Draft Riots Reading 1

After Martin Scorcese’s 2002 film Gangs of New York was released, it received ten Academy Award nominations. It grossed almost two hundred million dollars worldwide and received many positive reviews.  Gangs of New York is undeniably a great film, interlacing beautiful cinematography with outstanding performances by the actors. However, how many people look beyond this? Gangs of New York is not a made up story – it is based on actual events. Although an entertaining film, it is not entertaining to think about the blood bath that was the Draft Riots of New York City.

The Draft Riots were the bloodiest civil disturbance in New York. This also took place during the Civil War, the bloodiest event in American history. The 1860’s were not a joyful time for our country. When the riots occurred, people did not care to focus on the reasons behind the riots, but they focused on the fact that the riots were happening themselves and all of the violence that came with them. It gave the people of the country something to talk about other than the fight over slavery. According to the article, “There would have been no draft but for the war – there would have been no war but for slavery.” This statement implies that if slavery never existed, then the Civil War would have never happened, and thus no one would be drafted, and there would be no riots. But is it reasonable to play “what if”? Just because there was no slavery, does not mean that a war would have never started. There were plenty of disagreements in creating this country other than slavery. The most important thing we can learn about history is that we cannot look at the past through a present lens. Different eras leave different views of history, as views of the world change over time.

Only recently have the motivations and causes of the draft riots have been studied. My question is: why has no one looked at this sooner? Personally, I find the other side of a story to be very interesting. Looking at things from one perspective provides an unfinished look at history. I remember when I went to see the musical Wicked for the first time. I felt ashamed that I was naïve and did not look at the reasons as to why the Wicked Witch was evil. There are always reasons behind a person’s actions. Maybe they are not as evil or violent as they seem on the surface. Ever since then, I refuse to accept just one side – everyone’s perspective is important.

The rioters used the street as their stage to let the world know what they believed in and what they stood for. The cities allowed them the witnesses they needed to get their voices heard. One of the drawings showed rioters addressing the crowd from the roof of a building. It shows that they gathered a following by standing on pedestals and preaching their ideas. As the newspapers and journals drew the rioters as barbarians, barely human, and unattractive, they refused to acknowledge that there was another reason behind their fighting other than just causing violence. I strongly believe it is important to stand up for what you believe in. However, is it honorable to stand up for what you believe in if it leads to violence and destruction?