MikeDunnAuthor<p>Today in Labor History July 13, 1863: America's bloodiest riot began when 50,000 mostly Irish working-class men protested the Civil War draft by burning buildings (including an orphan asylum), stores and draft offices in New York City. One of their grievances was that the wealthy could buy their way out of service. The $300 commutation fee would be over $7,000 in today’s dollars and the typical laborer only made a dollar or two per day. The unrest lasted several days and turned into race riots, with many participants blaming blacks for the war. This racist tendency was exacerbated by the participation of nativist gangs, including the Dead Rabbits (from the 5 Points neighborhood of New York), Schuylkill Rangers (from Philadelphia) and the Plug Uglies (from Baltimore). The official death toll was 120. However, some believe that up to 2,000 may have died in the riots.</p><p>The riots have been portrayed numerous time in fiction and film, including Martin Scorsese’s “Gangs of New York.” Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich cowrote a novel that also depicts the riots: “Grant Comes East: A Novel of the Civil War “ (2004). The various gangs have also been described in works of nonfiction, like in Herbert Asbury’s gang books: “Gangs of New York,” (1928) “The Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld (1933); and “The French Quarter: An Informal History of the New Orleans Underworld”<br> (1936).</p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/workingclass" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>workingclass</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LaborHistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>LaborHistory</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/racism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>racism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Riot" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Riot</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/newyork" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>newyork</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/civilwar" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>civilwar</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/irish" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>irish</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/gangs" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>gangs</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/immigration" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>immigration</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/books" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>books</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/film" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>film</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>fiction</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/novel" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>novel</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/nonfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>nonfiction</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/author" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>author</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writer</span></a> <span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/bookstadon" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">@<span>bookstadon</span></a></span></p>