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History See other History Articles Title: Irish Gangs in New York For the most part, the Irish Gangs were not particularly like those shown in the movie. They did not spend their time fighting with gangs of “natives” who were trying to run them out of town. They actually spend most of their time fighting each other. What the movie does show well is the anti-Irish sentiment of the “natives.” Indeed, life was more difficult for and Irishman than it was for and African American in New York. The hatred of the Catholic Irish made their economic situation very tough, jobs were hard to come by as they were usually given to people of other backgrounds. Most of the businesses were owned by the anti-Irish “natives,” who had been in the city for years and could easily deny an Irishman a job if he so chose. Thus, the intentions behind most of the Irish Gangs were economic. A gang would control a specific area and thus control all the employment in that area. The gangs were frequently groups of men who had no jobs or men who helped those who had none. The Irish Gangs would try to force employers to give them work. However, do to the lack of available jobs, Irish Gangs were always fighting each other. There were many gangs, each with Irish from a different neighborhood. They would fight each other for the limited jobs available. In addition to this fighting for employment, there was also a lot of hatred between the Irish of different neighborhoods. For the most part, there was great deal of hostility between the Irish of the northern neighborhoods and those of the southern neighborhoods. Some gangs also had a political alliance. Boss Tweed of Tammany Hall was known to have alliances with many gangs. He would give the gang members employment and a little money in exchange for their services. These services would include protection rackets and beatings as well as massive forced voting campaign on election day in which gangs would force the public to vote for the “right” candidate or suffer the consequences. A rendering of the draft riots, the most infamous moment for the Irish gangs. Move your cursor over the image to see a closer and view of the violence. The most famous time in the history of the Irish Gangs was certainly the draft riots. This was a very violent anti-African American and anti-draft riot in which much damage was caused. With a large and powerful Democratic party operating in the city, a dramatic show of dissent had been long in the making. The state's popular governor, Democrat Horatio Seymour, openly despised Lincoln and his policies. In addition, the Enrollment Act shocked a population already tired of the two-year-old war. On Sunday, June 12, the names of the draftees drawn the day before by the Provost Marshall were published in newspapers. Within hours, groups of irate citizens, many of them Irish immigrants, banded together across the city. Eventually numbering some 50,000 people, the mob terrorized neighborhoods on the East Side of New York for three days looting scores of stores. Blacks were the targets of most attacks on citizens; several lynchings and beatings occurred. In addition, a black church and orphanage were burned to the ground. All in all, the mob caused more than $1.5 million of damage. The number killed or wounded during the riot is unknown, but estimates range from two dozen to nearly 100. Eventually, Lincoln deployed combat troops from the Federal Army of the Potomac to restore order. However, none of the very racist part of this riot is shown in the movie. A very large part of the draft riots was the killing of African American people all over the city. It was supposedly very savage, with children being killed along with adults and whole neighborhoods destroyed. The Irish Gangs were at their worst during the Draft Riots, displaying a hatred that had stewed for two years during the climate of the war. However, for the most part, Irish Gangs were usually a bunch of guys trying to get by.
Poster Comment: War and jobs caused most of the trouble. And all of it was avoidable,
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 3.
#1. To: Turtle (#0)
What bullshit. But hey, I suppose congress should apologise and pay reparations though?
A large part of it was about killing blacks, because they were competitors for jobs with the Irish. The Irish were considered lower than blacks in those days.
Yeah, that is what they keep telling us. Whenever I read anything about it, it is always about how the blacks were killed. When the proof shows that about 100 people were killed. There was more to it than just killing blacks. This article is liberal jibberish.
#4. To: Clitora (#3)
There was more to it than just killing blacks. This article is liberal jibberish. IT sounds like something one would read in Jewipedia.
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