Preview

Civil War Draft Riots Essay Contest 9 2

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1255 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Civil War Draft Riots Essay Contest 9 2
TO: High School Principals and College Advisors

FROM: The Fund for Public Schools – Arlene Dominguez

SUBJECT: “Civil War Draft Riots of 1863” Essay Contest

DATE: September 27, 2013

Application Deadline: December 16, 2013

The Fund for Public Schools and the Union League Club of New York are pleased to invite applications for the “Civil War Draft Riots of 1863” essay contest. In order to commemorate its 150th anniversary, the Union League Club of New York established this essay contest to deepen students’ knowledge of New York City’s history and to allow students to explore how an atmosphere of political uncertainty, anger, inequalities, and ethnic conflict led to violence during the Civil War. The contest will award $2,000 to an outstanding public high school senior who writes the most compelling essay about this era in New York City history.

Background
In 1863, while the American Civil War raged far south of New York City, the metropolis witnessed widespread violence upon its African-American residents. Some poor and working class whites, unable to pay for exemption from the Union army draft resented this inequality and feared the economic competition and potential social changes resulting from the abolition of slavery by the Emancipation Proclamation of 1862. Further, some bitterly resented being drafted to fight for the freedom of slaves, when free blacks in New York, because they were not citizens at the time, were not subject to the draft. The anger toward blacks and the social tensions of the time culminated in the Civil War Draft Riots of 1863, the greatest civil crisis in the history of New York City. The Union League Club of New York was formed 150 years ago to support
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Draft Riots Research Paper
    • 1865 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Draft Riots Research Paper

    The area of New York City’s historic Yorkville neighborhood lies within the now prestigious Upper East Side, extending from East 79th Street to East 96th Street and East End Avenue to Third Avenue (Figure 1.1). Presently bordered by 1st Avenue, East 81st Street, 2nd Avenue, and East 82nd Street, Block 1544 originally lied within the farmlands of Thomas Marston; in 1816, Marston’s heirs and executors conveyed this land to Joshua Jones and the northerly part of this property, present-day East 82nd Street, eventually passed to Isaac Jones, Jr. When Isaac passed away without a will, the land was conveyed to his widow, Mary Jones, and their three children; in 1856, they partitioned the property. On December 3, 1858, Mary de Trobriand, née…

    • 1865 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    William Tuttle Race Riot Book Report
    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages

    William Tuttle Race Riot Book Report

    The author explains in part the race riot in terms of “individuals as well as groups.” It focuses on relations in the urban north. He reveals the effects of migration, labor, and community police relations of both races. Tuttle covers in great detail the influx of rural Southern blacks and their ghetto nature, labor competition, the cynical policies of Chicago city leaders, and any social and economic factors that led to cross feelings between races.…

    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    A People's History of the Civil War: Review
    • 3571 Words
    • 15 Pages

    A People's History of the Civil War: Review

    In this book, the professor conveys major points throughout the Civil War that have been given scant attention, which America herself had previously tried to keep hidden. Professors name exposes the class warfare between rich planters and common folk or “plain folk”, and the economic injustice the planters forced upon the starving men and women on the home front and war front (14). Women fought for their families’ survival, equal rights, and became spies in both armies. Volunteers and conscripted men demanded respect, but the affluent brass ignored any cries and used them for their own economic interest. The professor emphasizes how the actions of deserters and draft evaders had previously been condemned by other Civil War documents and gives justice for their desertion. The spirit and resentment the soldiers and civilians had towards the elites are shown throughout the book as what they perceived as a “rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight” (75). The professor detailed how African Americans fought for their freedom long before Lincoln “emancipated” them and how Lincoln continually showed a vague attitude towards them, and brought light to the fact of the military reasoning for the Emancipation Proclamation. Professor elucidates how Native Americans were continually disposed, massacred, and ripped from their land with no adequate repayment. This book broadens history’s contracted lens by sharing fascinating firsthand accounts of the war and the overall consensus most Americans felt.…

    • 3571 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Civil War DBQ Essay
    • 866 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Civil War DBQ Essay

    “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” This statement that created by President Abraham Lincoln demonstrates the necessity of the Civil War. If the United States were to remain divided, the strength of these two nations would be degraded and allow the continuation of an immoral practice; slavery. “Politicians, business leaders, newspaper editors, and others desperately sought a last-ditch compromise that would keep other states from following South Carolina...no compromise on Earth could reverse the election of Abraham Lincoln and the Southern fears of a “Black Republican” administration” (Roberts 50). As various groups split within the nation, the…

    • 866 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    North Vs South Civil War Essay
    • 742 Words
    • 3 Pages

    North Vs South Civil War Essay

    “In all history, no nation of mere agriculturists ever made successful war against a nation of mechanics”, William Tecumseh Sherman explains to his southern friend about how the Confederate army was destine to be defeated by the Union. The American Civil War was a dark time in American history caused by the main issue of slavery, which lead to other issues relating to states’ rights, economy, and tariffs. The North defeated the South which led to roughly 4 million slaves gaining their freedom. The Union army was victorious in the war due to their industrial economy, transportation methods, and population.…

    • 742 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Conscription Act Dbq
    • 508 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Conscription Act Dbq

    Iver Bernstein, the researcher of the draft riots, claims: “The provisions of the law highlighted three explosive issues in mid-century New York City: relations between the wealthy and the poor, between blacks and whites, and between the city and the nation”. First of all, the Act assumed a three hundred dollar payoff or a possibility to replace a conscript with someone else. “The Conscription Act was less easily tolerated: the baldly inequitable three-hundred-dollar commutation clause seemed a naked exercise of class power by the wealthy”. It denounced the insecurity of the New York lower classes, which have no way except joining the army.…

