New York City Anti-Draft Riots During The Civil War
During the Civil War, both sides had a shortage of men. The solution they both came up with was the draft. The majority of each side disliked the idea and some took to arms over it. The worst case of the rioting was the New York City Anti-Draft Riot.
The South was the first to implement the draft. The South had been short on men since the start of the war. There were far fewer people living in the South than the North at that time, so they could have used every hand they had. They had little trouble getting people to sign up in the first few months of the war. Mainly because the people of that time thought war was a game. Both sides thought the war would only last six months. The young men of the time thought they had to hurry up and sign …show more content…
In July of 1863, a mob of drunken anti-draft Irishmen poured out of a pub and made their way down the street to the draft building. When they finally got there they set fire to it. They then moved on to other government buildings and even people that were affiliated with the draft. Government officials and military personnel were attacked. Unfortunately, the riot did not stop there. They attacked innocent black people because they saw it as unfair that they weren’t drafted yet they still had to compete with them for jobs. The angry mob grew from the original Irish drunks to thousands of angry people. There was fighting, killing, and destruction. The local Police could not stop them, so the military was called in. A group of soldiers that just finished fighting at Gettysburg, finally put a stop to it. Around 120 people died and much more were injured, millions were lost in property damage, and it drove thousands of black people from Manhattan(Harris).
That riot brought destruction and pain to a country already shoulder deep in it. The riot got the next draft drawing to be pushed back but it did not stop it. However, good people brought light out of this dark event. Rich upper class and the Union League Club helped pay for the damage done, regiments of black soldiers were created, and many people sought out ways to bring unity. Unfortunately, that could not reverse the damage done nor did the city or country completely unify, whites and black, for a hundred
The South was the first to implement the draft. The South had been short on men since the start of the war. There were far fewer people living in the South than the North at that time, so they could have used every hand they had. They had little trouble getting people to sign up in the first few months of the war. Mainly because the people of that time thought war was a game. Both sides thought the war would only last six months. The young men of the time thought they had to hurry up and sign …show more content…
In July of 1863, a mob of drunken anti-draft Irishmen poured out of a pub and made their way down the street to the draft building. When they finally got there they set fire to it. They then moved on to other government buildings and even people that were affiliated with the draft. Government officials and military personnel were attacked. Unfortunately, the riot did not stop there. They attacked innocent black people because they saw it as unfair that they weren’t drafted yet they still had to compete with them for jobs. The angry mob grew from the original Irish drunks to thousands of angry people. There was fighting, killing, and destruction. The local Police could not stop them, so the military was called in. A group of soldiers that just finished fighting at Gettysburg, finally put a stop to it. Around 120 people died and much more were injured, millions were lost in property damage, and it drove thousands of black people from Manhattan(Harris).
That riot brought destruction and pain to a country already shoulder deep in it. The riot got the next draft drawing to be pushed back but it did not stop it. However, good people brought light out of this dark event. Rich upper class and the Union League Club helped pay for the damage done, regiments of black soldiers were created, and many people sought out ways to bring unity. Unfortunately, that could not reverse the damage done nor did the city or country completely unify, whites and black, for a hundred