Riots In New York City Essay

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What would you do if you have 10 minutes to say goodbye to your family and were to head off to war? Would you obey, or would you rebel and fight for your rights? Many immigrants came to New York in search of a new and better way of life. However these people came to find the opposite as conflicts arose and obstacles impeded their progress. One such conflict was the draft the caused mayhem in New York City. Riots broke out in the city and people were out of control for about a week. The riots mostly started because of the unfair treatment the lower class dealt with which ultimately led to the breakout of riots in New York City in 1863. Abraham Lincoln called for a draft because troops were needed to fight in the Civil War and many people disliked…show more content…
These riots began on Monday, July 13, 1863 because the president at the time, Abraham Lincoln, called for the institution of a draft because both the Confederate and the Union militaries needed troops to fight in the Civil War which was highly disliked. On the day of the draft lottery one of the firefighters from Fire Engine Company Number 33, otherwise known as the “Black Joke”, was selected during the draft. The fire company believed that they should be exempt from the draft because they saw themselves as part of the military. They stopped the lottery and broke into the marshal’s office on Third Ave and 47th Street (Hamberger 95). When the fire company broke into the marshal’s office where the draft was being held the smashed the selection wheel and set fire to the building which is ironic because they put out fires. A deputy begged for the company to put out the fire but they refused and he was beaten and the draft was officially on hold. Workers from railroads, artisans, industrial workers, machine shops, laborers, and other employees didn’t show up for work that day as they were marching up 8th and 9th Ave and they gathered more people as they continued (Weil 147). The mob met in Central Park to discuss the situation and split up into two columns and went on their way (Bernstein 18). Some people started to bring down telephone poles and lines and this began this terrible insurrection that was to
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