Last night I watched "The Gangs of New York" again. The 1863 New York draft riots played a key part of the movie and raised an important part of history. One reason why the Civil War still raises issues is because many of the same problems still exist; Federal law trumping citizen rights, elitism, the use of Federal force against Americans, immigration.
It proved Lincoln's War started the draft; unprecedented in US history.
It pointed out that New York also thought about seceding because the war and loss of business with the South was crippling them.
It raised the ugly head of elitism since the rich could buy their way out of the draft whereas the poor were stuck with going to war.
It used Federal troops to quell the rioting resulting in the deaths of American citizens. The official death toll was 119 but the true number could be over 1200 since many of the dead were Irish immigrants who were considered on the level of African-Americans by Northern racists so leaders didn't give a shit about them. Irish immigrants were pouring in by the thousands and were considered as expendable as yesterday's newspaper.
https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/draft-riots
The New York Draft Riots occurred in July 1863, when the anger of working-class New Yorkers over a new federal draft law during the Civil War sparked five days of some of the bloodiest and most destructive rioting in U.S. history. Hundreds of people were killed, many more seriously injured, and African-Americans were often the target of the rioters’ violence....
...Facing a dire shortage of manpower in early 1863, Lincoln’s government passed a strict new conscription law, which made all male citizens between 20 and 35 and all unmarried men between 35 and 45 subject to military duty.
Though all eligible men were entered into a lottery, they could buy their way out of harm’s way by hiring a substitute or paying $300 to the government (roughly $5,800 today).
At the time, that sum was the yearly salary for the average American worker, making avoiding the draft impossible for all but the wealthiest of men. Compounding the issue, African Americans were exempt from the draft, as they were not considered citizens.
