The 1863 New York City draft riots were the largest civil urban disturbance in American history, killing over 100 and exposing deep class and racial tensions.
Key Facts
- Duration
- July 13–16, 1863 (4 days)
- Official death toll
- 119–120 people
- Estimated property damage
- $1,500,000 (1863 value) USD
- Black population by 1865
- Below 11,000 (lowest since 1820)
- