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