gangs of new york/1863 draft riots

If "Gangs of New York" is on TV again (I think it's on STARZ a lot this week for those who get that channel), anyone with an interest in history who hasn't seen it should try to see the first ten minutes and the last thirty. The intervening 4+ hours are painfully crappy (and don't worry about the plot elements you won't understand in the last thirty minutes--actually you will understand all there is to understand). The setup and climax, however, are an amazing depiction of a New York I never knew existed, prior to the first time I saw the film. The 1863 civil war draft riots alone are a fascinating (if grisly) chapter in the city's history that never gets talked about. Click on the image below to read more...



The targeting of African-Americans did not make a big impression on me the first time I saw Gangs of New York, but this time, knowing the background, I noticed it more prominently. I think the first time I didn't have enough contextual information to process much of the imagery--I was still busy being blown away that something so dramatic had happened and I'd never heard of it. Or, perhaps, I was noticing only the class element (part of the immediate cause of the resentment that helped spark the riots was that rich men who were drafted could pay for another man to fight in their stead) and feeling somewhat sympathetic to the rioters, so I didn't want to see the unsympathetic elements.

In the latest issue of Social Education, published by the National Council for the Social Studies, there's also a great article on the draft riots with some suggestions for classroom activities. The article suggests that the riots are an interesting place to explore various intersecting, opposing, and/or overlapping ethnic, racial and class identities in that era.

More links: the film - the book on which it was based