Irish Immigrants and the New York Draft Riots of 1863

Immigration is still a thing today but it was very different in the early to mid 1900’s. There were many types of people coming in and out of the U.S. They all were coming for their own reason. One of the most known reason was just so them and their family could have a better life. Some would go through Ellis Island, the island was pretty much what national services/customs is today. One good reason for the Irish was the famine (Doc. 1). The Irish couldn't grow their potatoes, their main source of food and money at the time. Another main reason was that the Italians were in some hard times and epidemics(Doc. 1). People immigrated from greece also. A Greek man shared his reason for immigrating. His reasons were “Work over there was very bad.

The book, “The Irish Way” by James R. Barrett is a masterpiece written to describe the life of Irish immigrants who went to start new lives in America after conditions at home became un-accommodative. Widespread insecurity, callous English colonizers and the ghost of great famine still lingering on and on in their lives, made this ethnic group be convinced that home was longer a home anymore. They descended in United States of America in large numbers. James R. Barrett in his book notes that these people were the first group of immigrants to settle in America. According to him, there were a number of several ethnic groups that have arrived in America. It was, however, the mass exodus of Irish people during and after the great

The draft selection began on Saturday July 11 1863. But it wasn’t till Monday July 13 that people started rioting. The riots lasted for 5 days, at first they only attacked government buildings. The Civil War Draft Riots took place in 1863, the U.S needed people to fight in the War so they did a draft. The rich could buy their way out with $300(around $5,500 in modern day money). People were enraged and chaos broke out threw the city, for a few days they destroyed New York, people were killed, and people used African Americans as a scape goat.

In document one, “Excerpt from The Great Draft Riots”, a poor man who was a rioter, got called to be drafted wrote about himself and comrades trying to defend them. This man was going to be drafted in 1863 and he, along with many others couldn’t afford to get out of being drafted which cost around $300. Many were worried about being called to be drafted. “We love our wives and children more than the rich, because we’ve not got much besides them; and we will not go and leave them at for to starve (Excerpt from The Great Draft Riots).” This quote from the poor man shows how much they feared the draft and what they felt near the end of this long war.

By the outset of 1864, after three years of war, the Union had mobilized its resources for the ongoing struggle on a massive scale. The government had overseen the construction of new railroad lines and for the first time used standardized rail tracks that allowed the North to move men and materials with greater ease. The North’s economy had shifted to a wartime model. The Confederacy also mobilized, perhaps to a greater degree than the Union, its efforts to secure independence and maintain slavery. Yet the Confederacy experienced ever-greater hardships after years of war. Without the population of the North, it faced a shortage of manpower. The lack of industry, compared to the North, undercut the ability to sustain and wage war. Rampant inflation as well as food shortages in the South lowered morale.

People watched as “Men, both colored and white, were murdered within two blocks of us, some being hung to the nearest lamp post, and others shot”. This carnage was predominantly sparked by the ratification of the Conscription Act and the mobility of freed slaves due to the Emancipation Proclamation. The Irish-Americans and African-Americans were competing for jobs; resulting in the biggest civil protest during war times in American history. The New York City Draft Riots of 1863, as stated by Albon P. Man Jr’s journal article, “Labor Competition and the New York Draft Riots of 1863”, left 1,200 to 1,500 dead from white rioters, though the number of victims by the lynch mobs that were taken away by the water onto either side of Manhattan are

The Chicago Race Riots of 1919 helped to further show how African Americans are looked as inferior, not just within the citizens of the United States, but the Congress and criminal justice system. White and black beaches were separated by an invisible line; the black beach on 25th street and whites on 29th street. The story of Eugene Williams swimming on the beach worsened after a white police officer, Dan Callahan, refused to intervene or arrest the group of white men responsible for his death, in turn starting the deadliest racial violence in Chicago history. The riot lasted a week with protestors full of rage mostly on the South side with white gangs attacking isolated blacks and blacks attacking isolated whites.

Prior to this time, there were large numbers of immigrants and refugees from Irish for the religious freedom, but mostly to escape from the Great Famine of 1845-1851 (Foner 343). According to (http://www.ushistory.org/us/25f.asp)   , in the middle half of 19th century, over two

In the mid-late 1840's, The Irish Potato Famine caused people to immigrate to the United States.

     Irish-American. To some, this term merely designates one of the many ethnic groups which can be found in the United States; but to those who are Irish-American, it represents a people who faced a disaster of mammoth proportions and who managed to survive at great cost. The Great Hunger of 1845 changed, or more often, destroyed the lives of millions of Irish, causing them to seek refuge from poverty and starvation in other, more prosperous countries. However, not all countries would accept these victims of the Potato Famine. After an immense burst of Irish immigration to Great Britain, the British Parliament began to

When many think of the times of immigration, they tend to recall the Irish Immigration and with it comes the potato famine of the 1840s' however, they forget that immigrants from the Emerald Isle also poured into America during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The assimilation and immigration of the Irish has been difficult for each group that has passed through the gates of Ellis Island or South Boston. Like every group that came to America, the Irish were looked down upon; yet, in the face of discrimination,

In the 1860’s or the Civil War era, New York was the biggest city in the nation. It was divided between positive and negative feelings towards Slavery. In one hand the rich took advantage of the cotton trade, while on the other hand NY was also becoming the center of antislavery organizing. About one-fifth of the Union Army was made up of New York soldiers. New York enlisted 465,000 soldiers into the Union armed forces, which was more than any other state. Over 50,000 of them died. Over 20% of all the men in the state and over 50% of men under the age of 30 served during the Civil War. More than 130,000 were foreign-born, including about 20,000 from Canada, 51,000 from Ireland, and 37,000 from Germany. [*1] The War Department credited New York with 404,805 white soldiers, 39,920 sailors and marines, and 4,125 colored soldiers. [*2]

When many think of the times of immigration, they tend to recall the Irish Immigration and with it comes the potato famine of the 1840s' however, they forget that immigrants from the Emerald Isle also poured into America during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The assimilation and immigration of the Irish has been difficult for each group that has passed through the gates of Ellis Island or South Boston. Like every group that came to America, the Irish were looked down upon; yet, in the face of discrimination, political, social and economic oppression, the Irish have been a testament to the American Dream as their influence in

The Irish immigrated to the United States starting in 1820, more came after 1820 due to the potato famine which started in 1845, rotting of the potato crops

Over time the Irish and Germans were finally accepted and considered part of the “American society”. By the time the next big wave of immigration occurred, the Irish and Germans were considered the old guard as opposed to the newcomers. The changing ethnic composition was critical and the Irish as well as the