    • 508 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Black Soldiers In The Civil War Essay
    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Black Soldiers In The Civil War Essay

    Black soldiers have a very important part in the Civil War at the moment. They are fighting in the war because they need their freedom, the war is about slavery, and the Emancipation Proclamation is taking action.…

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    What Are The Soldiers In The Civil War Essay
    • 1561 Words
    • 7 Pages

    What Are The Soldiers In The Civil War Essay

    Alexander Hamilton once said, “When the sword is once drawn, the passions of men observe no bounds of moderation.” The American Civil War came into being due to these “passions of men”, and the average men, who went into the war with such gusto, got slapped into the harsh reality of war. The Civil War ushered in a new era of fighting, with new tactics, new weapons, and new strategies. However, as the first of major changes, the transition took time, and that time cost the lives of thousands of men through no fault of their own. This war was one of change, and the soldiers that fought it changed the most. Civilians strode into the war in garish “uniforms,” soldiers clashed with their former countrymen, killers dealt with the…

    • 1561 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Civil War Essay: The Major Contributing Factors to the Civil War
    • 888 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Civil War Essay: The Major Contributing Factors to the Civil War

    If asked, most people would blame as the cause of the civil war the issue of slavery. This is understandable; many people in the U.S. at the time were against slavery, going to far as to help runaway slaves escape to the free north. But, while slavery at face value was a major factor, international politics and economics played a major role. Several factors, including the election of Lincoln, the raid on Harper 's Ferry, the Dred Scott decision, and, most importantly, the fugitive slave law, contributed to the growing rift between the North and South and, eventually, the Civil War.…

    • 888 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The New York Draft Riot In The 1930's
    • 1560 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The New York Draft Riot In The 1930's

    Unfair treatment between the rich and the poor played a huge part in not only The New York Draft Riot but also the Watts riot. Racism also a great deal had a deal in the tragedies that spread all throughout New York City and Los Angeles. New York Draft Riot is one of America's most devastating riots. It began as a mild rally against the national draft, but turn took a worse as it focused more on the racial and social struggle. In the text, The Gangs Of New York, Asbury gives a very in depth description of the New York Draft Riot. According to Asbury,"The fighting raged through the street of New York City from Monday to Saturday, it had begun as a protest against the Conscription Act". March 1863, the U.S. Congress passed the conscription…

    • 1560 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Mexican War Did Not Cause the Civil War
    • 561 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Mexican War Did Not Cause the Civil War

    Plagued with the ever-present plight of war, the United States has endured many forms of this widespread and deadly affliction over the course of its relatively young life. Unceasingly analyzed in hopes of perhaps understanding the underlying and sometimes hidden causes, such wars have captivated the minds of scholars since the moment the nation's fathers tore independence from the stubborn clutch of England. Consider the great Civil War, a war that tested the United States' reputation of increasing power, of unification, of steadfastness. Often simplified and romanticized when being presented to young children, the causes of the Civil War are much more muddled and shady than any middle school teacher can make them out to be. While it is undeniable that the Mexican War accelerated the arrival of it, the Civil War was ineffable. Propelled by factors such as the Supreme Court's controversial Dred Scott decision, the popularity of Uncle Tom's Cabin, and the emergence of the Republican party, based on the fundamental opposition to slavery, the eventual explosion of tensions between the North and the South was unavoidable.…

    • 561 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Civil War Inevitable Essay
    • 949 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Civil War Inevitable Essay

    The Civil War was a war between the North and the South and who should get this big plot of land in the middle. The North thought that they should get the land because it was above the imaginary line which was called the ¨36,30¨ line. However, the South wanted it because they wanted to expand slavery in the U.S. That was one of the reasons why it caused the Civil War. In addition, there was many people that fought to end slavery people such as Dred Scott, John Brown, and many others. There are many reasons why the Civil War had to happen. Such as, if this did not happen slavery would of ended a lot later or never at all. The Civil War was inevitable because there was this big plot of land and the north wanted it because it was on there side…

    • 949 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Civil War Abolitionism
    • 528 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Civil War Abolitionism

    The American civil war, spanning from 1861 to 1865, is known as the deadliest war in the nation's history; and for good reason, about 620,000 americans died in the line of duty. This massacre was no petty quarrel erupting out of thin air, there were many complex underlying factors that led up to the american civil war. Yet, out of the many there are three elements of american society that most profoundly influenced the civil war, being the abolitionist movement, abraham lincoln’s election as president and secessionism.…

    • 528 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Civil War Essay
    • 390 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Civil War Essay

    The controversy surrounding slavery between the North and South was crucial. The North did not want to have slavery because it was evil and cruel, but the South wanted slavery because it was their way of making money in the economy. Northerners had wanted to get rid of slavery, but Southern states seceded, leading to the Civil War. During the Civil War, in late January of 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed slaves in the Confederate states. Freedmen were allowed to join the Union army as shown in Document 5. After the Union won the Civil War, the 13th amendment was issued, abolishing slavery in…

    • 390 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Cause And Effects Of The Civil War Essay
    • 670 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Cause And Effects Of The Civil War Essay

    There were many causes and effects of the civil war, some well known, while others not so much. Some of the causes include the preservation of the Constitution, the social and economic differences between the North and the South and Slavery. There were many effects as well, such as the advances in weaponry, the advances in the medicine industry and the population decrease. These causes and effects had a great impact on the American people and history as we’ve come to know it.…

    • 670 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics