1 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:05,000 Speaker 1: Hey everybody, it is Saturday, which means it's time to 2 00:00:05,040 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: go back into the archive for one of our previous episodes, 3 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:10,560 Speaker 1: and today it's our April eleven episode on the New 4 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:15,080 Speaker 1: York Draft Riots from previous hosts Sarah and Bublina. We're 5 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:17,759 Speaker 1: coming up on the hundred and fifty fifth anniversary of 6 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:21,799 Speaker 1: these riots. They started on July eight, sixty three, so 7 00:00:21,880 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 1: it seemed like a good time to return to it. 8 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:26,239 Speaker 1: And while it is known as the Draft Riots, it 9 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:30,200 Speaker 1: was about a lot more than the Civil War draft. Immigration, 10 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:33,680 Speaker 1: class struggles, and labor issues all played a part as well, 11 00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:38,400 Speaker 1: and it remains a horrifying example of racist violence. Also, 12 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:41,440 Speaker 1: the New York Draft Riots will be making an appearance 13 00:00:41,479 --> 00:00:45,720 Speaker 1: in our brand new sister podcast, This Day in History Class, 14 00:00:45,720 --> 00:00:48,559 Speaker 1: which launched on July one, So you can tune in 15 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:51,199 Speaker 1: to the end of today's episode to hear a trailer 16 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:53,680 Speaker 1: for This Day in History Class, and you can hear 17 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:56,480 Speaker 1: a different take on the Draft Riots on that show 18 00:00:56,720 --> 00:01:03,000 Speaker 1: on July. Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class 19 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:12,399 Speaker 1: from how Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to 20 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:15,640 Speaker 1: the podcast I'm to Blame a chalk reboarding and and 21 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:18,320 Speaker 1: all of you history fans out there have probably heard 22 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:21,039 Speaker 1: a little bit about a certain anniversary that's coming up. 23 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:24,520 Speaker 1: It's the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Civil 24 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:27,640 Speaker 1: War that's kicking off this year, actually this month in fact, 25 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:31,319 Speaker 1: with the anniversary of the attack at Fort Sumter, and 26 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:34,320 Speaker 1: it's such a pivotal era in American history that we're 27 00:01:34,319 --> 00:01:38,440 Speaker 1: really still figuring out how we should formally commemorate this 28 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:41,000 Speaker 1: in podcast form. We'd love your ideas, because we don't 29 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:45,000 Speaker 1: want to just do some massive, multi year Civil War series. Yeah, 30 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:47,240 Speaker 1: because something more original than that. Right, people are going 31 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:48,920 Speaker 1: to be talking about this for the next four years, 32 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:51,280 Speaker 1: So you know, if you have any ideas of how 33 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:52,880 Speaker 1: you would like to hear about it that maybe you 34 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:55,160 Speaker 1: aren't hearing about it in that way other places, let 35 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 1: us know. But the truth is we often touch on 36 00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:01,080 Speaker 1: topics around this particular era. We talked about the Craft's 37 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 1: escape a couple of months ago, and very recently we 38 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:08,120 Speaker 1: talked about Victoria Woodhull, who was America's first female presidential candidate, 39 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:10,200 Speaker 1: and that all took place during this era and the 40 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:12,960 Speaker 1: riots will discuss in this episode were also very much 41 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:15,440 Speaker 1: related to the war, and even though they didn't constitute 42 00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:18,960 Speaker 1: a battle per se, they did temporarily turn New York 43 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:22,200 Speaker 1: City into a battleground in what's often called the worst 44 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:25,600 Speaker 1: civil disturbance in American history. Yeah, you've seen the movie 45 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:29,000 Speaker 1: Gangs of New York. You you know how bloody and 46 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:33,000 Speaker 1: violent these riots really were. Yeah, but what is it 47 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 1: exactly that made them so bad? I mean, there were 48 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:38,040 Speaker 1: smaller draft riots that took place in other areas of 49 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:40,920 Speaker 1: the country. So why did the eighteen sixty three New 50 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:43,840 Speaker 1: York Draft riots get so out of control? There were 51 00:02:43,919 --> 00:02:46,160 Speaker 1: really a few factors involved, and of course we're going 52 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:48,680 Speaker 1: to go into all of these in more detail, but 53 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:51,480 Speaker 1: just so you have them before we get going. There 54 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:54,560 Speaker 1: was the draft, the issue around that, there were union 55 00:02:54,560 --> 00:03:00,799 Speaker 1: wartime policies. There were issues with race relations, socio economic securities, 56 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:03,880 Speaker 1: and class struggles. So a lot going on. Yeah, and 57 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:06,680 Speaker 1: so what we're going to talk about here is how 58 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:09,520 Speaker 1: did these issues combine to fuel this kind of perfect 59 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:13,080 Speaker 1: storm of rage in New York's working class And what 60 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:16,960 Speaker 1: exactly happened over those four full days that the riots lasted, 61 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:19,840 Speaker 1: and of course, finally, what did it take to put 62 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:22,239 Speaker 1: a stop to all of it? All? Right, So, before 63 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:23,919 Speaker 1: we get into all of that that we're going to 64 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:27,880 Speaker 1: set the scene. A lot of New York's working class. 65 00:03:27,919 --> 00:03:30,680 Speaker 1: New York City's working class in the mid eighteen hundreds 66 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:32,920 Speaker 1: was made up of recent immigrants, and a lot of 67 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:37,560 Speaker 1: them were from Germany and Ireland, and it became a 68 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:41,880 Speaker 1: primary destination for the Irish in particular, especially after the 69 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:46,200 Speaker 1: Potato famine of the eighteen forties. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, 70 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:49,880 Speaker 1: from eighteen forty one to eighteen fifty, Irish made up 71 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 1: forty nine per cent of the total immigration to the 72 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:56,480 Speaker 1: United States, So a huge group of people. Yeah, I 73 00:03:56,480 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 1: think it's something like one in four New York residents 74 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:02,040 Speaker 1: was an Irish immigran. And of these they were mostly 75 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:06,520 Speaker 1: unskilled laborers such as doc workers, ditch digger, street pavers, 76 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:10,440 Speaker 1: and mostly poor. So in general, over the first couple 77 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:14,560 Speaker 1: of years of the war, working class, the immigrant community, 78 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:17,440 Speaker 1: they basically supported it in general, and in fact they 79 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:20,680 Speaker 1: were encouraged to almost by Irish by leaders in the 80 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:23,719 Speaker 1: Irish Catholic community. So you know, to support it in 81 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:26,760 Speaker 1: some way, if not by enlisting, then finding another way 82 00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:30,280 Speaker 1: to the effort at home. Yeah, to support the union. Um, 83 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:33,760 Speaker 1: some some did participate. But by the time eighteen sixty 84 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:36,760 Speaker 1: three rolled around, that sentiment in general, that sentiment of 85 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:40,400 Speaker 1: support had changed somewhat. For one, the Irish brigade off 86 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:43,200 Speaker 1: the Union had lost a lot of men in battle Um. 87 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:47,560 Speaker 1: President Lincoln also issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January one, 88 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:51,200 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty three, and what that did is it basically 89 00:04:51,279 --> 00:04:54,240 Speaker 1: gave the war a new purpose besides the original goal 90 00:04:54,279 --> 00:04:57,760 Speaker 1: of preserving the Union, which was freeing slaves um. The 91 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:01,200 Speaker 1: new goal that is Irish American didn't like this because 92 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:04,120 Speaker 1: they were afraid that African Americans were gonna come up 93 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:05,560 Speaker 1: once they were free, they were going to come up 94 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:08,200 Speaker 1: north and take their jobs. So that was with this 95 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:12,240 Speaker 1: low paying job market that they were in, right, So 96 00:05:12,279 --> 00:05:15,560 Speaker 1: that was why that sort of decreased their attitude of 97 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:18,760 Speaker 1: support for the war. Yeah, and it's worth mentioning the 98 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:23,520 Speaker 1: relations between working class African Americans in working class Irish 99 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:27,520 Speaker 1: immigrants were pretty similar. You know, they were in similar, 100 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:31,120 Speaker 1: similar positions. They shared a lot in common. They were 101 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:36,320 Speaker 1: both poor, both faced discrimination, They lived in close proximity 102 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:39,360 Speaker 1: together in the lower half of Manhattan, and they were, 103 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:44,320 Speaker 1: as we mentioned, competing for these same low skill labor jobs, 104 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:48,400 Speaker 1: and that job competition, we should mention it grew especially 105 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:51,920 Speaker 1: heated during the war. One memorable occasion, for example, was 106 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:55,240 Speaker 1: in spring of eighteen sixty three during a strike of 107 00:05:55,279 --> 00:05:58,520 Speaker 1: Irish stock workers African Americans. They had been called in 108 00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:01,120 Speaker 1: a strike breakers in the city suation and so the 109 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:04,800 