Civil War Draft Riot Of 1863

The Civil War Draft Riot of 1863 shocked the history of the United States as one of the “bloodiest riots of American history.” (Man, Jr, 1951 p.375) Following the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 passed Abraham Lincoln had hopes that the passing of said law would “raise the morale of the union army, and send freed slaves across the border between the north and south to fight against the confederacy.” (Dupree & Fishel, Jr, 1960 p.472) The Emancipation Proclamation was also intended to “revitalize pro-Union opinion in France and England.” (Dupree & Fisehl, Jr, 1960 p.472) However, while the idea of ending slavery in the south to aid the North in the Civil War it also had unintended consequences. First there was a division of labor in New York between wealth upper class citizens and lower poor class citizens of Irish background. The idea of emancipating slaves lead to unrest of labor competition in the north. In addition there was already a draft that was occurring at the time that conflicted with the higher and lower class citizens where the higher class citizens can buy or substitute themselves from the draft whereas the lower class are unable to have said privilege.
With the first draft occurring in U.S.
cities in 1863 one particular riot in NYC resulted in the death of “1200 individuals.”(Perri, 2013, p.434) The Civil War Draft Riot of 1863 left a major negative sociological and economic impact in United States history, showing the economic and class division during the Civil
War. The Civil War Draft Riot will examine the social and economic divide of the United States during the Civil War.
Sociological & Ethnical Dilemma Prior to the riots there were already ethnic and class divisions. The ethnical majority was lower poor working class Irish in New York following the potato famine in Ireland in1846 that cause a huge influx of immigrants entering the United States. According to Albon P. Man, Jr “upon emancipation newly freed slave would head north in search of jobs and deprive the lower class citizens of labor.” (Man, Jr, 1951 p.375) In addition there was a conscription act passed in March of 1863 further causing protest and outburst against the emancipation of slaves. This great strife between each social and ethnic class would serve as the main conflict over the draft riot. The ethnic strife between lower class Irish and working class Irish
The Economic Analysis of the “Draft” The economic draft system of the Civil War can be traced back to the colonial era. One major concept of the draft was the ability to hire a substitute or pay a certain fee to avoid service. During the Civil War two certain laws were passed to allow for conscription, The Militia Act of 1862 and the Enrollment Act of 1863. The Militia Act of 1862 allowed the creation of a draft “if a state did not fill its quota of three year volunteers.”(Perri, 2013 p.430) The Enrollment Act of 1863 finalized federal control in military recruitment and conscription. However, citizens were still allowed to buy out of the draft or hire a substitute. This was a major dilemma in the draft system in the Civil War in “that only the wealth could afford to commute or hire a substitute, which was equivalent to the annual earning manufacturing in 1860.”(Perri, 2013 p.431) “The average man had no choice but to be inducted or evade the draft.” (Perry, 2014 p.425) In addition the draft was ineffective in gaining said draftees. It is said that only “2% serving in the Union army were draftees and only 6% were forced into service.”(Perri, 2013 p.431)