| Racial
Tensions
During
much of the nineteenth century, when large numbers of Irish
and Blacks were present, they were pushed into competition.
There are striking parallels in the culture and history of the
two groups. They began their life in America with low social
and economic status. Over time, they advanced in common fields
such as sports, entertainment, religion, writing and publishing,
and politics. They even had similar social pathologies—alcoholism,
violence and broken homes. Rather than being united by their
common hard life, they were divided by the need to compete.
For political benefit, this pattern was reinforced as Blacks
were drawn to the Republican Party while the Irish strength
in numbers was wooed by the Democratic Party.
Both the
Irish and Blacks had reason to feel they were treated unfairly
in the workforce, and often at one another's expense. In the
antebellum South, for instance, where slaveholders viewed slaves
as valuable property, Blacks were prohibited from participating
in hazardous, life-threatening work. Thus, many of the most
dangerous jobs were left to the Irish who did not have such
protection (or limitation). Thousands of Irish lives were lost
in the building of the nation's canal and railroad systems.
The Conscription
Act of 1863 exacerbated tense relationships. This act made all
white men between the ages of twenty and forty-five years eligible
for the draft by the Union Army. Free black men were permitted
to "volunteer" to fight in the Civil War through the
provisions of the Emancipation Proclamation. However, Blacks
were not drafted or otherwise forced to fight. In addition,
white men with money could illegally bribe doctors for medical
exemptions, legally hire a substitute, or pay for a commutation
of a draft. Lower-class workers could not afford to pay for
deferments. The inequities in draft eligibility between blacks,
monied whites, and lower-class whites (many of whom were Irish),
inevitably increased racial tensions.
Several
cities suffered draft riots in which enrollment officers and
free blacks were targeted for violence. The largest such incident
began on June 11, 1863, in New York City when more than 100
people were murdered by an angry mob. After burning down a
draft office and attacking police officers and well-dressed
whites, this mob of lower-class whites (including many Irish)
focused its energy on killing black bystanders. The
Report of the Committee of Merchants for the Relief of Colored
People . . . documents some of the acts perpetrated by
the mob in the section, Incidents of the Riot.
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