Draft Riots 2

What stood out for me when reading these sources was the way different sources compared the rioters to “wild Indians” and “murderous native Americans” and depicted them with “animal-like features.” Some other quotes that caught my attention were “the spirit of hell seemed to have entered the hearts of these men…” and “Both males and females too part in the brutal transaction.” Two words came to my mind when I read these lines, savage and barbaric. I am in the group that is presenting next class, and throughout our PowerPoint we found we were continuously using these words to describe the Irish rioters. These rioters will stop at nothing. No African American was safe. Anyone who helped the African Americans would also be punished. Also, I thought it was interesting that only one source stated that the rioters were Irish. In the supplementary reading I did for my presentation, the author specifically says that it was the Irish who were protesting the draft and attacking the African Americans.

Harper’s Weekly is most likely sympathizes with the blacks and the other people the rioters are attacking. The cartoons seen in Harper’s Weekly portray the rioters with animalistic features. The rioters look inhumane, and it is clear they are acting in a cruel and heartless manner. Especially in “How to escape the draft,” the black man is protecting a child and the rioters do not care about hurting either of them. The black man looks so innocent, trying to stop the other men from beating the child. 

Draft Riots

I was shocked as I was reading these articles. It is awful and amazing how far people will go, without thinking of what they were actually doing. The fact that the rioters stormed an orphanage is astounding. If they had taken five minutes to think, they could have easily realized that African American children under the age of twelve were in no way responsible for the draft. Even the logic they used to get to the conclusion that all African Americans were responsible for the war is absurd. But then, I am looking at this with the perspective of someone in 2010. Also, it is interesting how none of these articles are written from the perspective of the rioters, which is making me as a reader biased. I wonder what my reaction would be if most of these articles were written by rioters, if that would change my opinion of them.

The draft riots were like a war themselves. Rioters fought against police officers, firefighters, African Americans, even children! In the past, I have always learned that the civil war was fought between the North and the South, and have thought that most northerners supported the war. Reading these articles, it seems that most northerners did not support the war, because of the draft. It is almost as if rioters created a new war in order to avoid being sent to fight in the civil war.

Were these rioters actually violent people? Or did they just get swept up in the mob? How did killing and attacking these innocent people benefit them?