Noyes Wheeler's 'The Liberator'

On July 13, 1863, New York City was in complete mayhem due to the imposition of a military draft. Noyes Wheeler, a correspondent for the “Liberator,” discusses the great violence of these draft riots against African Americans and white abolitionists. While an article from “New York Tribune” includes the letter of Governor Horatio Seymour to President Abraham Lincoln who sympathizes with the rioters. The New York City draft riots, which was mostly made up of working class men, were the pinnacle of class and racial crisis for it attacked the high social status of white men and the lower status of African Americans. These documents demonstrate the two different views of the Union States, for not all Northerners believed in abolitionism or the idea of the Civil War.
Noyes Wheeler writes to Garrison about the events he witnessed from one of the nights of the riots. Wheeler describes the violence towards Horace Greeley, a white abolitionist, as well as the lynching of two African Americans. He states, “All Abolitionists and leading Republicans were in danger.” This shows that the rioters were attacking more than just African Americans and abolitionists, rioters were also angry at the wealthy men for they knew they would pay African Americans to take their place in the draft. The wealthy class was also known to benefit from the working class members, which enraged the rioters. The New York City Riots were more than just the enactment of the military draft, it was the anger of Northerners at Abraham Lincoln since they did not want to risk their lives for the emancipation of African