|
The New York City draft riots (July 13–16, 1863), known at the time as Draft Week,〔〕 were violent disturbances in New York City that were the culmination of working-class discontent with new laws passed by Congress that year to draft men to fight in the ongoing American Civil War. The riots remain the largest civil and racial insurrection in American history, aside from the Civil War itself.〔Foner, E. (1988). ''Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877'', The New American Nation series, pp. 32-33, New York: Harper & Row; ISBN 0-06-093716-5.〕 U.S. President Abraham Lincoln diverted several regiments of militia and volunteer troops from following up after the Battle of Gettysburg to control the city. The rioters were overwhelmingly working-class men, primarily ethnic Irish, resenting particularly that wealthier men, who could afford to pay a $300 () commutation fee to hire a substitute, were spared from the draft.〔("The Draft in the Civil War" ), u-s-history.com; accessed August 28, 2014.〕〔William Bryk.("The Draft Riots, Part II" ), ''New York Press'' blogpost, August 13, 2002 (updated February 16, 2015).〕 Initially intended to express anger at the draft, the protests turned into a race riot, with white rioters, mainly but not exclusively Irish immigrants,〔 attacking blacks wherever they could find them. The official death toll was listed at 119. The conditions in the city were such that Major General John E. Wool, commander of the Department of the East, said on July 16 that "Martial law ought to be proclaimed, but I have not a sufficient force to enforce it."〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Maj. Gen. John E. Wool Official Reports for the New York Draft Riots )〕 The military did not reach the city until after the first day of rioting, when mobs had already ransacked or destroyed numerous public buildings, two Protestant churches, the homes of various abolitionists or sympathizers, many black homes, and the Colored Orphan Asylum at 44th Street and Fifth Avenue, which was burned to the ground. The demographics of the city changed as a result of the riot. So many blacks left Manhattan permanently (many moving to Brooklyn), that by 1865 their population fell below 10,000, the number in 1820. ==Background== New York's economy was tied to the South; by 1822 nearly half of its exports were cotton shipments.〔("King Cotton: Dramatic Growth of the Cotton Trade" ), ''New York Divided: Slavery and the Civil War'', New-York Historical Society, accessed May 12, 2012〕 In addition, upstate textile mills processed cotton in manufacturing. New York had such strong business connections to the South that on January 7, 1861, Mayor Fernando Wood, a Democrat, called on the city's Board of Aldermen to "declare the city's independence from Albany and from Washington"; he said it "would have the whole and united support of the Southern States."〔 When the Union entered the war, New York City had many sympathizers with the South.〔 The city was also a continuing destination of immigrants. Since the 1840s, most were from Ireland and Germany. In 1860, nearly 25 percent of the New York City population was German-born, and many did not yet speak English. During the 1840s and 1850s, journalists had published sensational accounts, directed at the working class, dramatizing the "evils" of interracial socializing, relationships, and marriages. Reformers joined the effort.〔 Newspapers carried derogatory portrayals of blacks and ridiculed "black aspirations for equal rights in voting, education, and employment." Pseudo-scientific lectures on phrenology were popular, although countered by doctors.〔(''New York Divided: Slavery and the Civil War Online Exhibit'' ), New York Historical Society (November 17, 2006 to September 3, 2007, physical exhibit), accessed May 10, 2012〕 At the time, some areas of the city, such as Lower Manhattan, had mixed populations of residents. The Democratic Party Tammany Hall political machine had been working to enroll immigrants as U.S. citizens so they could vote in local elections, and had strongly recruited Irish, most of whom already spoke English. In 1863, with the war continuing, Congress passed the Enrollment Act to establish a draft for the first time, as more troops were needed. In New York City and other locations, new citizens learned they were expected to register for the draft to fight for their new country. Black men were excluded from the draft as they were largely not considered citizens, and wealthier white men could pay for substitutes. Free blacks and immigrants competed for low-wage jobs in the city.〔 New York political offices, including the mayor, were held by Democrats, but the election of Abraham Lincoln as president had demonstrated the rise in Republican political power nationally. The Emancipation Proclamation of January 1863 alarmed much of the working class in New York, who feared that freed slaves would migrate to the city and add further competition to the labor market. There had already been tensions between black and white workers since the 1850s, particularly at the docks. In March 1863, white longshoremen had refused to work with blacks and rioted, attacking 200 black men. In this area of the city, there were a variety of interracial venues of brothels and bars, and neighborhoods were mixed in terms of residents. Men competed as hacks (carriage drivers), craftsmen, and in other jobs.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「New York City draft riots」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|