Speaker 1: strikers attacked and beat them until federal troops came around 110 00:06:04,839 --> 00:06:08,040 Speaker 1: for protection. So this is what was in the air 111 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:10,920 Speaker 1: at the time. Yeah, so trouble was brewing already, right, 112 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:14,000 Speaker 1: And then the final straw was when Federal Congress passed 113 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:17,599 Speaker 1: the Enrollment Act, also known as this Conscription Act, on 114 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:21,640 Speaker 1: March third, eighteen sixty three. Now, this authorized a draft 115 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:24,640 Speaker 1: that required all able bodied men between the ages of 116 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:28,800 Speaker 1: twenty and forty five to serve unless you furnished an 117 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:32,640 Speaker 1: acceptable substitute or paid the government a three hundred dollar fee. 118 00:06:33,320 --> 00:06:36,240 Speaker 1: And there was another aspect to this as well, according 119 00:06:36,279 --> 00:06:39,600 Speaker 1: to Susannah Eural Bruce's article Summer of Irish Rage in 120 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:43,520 Speaker 1: America Civil War. This act it also provided that any 121 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:46,560 Speaker 1: immigrant who had declared his intent to become a citizen 122 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:49,880 Speaker 1: could now be drafted unless he left the country within 123 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:53,520 Speaker 1: sixty five days, so totally changing the game here. Yeah, 124 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:57,880 Speaker 1: in New York's working class immigrant community is consequently enraged 125 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:00,000 Speaker 1: over this new act. And there were a few reads 126 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:03,799 Speaker 1: behind that military service used to be optional. You mentioned 127 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:06,839 Speaker 1: earlier that it was encouraged at least in the beginning 128 00:07:06,880 --> 00:07:09,560 Speaker 1: of the war, but it was still optional. Now it's required, 129 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:12,600 Speaker 1: So they felt like they were being forced to fight 130 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:15,880 Speaker 1: to free slaves who they thought might just come to 131 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:19,040 Speaker 1: New York City and take their low paying jobs. And 132 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:22,880 Speaker 1: then the other thing that enraged immigrants over this act 133 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 1: was that it obviously favored the wealthy, who could get 134 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:29,040 Speaker 1: out of service by dropping that three hundred dollars and 135 00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:31,960 Speaker 1: paying somebody else to do it right. So it made 136 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:37,160 Speaker 1: an already tense situation even worse, much worse. And then 137 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:39,840 Speaker 1: another thing that kind of helped, you know, set the 138 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:42,360 Speaker 1: scene for this was the thousands of New York troops 139 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:44,480 Speaker 1: traveled south in late June to help out with the 140 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:50,920 Speaker 1: Gettysburg campaign, so left the city virtually undefended. So that 141 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:54,880 Speaker 1: is the situation in New York City when on Saturday, 142 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:59,400 Speaker 1: July eighteen sixty three, the first day of the city's 143 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:03,280 Speaker 1: first draft lottery begin since the new law. So the 144 00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:07,080 Speaker 1: next night after after that very first draft, working class 145 00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:11,040 Speaker 1: New Yorkers met up in streets and saloons and went 146 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:13,960 Speaker 1: over the names of the men who had been drawn 147 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:17,120 Speaker 1: for the draft already and and started to make a plan, 148 00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:19,880 Speaker 1: started to talk about ways that they could fight back 149 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:24,200 Speaker 1: and stop this from getting any further out of control. Yeah, 150 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:27,480 Speaker 1: And then in the morning on Monday July, when more 151 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:30,280 Speaker 1: names were to be drawn, a bunch of them began 152 00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:33,800 Speaker 1: working their way uptown, headed towards the Provost Marshal's office 153 00:08:33,920 --> 00:08:36,839 Speaker 1: on Mass and they picked up some more workers from 154 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:40,240 Speaker 1: workshops and factories on their way. Now we should mention 155 00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:42,600 Speaker 1: that at this point the group also included German speaking 156 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:46,080 Speaker 1: artisans and native born Protestant journeyman. Many of them were 157 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:49,560 Speaker 1: even volunteer fireman, which was a really powerful political and 158 00:08:49,679 --> 00:08:52,640 Speaker 1: organizational force in the city at the time. And this 159 00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:55,679 Speaker 1: was in addition to the working class Irish laborers. And 160 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:57,000 Speaker 1: we just want to mention that because a lot of 161 00:08:57,000 --> 00:08:59,680 Speaker 1: times you've seen sources that, oh, it's it's the Irish, 162 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:01,840 Speaker 1: it's all the Irish. And there were other people involved 163 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:03,800 Speaker 1: