NYC Draft Riots (1863)

Mon Jul 13, 1863

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The NYC Draft Riots began on this day in 1863, the culmination of racist white anger and working-class discontent over new conscription laws, passed to bolster the ongoing Civil War. The riots were suppressed by the U.S. Army.

The rioters were overwhelmingly white working-class men, mostly Irish immigrants or of Irish descent, who feared free black people competing for work. They also resented that the wealthy, who could afford to pay a $300 (equivalent to $6,200 in 2019) commutation fee to hire a substitute and avoid the draft.

Although the event ostensibly began as anger against conscription, the disorder quickly devolved into a race riot. The exact death toll during the New York draft riots is unknown, but historian James M. McPherson has estimated that around 120 people were killed. Most of those killed were Irish, who were the majority of the rioters.

Eleven black people were lynched. The event lasted three days and was suppressed by the U.S. Army on orders from President Lincoln. The race riot remains one of the largest of its kind in U.S. history.