In July of 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, Americans were fighting on battlefields across the country—Vicksburg, Gettysburg, and New York City. The latter battle, which became known as the New York Draft Riots, was not a fight between Union and Confederate troops, however. The three-day riot was the destructive resistance of the city’s immigrant poor against a Congressional mandate that made all men aged twenty to forty-five eligible for the draft—and had a provision that let the rich buy their way out. The fighting left over one hundred people dead and buildings, homes, and orphanages destroyed. In particular, the mob of lower-class workers and immigrant gangs attacked African Americans and the city’s rich before the draft was postponed and militias quelled the violence. This source set brings together illustrations and texts showing the riots and their aftermath.
An illustration of the riot on Lexington Avenue in New York.
An illustration of the riot on Second Avenue in New York.
An illustration of the rioters attacking the New York Tribune building.
An illustration of the burning of the Colored Orphan Asylum, which housed 233 children.
An 1863 illustration of a conflict between the rioters and the military.
An 1887 illustration, “Battle of the Barricades.”
An 1887 illustration, “The Mob’s Destructive Work,” with brief text describing damages to some buildings.
“Don’t Unchain the Tiger,” an 1863 broadside from a German-language newspaper after the riots, urging readers not to resort to violence.
An 1863 letter from William Lloyd Garrison worrying that New York riots would prompt similar responses in the "volcanic" North.
An excerpt from The Volcano Under the City (1886), an account of the draft riot of 1863.
An excerpt from “Report of the Committee of Merchants for the Relief of Colored People, Suffering from the Late Riots in the City of New York,” 1863.
An excerpt from The Battle of New York; A Story for all Young People.