at least on this first day at well as well. 164 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:06,400 Speaker 1: And there were women in the group as well as 165 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:08,720 Speaker 1: men that should be noted too, so in her article, 166 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:11,960 Speaker 1: Bruce paints this kind of scary picture. I mean, imagine 167 00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:16,160 Speaker 1: this coming towards you achieve people. Yeah. She refers to 168 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:19,560 Speaker 1: New York attorney George Templeton Strong's description of the day, 169 00:09:19,840 --> 00:09:22,920 Speaker 1: in which he describes a growing crowd of quote gaunt 170 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:27,040 Speaker 1: looking savage men and women and even little children, armed 171 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:31,640 Speaker 1: with brick bats, stone poker, shovels and togs, coal scuttles, 172 00:09:31,679 --> 00:09:34,800 Speaker 1: and even tin pans and a bit of iron. Okay, 173 00:09:34,840 --> 00:09:37,480 Speaker 1: so they found a little rag tag. I mean, kind 174 00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:41,600 Speaker 1: of scary. But don't be fooled because even though they're 175 00:09:41,679 --> 00:09:45,640 Speaker 1: carrying little bits of iron and they have kids hanging 176 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:48,640 Speaker 1: out with them, the crowd meant business, and there were 177 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:51,800 Speaker 1: enough of them to to accomplish some So as the 178 00:09:51,880 --> 00:09:55,880 Speaker 1: draft selection began around ten thirty in the morning, thousands 179 00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:58,719 Speaker 1: of these protesters began to gather around the building and 180 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:02,560 Speaker 1: they interrupted the lottery and then they torched the building. So, 181 00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:05,760 Speaker 1: I mean, I think that was the first really big 182 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:10,040 Speaker 1: signal that this was something major. Unfortunately, though they didn't 183 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:13,640 Speaker 1: stop there. The protesters had several targets over the next 184 00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:16,000 Speaker 1: few days which were related to some of the tensions 185 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:19,360 Speaker 1: that we discussed in the intro to this podcast. For example, 186 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:25,120 Speaker 1: major target African Americans, perhaps the most visible target of 187 00:10:25,160 --> 00:10:28,520 Speaker 1: the entire four days. We're going to discuss people and 188 00:10:28,640 --> 00:10:32,040 Speaker 1: institutions related to the Republican Party that was another big 189 00:10:32,080 --> 00:10:35,079 Speaker 1: target of their's um. They chose this party as a 190 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:37,200 Speaker 1: target because it was the party that had started the war, 191 00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:40,680 Speaker 1: that had instituted the draft, that wanted to abolish slavery, 192 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:43,040 Speaker 1: all of those things that they saw as a threat 193 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:46,760 Speaker 1: to their you know, their lives, their security. Merchants and 194 00:10:46,840 --> 00:10:50,880 Speaker 1: stores were also a target, particularly for looting, but also 195 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:54,800 Speaker 1: partially for their associations with wealth. And policemen and union 196 00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:58,240 Speaker 1: soldiers who attempted to defend the government property were also 197 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:08,959 Speaker 1: another big target. So we're going to go through the 198 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:12,200 Speaker 1: day by day destruction tally and cover some of the 199 00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:15,400 Speaker 1: individual stories. But by the end of that first day, 200 00:11:15,559 --> 00:11:18,559 Speaker 1: it's it's pretty crucial that some of the writers switched 201 00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:21,840 Speaker 1: their allegiance, including the group of firefighters that we mentioned 202 00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:24,880 Speaker 1: who began to help the police Instead, some people saw 203 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:27,800 Speaker 1: that this was not the fight they wanted and that 204 00:11:27,920 --> 00:11:31,800 Speaker 1: it was getting out of hands. So the majority of 205 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:34,640 Speaker 1: the mob that kept on rioting through the week was 206 00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:38,120 Speaker 1: working class and they were mostly working class Irish. So 207 00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:40,360 Speaker 1: starting with some of the damage done on day one, 208 00:11:40,559 --> 00:11:44,400 Speaker 1: after setting fire to the Provost Marshal's office, writers seized 209 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:47,080 Speaker 1: and burned the armory at Second Avenue in twenty one, 210 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:50,440 Speaker 1: which contained rifles and guns, and it was generally just 211 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:53,560 Speaker 1: a symbol of war. But the writers then they moved on. 212 00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:57,200 Speaker 1: They attacked homes of policemen and businessmen. They also attacked 213 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:01,000 Speaker 1: and torched the Colored Orphan asylument fifth Avenue and thirty 214 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:03,160 Speaker 1: fourth Street, which is one that you hear about a lot, 215 00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:06,160 Speaker 1: and sometimes you see accounts that described two thirty seven 216 00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:09,880 Speaker 1: children barely escaping, though some other sources say that that's 217 00:12:09,880 --> 00:12:12,280 Speaker 1: a little bit of an exaggeration. They were actually evacuated 218 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:15,480 