Federal Conscription and the New York Draft Riots of 1863
In the North, the enlistment rate had fallen off sharply by August 1862. After Union victories at Forts Donelson and Henry and Shiloh several months prior, Secretary of War Stanton, believing recruitment to no longer be necessary, ordered all recruitment offices closed. But it didn't take long--only a few weeks--for this decision to be considered a mistake, and the offices were re-opened. Further calls for men were adhered to by more than 400,000 men between May and July, but the rate in which they appeared became slow. So in August, Congress took the unprecedented step of authorizing a draft for states whose enlistment quotas were not met. The draft began in 1863 and gained momentum by the summer of that year.
Northern response to the draft appeared wearing the ugly face of violence and angry protests in every state of the Union, with a telling illustration of this coming from New York City in July 1863. Much of the opposition to the draft stemmed from its inherent unfairness in one's ability to hire a substitute (only the rich men could truly afford to do this). Another issue was race relations. And much of this tension was centered in urban areas, the residences of the working class and immigrants. For instance, white workingmen listened to the oratories of folks like Democratic Congressman Samuel S. Cox of Ohio, "who warned that the result of their serving in the Army would be to find 'Negroes filling their places' on the job" (Jackson, 1985, p. 103).
New York City was a significant anti-draft center for other reasons. The anti-war movement had many powerful voices in the city, including its own mayor. The Governor, Democrat Horatio Seymour, had outwardly expressed his opposition to the draft and enumerated his reasons for it. Additionally, struggling immigrant groups, particularly the Irish, whose wages weren't enough to adapt to rising wartime inflation did not enjoy the thought of going to War to perpetuate their economic struggle. They also viewed the replacement of their striking longshoremen with blacks with great contempt (Jackson, 1985).
On July 11, 1863 the first 1,236 names were drawn from a wheel to determine who would be drafted into the army. The next day as the casualty list from Gettysburg was being posted, the names of these draftees were listed in morning papers and posted around the city. It did not take long for chaos to ensue.
On Monday, July
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