riots in New York, July, 1863: The Metropolitan Police, Their Services During Riot Week, Their Honorable Record</em> (New York: Baker & Godwin, 1863): 42; from the <em>Internet Archive</em>, http://www.archive.org/details/draftriotsny00barnrich
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1
Date
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1863
Coverage
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Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1877)
New York City Draft Riots
Riots
-
Article/Essay
Text
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<p>By 1860, one of every four of New York City's 800,000 residents was an Irish-born immigrant. While many labored in several of the city's skilled trades, the vast majority of Irish immigrants worked as unskilled laborers on the docks, as ditch diggers and street pavers, and as cartmen and coal heavers. In several of these occupations they competed directly with the city's African-American workers. The city's African-American community, which dated to before the Revolutionary War, grew during the first four decades of the nineteenth century, establishing and sustaining churches, newspapers, literary societies, and free schools. Black workers lived in close proximity to white workers in racially mixed communities that dotted the lower half of Manhattan. Increased immigration from Europe after 1840 diminished employment opportunities for black New Yorkers. Working-class African Americans competed directly with immigrants, especially newly arrived Irish, for unskilled jobs, a competition that often turned ugly and violent in the years before the war.</p>
<p>When the Civil War began in 1861, large numbers of New York City's white workers did not embrace the fight to preserve the Union. Many resented the war effort, which brought economic hardship and increasing unemployment to the city's working-class neighborhoods, especially following a sharp economic downturn in the war's first year. Competition for jobs between Irish and black workers, already intense before the war, increased dramatically in the conflict's early years and racial tensions mounted in work places and in working-class neighborhoods throughout the city. Even the return of wartime prosperity in 1862 did not lessen these tensions, as living costs rose faster than wages, further undercutting working-class living standards. In spring 1863, in the midst of a strike of Irish dock workers, strikers attacked and beat African-American strike-breakers before federal troops arrived to protect the black workers.</p>
<p>In New York, implementation of the National Conscription Act on July 11, 1863, triggered four days of the worst rioting Americans had ever seen. Violence quickly spread through the entire city, and even homes in wealthy neighborhoods were looted. Both women and men, many of them poor Irish immigrants, attacked and killed Protestant missionaries, Republican draft officials, and wealthy businessmen. However, New York City’s small free black population became the rioters’ main target. Immigrants, determined not to be drafted to fight for the freedom of a people they resented, turned on black New Yorkers in a rage. Rioters lynched at least a dozen African Americans and looted and burned the city’s Colored Orphan Asylum. Leading trade unionists joined middle-class leaders in condemning the riots, but to no avail. The violence ended only when Union troops were rushed back from the front to put down the riot by force. At the end, over one hundred New Yorkers lay dead.</p>
Dublin Core
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Type
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Article/Essay
Title
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Background Essay on the New York City Draft Riots
Language
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English
Publisher
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American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
Description
An account of the resource
The worst episode of large-scale urban violence in American history, the New York City draft riots were sparked by the passage of conscription laws which made thousands of male New Yorkers between the ages of 18 and 45 eligible to be drafted into the Union Army. Poor and working-class New Yorkers, many of them Irish immigrants, were especially resentful towards the draft law. Their anger was further inflamed by an exemption in the law that allowed those who could afford to pay $300 for a substitute to avoid the draft. But the city's African-American population was the main target of the rioters' anger during four days of looting, lynching and burning. The drafts were finally quelled by Union Army troops, but only after nearly a hundred people had been killed.
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American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
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American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
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ASHP
Date
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2005
Coverage
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Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1877)
Civil War
New York City Draft Riots