Speaker 1: prior to the attack. But I mean, regardless, hundreds of 219 00:12:15,559 --> 00:12:19,040 Speaker 1: kids were left homeless. Well in African Americans were increasingly 220 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:22,000 Speaker 1: targeted throughout the day too, and so was their property, 221 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:25,760 Speaker 1: and so were whites that helped them. Even prostitutes who 222 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:30,320 Speaker 1: catered to interracial clientele were targeted. Um really pretty far 223 00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:34,719 Speaker 1: reaching with who they were going after. And African Americans, 224 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:38,679 Speaker 1: the whites who helped them were chased, assaulted, lynched, in 225 00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:41,360 Speaker 1: some cases, and a lot of them just got out 226 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:44,280 Speaker 1: of the city because they didn't really have any other 227 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:46,960 Speaker 1: choice and it was the safest thing to do. And 228 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:49,960 Speaker 1: kind of the last major point of Day one was 229 00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:55,040 Speaker 1: the attack on the New York Daily Tribune newspaper offices. UM. 230 00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:59,520 Speaker 1: The confrontation between the police and the writers had really escalated, 231 00:12:59,600 --> 00:13:04,600 Speaker 1: and the newspaper editor, Horace Greeley, was considered an ardent Republican, 232 00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:10,000 Speaker 1: and protesters thought that the paper not only represented Republican 233 00:13:10,040 --> 00:13:12,680 Speaker 1: ideals but was kind of a mouthpiece for them and 234 00:13:12,920 --> 00:13:17,120 Speaker 1: decided to go after it. Yeah, so we could see 235 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:22,079 Speaker 1: Day one pretty much reached out to all those socio economic, racial, 236 00:13:22,280 --> 00:13:24,079 Speaker 1: all those issues that we talked about in the beginning 237 00:13:24,120 --> 00:13:27,440 Speaker 1: that they had political, um, everything came into play even 238 00:13:27,480 --> 00:13:29,600 Speaker 1: on that first day, and Day two was kind of 239 00:13:29,960 --> 00:13:33,560 Speaker 1: more the same, right. I mean, writers continued to attack 240 00:13:33,679 --> 00:13:37,640 Speaker 1: wealthy people, their homes, their businesses, They closed down factories, 241 00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:42,840 Speaker 1: they took weapons from munitions plants, they burned bridges literally 242 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:48,120 Speaker 1: and figuratively, I assume. UM, they wrecked telegraph and railroad lines. Um. 243 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:51,800 Speaker 1: Even other non rioting Irish Catholics weren't safe from them. 244 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:54,679 Speaker 1: According to an article by Ivan Bernstein and Civil War 245 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:58,280 Speaker 1: Times and Derrickson. An Irish woman with a black husband 246 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:00,719 Speaker 1: died of injury she got will try to protect her 247 00:14:00,760 --> 00:14:03,760 Speaker 1: son from rioters. I mean, they basically would have killed 248 00:14:03,760 --> 00:14:06,240 Speaker 1: her son if she hadn't shielded him with her own body. 249 00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:10,840 Speaker 1: Another example that's that you hear a lot Colonel Henry O'Brien, 250 00:14:10,960 --> 00:14:14,400 Speaker 1: commander of the eleventh New York Volunteers. He tried to 251 00:14:14,440 --> 00:14:17,480 Speaker 1: support policemen by having his men fire a cannon over 252 00:14:17,559 --> 00:14:21,520 Speaker 1: the raging crowds of rioters settle him down a bit. Yeah, um, 253 00:14:21,560 --> 00:14:24,440 Speaker 1: But rumors later circulated that at least one woman and 254 00:14:24,480 --> 00:14:27,320 Speaker 1: a child had died because of this. So rioters ended 255 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:30,560 Speaker 1: up going to O'Brien's home, destroying it, and then when 256 00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:33,400 Speaker 1: he came back to check on the damage, they captured him, 257 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:37,120 Speaker 1: and men and women rioters alike beat him with their 258 00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:40,800 Speaker 1: fists and clubs, and they took turns pounding his face 259 00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:46,080 Speaker 1: beyond recognition. So so yeah, violence extends to the Irish 260 00:14:46,120 --> 00:14:49,200 Speaker 1: as well. It also extends to retail. A Brooks Brothers 261 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:52,720 Speaker 1: store in the downtown at seventh Ward is attacked, So 262 00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:56,880 Speaker 1: you're probably wondering why Brooks Brothers the store was a 263 00:14:56,920 --> 00:15:00,840 Speaker 1: contractor for the U. S Government and also still today 264 00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:04,360 Speaker 1: a retailer catering to wealthy people, and they had had 265 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:08,479 Speaker 1: some recent labor troubles of their own. Hundreds of tailors 266 00:15:08,520 --> 00:15:12,160 Speaker 1: had gone on strike for higher wages only four months earlier. 