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.It is never popular.When the Union resorted to sucha measure in March 1863, it was a clear sign that the war forthem was not going well.A year earlier, however, in April 1862,the South had put in place a similar action, with similar angerfrom its citizens.Only a year after the war s outbreak, the Con-federacy had been forced to conscript white men between theages of 18 and 35.It made an exception only for planters whoheld public office or owned 20 or more slaves.Yet the knowl-edge throughout the North that the South, too, was sufferingfrom manpower shortages did little to relieve anxiety and op-position to the Northern draft. All who wish to be butcheredwill please step forward, suggested one newspaper editorial, asquoted in Abraham Lincoln and the Road to Emancipation. Allothers will please stay at home and defy Old Abe. Northerners were particularly concerned that the draftwould subject them to a three-year term of service, if not forthe full duration of the war however long that would be.Being 82 AFRICAN AMERICANS AND THE CIVIL WARThe Dred Scott decision, one of the most significant Supreme Courtrulings in U.S.history, was a public affirmation of the racist attitudesof many white people toward blacks.In the case, the slave Dred Scottpetitioned for his freedom.Supreme Court justices based their judg-ment on the fact that, as a slave, Scott was not considered human butmere property.Above, an issue of Frank Leslie s Illustrated Newspaperfeatures an article on Dred Scott and his family during the court case. Northern Bigotry 83required to enlist for 30 days (as was the case when enthusiasticmen rushed to join at the war s outbreak) was one thing.Threeyears clearly a full-time, long-term commitment, to say theleast was another.To gain recruits, the North, from the beginning, had re-quested volunteers from the various states.It was the respon-sibility of each state to meet a given quota.If they could do sowith volunteers, all was well and good.If not, a state would haveto resort to various forms of bribes or rewards to attract eligiblemen.The most widespread one was a bounty system in whichthe governing body would pay someone to enlist.The bountyscheme wound up costing the various state governments a for-tune and, by most accounts, did far more harm than good.It was not uncommon for a man to receive more than athousand dollars for joining the army.With that kind of moneyto be had, it was no surprise that the poor of society would showup to take the money.Often, the dishonest recruits did so morethan once.Known as bounty jumpers, such men, accordingto Bruce Catton, had no intention of rendering any service atthe front and would enlist, collect their bounty, desert at thefirst opportunity, reenlist under another name in some otherlocality, collect another bounty, desert again, and go on with theprocess indefinitely.Not one in eight of the high-bounty re-cruits ever did any useful service at the front. What really upset Northerners, however, were certainways that one could avoid service, exceptions that were trulyonly available to the wealthy.If one were called by the draft, hemight, if he could afford to, hire a substitute to take his place. Any drafted person furnishing an acceptable substitute, saidthe New York Times, is exempt from military service for theperiod for which said substitute is mustered into the service. Furthermore, if one could raise $300 to be paid to the fed-eral treasury, he could also be excused.In such a case, however,a man would still be subject to future drafts, should they benecessary.Either way, finding a substitute or paying the fee (the 84 AFRICAN AMERICANS AND THE CIVIL WARlatter supposedly there to encourage one to find a substituterather than collect money for the government) led to the obvi-ous observation that this was a rich man s war and a poor man sfight. Under such a system there was bound to be frustrationand anger, leading to explosion.That explosion was not long incoming.FULL-BLOWN RIOTIt was called Five Points: the intersection of five streets in theSixth Ward, near what is today Columbus Park in lower Man-hattan.In the mid 1850s, it was hell on earth.English novelistCharles Dickens, an expert on urban poverty and decay, calledthe area worse than anything he had written about in OliverTwist. As James McCague quoted in his book The Second Rebel-lion: The New York City Draft Riots of 1863, Dickens reportedlycalled it a place of murder and robbery and all that is loath-some, drooping, and decayed is here. Five Points was hometo the lowest of the low, the Irish immigrants, and it was alsowhere the majority of free New York blacks lived.In a book titled Hot Corn, an anonymous American writerechoed Dickens, when he described Five Points slum build-ings, called tenements.The author declared, as quoted in TheSecond Rebellion, Here is a Negro and his wife sitting uponthe floor.eating their supper off the bottom of a pail. Oftenwhen people died in Five Points, they were buried on the spot [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.It is never popular.When the Union resorted to sucha measure in March 1863, it was a clear sign that the war forthem was not going well.A year earlier, however, in April 1862,the South had put in place a similar action, with similar angerfrom its citizens.Only a year after the war s outbreak, the Con-federacy had been forced to conscript white men between theages of 18 and 35.It made an exception only for planters whoheld public office or owned 20 or more slaves.Yet the knowl-edge throughout the North that the South, too, was sufferingfrom manpower shortages did little to relieve anxiety and op-position to the Northern draft. All who wish to be butcheredwill please step forward, suggested one newspaper editorial, asquoted in Abraham Lincoln and the Road to Emancipation. Allothers will please stay at home and defy Old Abe. Northerners were particularly concerned that the draftwould subject them to a three-year term of service, if not forthe full duration of the war however long that would be.Being 82 AFRICAN AMERICANS AND THE CIVIL WARThe Dred Scott decision, one of the most significant Supreme Courtrulings in U.S.history, was a public affirmation of the racist attitudesof many white people toward blacks.In the case, the slave Dred Scottpetitioned for his freedom.Supreme Court justices based their judg-ment on the fact that, as a slave, Scott was not considered human butmere property.Above, an issue of Frank Leslie s Illustrated Newspaperfeatures an article on Dred Scott and his family during the court case. Northern Bigotry 83required to enlist for 30 days (as was the case when enthusiasticmen rushed to join at the war s outbreak) was one thing.Threeyears clearly a full-time, long-term commitment, to say theleast was another.To gain recruits, the North, from the beginning, had re-quested volunteers from the various states.It was the respon-sibility of each state to meet a given quota.If they could do sowith volunteers, all was well and good.If not, a state would haveto resort to various forms of bribes or rewards to attract eligiblemen.The most widespread one was a bounty system in whichthe governing body would pay someone to enlist.The bountyscheme wound up costing the various state governments a for-tune and, by most accounts, did far more harm than good.It was not uncommon for a man to receive more than athousand dollars for joining the army.With that kind of moneyto be had, it was no surprise that the poor of society would showup to take the money.Often, the dishonest recruits did so morethan once.Known as bounty jumpers, such men, accordingto Bruce Catton, had no intention of rendering any service atthe front and would enlist, collect their bounty, desert at thefirst opportunity, reenlist under another name in some otherlocality, collect another bounty, desert again, and go on with theprocess indefinitely.Not one in eight of the high-bounty re-cruits ever did any useful service at the front. What really upset Northerners, however, were certainways that one could avoid service, exceptions that were trulyonly available to the wealthy.If one were called by the draft, hemight, if he could afford to, hire a substitute to take his place. Any drafted person furnishing an acceptable substitute, saidthe New York Times, is exempt from military service for theperiod for which said substitute is mustered into the service. Furthermore, if one could raise $300 to be paid to the fed-eral treasury, he could also be excused.In such a case, however,a man would still be subject to future drafts, should they benecessary.Either way, finding a substitute or paying the fee (the 84 AFRICAN AMERICANS AND THE CIVIL WARlatter supposedly there to encourage one to find a substituterather than collect money for the government) led to the obvi-ous observation that this was a rich man s war and a poor man sfight. Under such a system there was bound to be frustrationand anger, leading to explosion.That explosion was not long incoming.FULL-BLOWN RIOTIt was called Five Points: the intersection of five streets in theSixth Ward, near what is today Columbus Park in lower Man-hattan.In the mid 1850s, it was hell on earth.English novelistCharles Dickens, an expert on urban poverty and decay, calledthe area worse than anything he had written about in OliverTwist. As James McCague quoted in his book The Second Rebel-lion: The New York City Draft Riots of 1863, Dickens reportedlycalled it a place of murder and robbery and all that is loath-some, drooping, and decayed is here. Five Points was hometo the lowest of the low, the Irish immigrants, and it was alsowhere the majority of free New York blacks lived.In a book titled Hot Corn, an anonymous American writerechoed Dickens, when he described Five Points slum build-ings, called tenements.The author declared, as quoted in TheSecond Rebellion, Here is a Negro and his wife sitting uponthe floor.eating their supper off the bottom of a pail. Oftenwhen people died in Five Points, they were buried on the spot [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]