267 00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:15,600 Speaker 1: So the riders were seeing well bricks, brothers, we've got 268 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:19,040 Speaker 1: our eyes on YouTube. Yeah, And by that afternoon, rioters 269 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:22,640 Speaker 1: had also erected barricades. And this is an interesting point 270 00:15:22,640 --> 00:15:25,760 Speaker 1: because they basically just use the debris resulting from the 271 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:29,960 Speaker 1: riots to put put it around their own waterfront neighborhoods 272 00:15:29,960 --> 00:15:33,080 Speaker 1: in various locations around the city, to to use a 273 00:15:33,160 --> 00:15:35,720 Speaker 1: shields from police who were trying to kind of get 274 00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:37,520 Speaker 1: at them and keep them down, kind of make their 275 00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:40,520 Speaker 1: own little city to write like a little fort. So 276 00:15:41,080 --> 00:15:43,080 Speaker 1: these were kind of, um, I don't know, I guess 277 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:44,720 Speaker 1: they were sort of a double edged sort. They were 278 00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:47,840 Speaker 1: easy for police to find, so they know knew exactly 279 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:49,800 Speaker 1: where to go look for the riders, go where the 280 00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:52,480 Speaker 1: barricades are, but they were also really tough for them 281 00:15:52,520 --> 00:15:55,240 Speaker 1: to breach. So it just made battles I think a 282 00:15:55,280 --> 00:15:59,400 Speaker 1: little more intense, definitely. So as we get into day three, 283 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:03,120 Speaker 1: we start to see the police and the politicians really 284 00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:06,640 Speaker 1: taking more action finally, but throughout all of this, the 285 00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:10,360 Speaker 1: violence on African Americans had continued, and Day three was 286 00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:14,600 Speaker 1: really no different. They were hanged, oil poured into their wounds, burned. 287 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:18,400 Speaker 1: One terrible example is that of Abraham Franklin, who was 288 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:23,040 Speaker 1: a disabled African American coachman. He was hanged, his body 289 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:25,520 Speaker 1: was pulled down by US troops, and then it was 290 00:16:25,560 --> 00:16:28,360 Speaker 1: strung up again by the rioters. Finally, he was cut 291 00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:32,320 Speaker 1: down by a sixteen year old butcher named Patrick Butler 292 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:35,960 Speaker 1: and dragged through the streets. His corpse was dragged through 293 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:41,400 Speaker 1: the streets by the genitals. So really horrific things that 294 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:44,880 Speaker 1: the rioters are doing. Yeah, and I mean this wasn't 295 00:16:44,920 --> 00:16:48,120 Speaker 1: just being ignored local authorities and politicians. They had been 296 00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:51,360 Speaker 1: trying new strategies or at least debating and thinking about 297 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:54,120 Speaker 1: what to do to get the situation under control kind 298 00:16:54,160 --> 00:16:57,400 Speaker 1: of all week long, since Monday and UH and D three. 299 00:16:57,400 --> 00:16:59,320 Speaker 1: The New York National Guard and the police they finally 300 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:02,320 Speaker 1: decided to join forces and focus on a few key 301 00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:05,359 Speaker 1: areas around the city. So put out the biggest fires. Yeah, 302 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:07,919 Speaker 1: put out the biggest fires. Um, kind of keep the 303 00:17:07,920 --> 00:17:11,400 Speaker 1: people in the wealthier neighborhoods contained and safe and then 304 00:17:11,840 --> 00:17:15,120 Speaker 1: target certain areas where these barricades were. And this made 305 00:17:15,119 --> 00:17:17,960 Speaker 1: for more violent encounters between the rioters and the police, 306 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:21,080 Speaker 1: but it also helped, as we said, contain that violence 307 00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:24,880 Speaker 1: more around the barricaded areas and those working class neighborhoods 308 00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:27,119 Speaker 1: where a lot of the stuff was going on. And 309 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:30,280 Speaker 1: the politicians, for their part, they were basically at opposite 310 00:17:30,359 --> 00:17:33,760 Speaker 1: ends of the spectrum. The Republicans, they basically viewed this 311 00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:37,679 Speaker 1: as a straight up violent uprising. They had been urging 312 00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:41,359 Speaker 1: Mayor George Optic all week to declare martial law and 313 00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:43,800 Speaker 1: just take care of it, put a stop to it. Yeah. 314 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:47,360 Speaker 1: The Democrats, though, both in the state and Tammany Hall, 315 00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:51,679 Speaker 1: saw the riots as something that was somewhat legit. You know, 316 00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:54,639 Speaker 1: there was a there was a legitimate complaint behind it all, 317 00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:57,680 Speaker 1: and it was a working class political protests. So they 318 00:17:57,680 --> 00:18:00,639 Speaker 1: were looking for other solutions they and want to go 319 00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:04,080 Speaker 1: for martial law. So on the third day they hoped 320 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:07,440 Speaker 1: that they might curb some of the rioters anger by 321 00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:12,040 Speaker 1: proposing a relief act to help alleviate the quote unequal 322 00:18:12,080 --> 00:18:16,840 Speaker 1: operation of conscription by appropriating two point five million dollars 323 00:18:16,840 --> 00:18:19,800 Speaker 1: through the sale of conscription exemption bonds. And this is 324 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:23,880 Speaker 1: Tammy Hall Democrats, and they had been saying all along 325 00:18:24,040 --> 00:18:27,600 Speaker 1: that the draft was unconstitutional and they hope that just 326 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:30,600 Speaker 1: by coming out with this relief Act, maybe people would 327 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:34,800 Speaker 1: calm down a little bit and realized that the politicians 328 00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:38,320 Speaker 1: were trying to figure out a solution for them. Yeah. Unfortunately, 329 00:18:38,320 --> 00:18:40,919 Speaker 1: though it didn't have the desired result. The violence just 330 00:18:41,040 --> 00:18:44,560 Speaker 1: spread to Staten Island into Brooklyn, and there were federal 331 00:18:44,640 --> 00:18:48,000 Speaker 1: orders to delay implementation of the draft. Um they were 332 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:51,200 Speaker 1: published in the papers the next day. So, I mean, 333 00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:53,639 Speaker 1: it really looked kind of hopeless at this point that 334 00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:55,960 Speaker 1: they were going to be able to settle it peacefully. 335 00:18:56,400 --> 00:19:00,119 Speaker 1: And then day four we have a new introduction of 336 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:03,480 Speaker 1: players in this whole thing. More than four thousand troops 337 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:07,080 Speaker 1: returned from Gettysburg and they were called back specifically for 338 00:19:07,119 --> 00:19:12,040 Speaker 1: this purpose to occupy the city, to face the rioters 339 00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:15,560 Speaker 1: and working with the police and militia and naval forces 340 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:18,800 Speaker 1: and even West Point Cadets who were already involved try 341 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:22,760 Speaker 1: to get things back under control. And the increased military 342 00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:27,240 Speaker 1: presence did let the city restore some of its normal activities. 343 00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:29,920 Speaker 1: They could reopen the street car and the stage service, 344 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:34,200 Speaker 1: but there were still outbursts of violence and soldiers were attacked, 345 00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:37,960 Speaker 1: and troops started fighting back and even took some rioters 346 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:43,040 Speaker 1: prisoner um. But finally the battles were dying down. Yeah, 347 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:45,760 Speaker 1: once the military presence was there and they started fighting back, 348 00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:48,080 Speaker 1: that these were kind of the last battles of the week. 349 00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:50,800 Speaker 1: But I don't know, just going back to the movie there, 350 00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:53,000 Speaker 1: if you have seen Gangs of New York and the 351 00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:57,679 Speaker 1: end when they're fighting against the rioters and the troops 352 00:19:57,680 --> 00:19:59,680 Speaker 1: show up and then all of a sudden, the Navy 353 00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:03,560 Speaker 1: star bombing the city, well, Bruce actually says that Scorsese 354 00:20:03,680 --> 00:20:07,840 Speaker 1: took some license here where that happens, because that never happened. 355 00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:10,800 Speaker 1: The Navy ships never bombed to the city. So just 356 00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:12,480 Speaker 1: a little fun fact there if you're a fan of 357 00:20:12,480 --> 00:20:15,879 Speaker 1: the movie. Bombing city is always pretty bad politics. Yeah, 358 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:19,360 Speaker 1: it would have been pretty bad for a Lincoln, sources 359 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:22,159 Speaker 1: say if he had if he had actually done that 360 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:24,920 Speaker 1: would have been bad for reelection. Yeah, But just just 361 00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:27,480 Speaker 1: in real life, with the introduction of the four thousand 362 00:20:27,520 --> 00:20:31,240 Speaker 1: troops by Friday, there was this sort of uneasy piece 363 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:34,320 Speaker 1: finally in New York City, but it was estimated that 364 00:20:34,359 --> 00:20:37,720 Speaker 1: the city had suffered one point five million to two 365 00:20:37,760 --> 00:20:41,960 Speaker 1: million dollars in property damage and somewhere around one d 366 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:45,399 Speaker 1: Nineteen people are known for sure to have been killed. 367 00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:49,399 Speaker 1: Sometimes though you see figures going up to a thousand people, 368 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:54,480 Speaker 1: although those might have been based on unsubstantiated reports. Regardless, 369 00:20:54,480 --> 00:20:57,359 Speaker 1: though thousands of people were injured or displaced throughout this 370 00:20:57,480 --> 00:20:59,439 Speaker 1: entire thing, and according to Bruce, for a lot of 371 00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:03,560 Speaker 1: Native New Yorkers, the riots just confirmed their prejudices about 372 00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:07,800 Speaker 1: Irish immigrants. However, it's worth pointing out that although they 373 00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:11,600 Speaker 1: initially blamed Lincoln and his administration for what had happened, 374 00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:14,359 Speaker 1: the Irish Catholic community did express a lot of regret 375 00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:17,159 Speaker 1: for the violence, and in the aftermath of the riots, 376 00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:18,960 Speaker 1: pretty much as soon as it was over, you know, 377 00:21:19,119 --> 00:21:22,040 Speaker 1: leaders of the Irish community and people in it, they 378 00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:31,560 Speaker 1: were they felt bad about what had happened. It's also 379 00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:33,920 Speaker 1: worth pointing out that there were irishmen on both sides 380 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:36,600 Speaker 1: of the situation. There were many who were off fighting 381 00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:39,199 Speaker 1: for the war and who condemned what had happened as 382 00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:41,040 Speaker 1: soon as they had heard about it. Yeah, and the 383 00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:44,280 Speaker 1: eventual outcome of the draft, because you know, that's what 384 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:47,320 Speaker 1: this whole thing started over, is pretty bizarre. It was 385 00:21:47,359 --> 00:21:51,879 Speaker 1: eventually enforced that August, and since there was a heavy 386 00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:55,640 Speaker 1: military presence there to oversee it and a county loan 387 00:21:55,760 --> 00:22:00,639 Speaker 1: ordinance to pay the three waiver fee for poor on scripts, 388 00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:03,320 Speaker 1: it went off without incident. You know, it seemed like 389 00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:06,680 Speaker 1: it was going okay. Um. But according to Bruce, over 390 00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:09,760 Speaker 1: the next couple of years, the Tammany Hall Democrats raised 391 00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:13,520 Speaker 1: enough money to buy the exemption of nearly every drafted 392 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:18,200 Speaker 1: man who didn't want to serve. So, I mean, I'm 393 00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:21,240 Speaker 1: sure this is a major simplification, but it kind of 394 00:22:21,280 --> 00:22:24,399 Speaker 1: seems pointless. It does, I guess me, make the whole 395 00:22:24,520 --> 00:22:27,160 Speaker 1: draft seem kind of ineffective. But I think it may 396 00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:31,199 Speaker 1: have gone at least a little ways in making the 397 00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:34,360 Speaker 1: Irish working class working class in general feel a little 398 00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:38,200 Speaker 1: less hopeless about the whole war situation. Um. And it's 399 00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:40,680 Speaker 1: worth pointing out also that many New York are still 400 00:22:41,040 --> 00:22:43,080 Speaker 1: fought in the war after that. They still joined up 401 00:22:43,119 --> 00:22:47,280 Speaker 1: with some local militia and immigrants included, so there were 402 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:49,800 Speaker 1: still people who took part in part in the war. Effort, 403 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:53,359 Speaker 1: even if the draft didn't necessarily get them there. Well, 404 00:22:53,359 --> 00:22:56,960 Speaker 1: and Bruce even even has a good quote about that, 405 00:22:57,520 --> 00:23:01,280 Speaker 1: you know, feeling less like rioting and more like protesting 406 00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:04,920 Speaker 1: politically and trying to get political rights. Yes, she says 407 00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:09,440 Speaker 1: that the working class became increasingly skilled at hunching their 408 00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:13,119 Speaker 1: protests with balance rather than their fists. So it's a 409 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:15,879 Speaker 1: positive development. Yeah, I think that's a positive note to 410 00:23:16,160 --> 00:23:21,760 Speaker 1: end to kind of uh riote Us and Gry episode. 411 00:23:22,720 --> 00:23:26,200 Speaker 1: Thank you so much for joining us for this Saturday classic. 412 00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:28,680 Speaker 1: Since this is out of the archive, if you heard 413 00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:31,000 Speaker 1: an email address or a Facebook U r L or 414 00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:33,920 Speaker 1: something similar during the course of the show, that may 415 00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:37,720 Speaker 1: be obsolete. Now, so here's our current contact information. We 416 00:23:37,760 --> 00:23:40,480 Speaker 1: are at History Podcast at how stuff Works dot com, 417 00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:43,360 Speaker 1: and then we're at Missed in the History all over 418 00:23:43,400 --> 00:23:47,520 Speaker 1: social media. That is our name on Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler, Pinterest, 419 00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:53,679 Speaker 1: and Instagram. Thanks again for listening for more on this 420 00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:56,320 Speaker 1: and thousands of other topics. Is it how Stuff Works 421 00:23:56,359 --> 00:24:06,760 Speaker 1: dot com? Hello, I'm Tracy V. Wilson. I host the 422 00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:09,480 Speaker 1: podcast stuff You Missed in History Class with my friend 423 00:24:09,520 --> 00:24:12,560 Speaker 1: and colleague Holly Fry over the past few years. Every 424 00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:14,840 Speaker 1: day on our social media, we've been talking about what 425 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:18,040 Speaker 1: happened on this day in history. So buyard rest in 426 00:24:18,440 --> 00:24:21,760 Speaker 1: pacifist and activists who helped plan that marched on Washington 427 00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:23,840 Speaker 1: for jobs and freedom was born on this day in 428 00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:27,120 Speaker 1: nineteen twelve, or on this day in seventeen eighty nine, 429 00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:30,439 Speaker 1: women marched on Verside to demand a solution to an 430 00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:33,199 Speaker 1: enormous food shortage. Those things that not happen on the 431 00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:35,520 Speaker 1: same day, but you get the picture. So for years 432 00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:37,760 Speaker 1: we've been doing that, and it suddenly dawned on us, 433 00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:40,800 Speaker 1: what if this was its own podcast. So that's what 434 00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:43,919 Speaker 1: we're doing. Starting July one, we're launching kind of a 435 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:46,639 Speaker 1: little sister podcast to stuff you missed in history class. 436 00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:50,120 Speaker 1: It's called This Day in History Class. It's about five 437 00:24:50,119 --> 00:24:52,399 Speaker 1: minutes a day every day, and it gives you the 438 00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:55,320 Speaker 1: highlights of something notable that happened on that day in history. 439 00:24:55,520 --> 00:24:57,760 Speaker 1: So come and listen. You'll be able to find This 440 00:24:57,840 --> 00:25:00,919 Speaker 1: Day in History Class on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and 441 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:02,960 Speaker 1: wherever else you find podcasts.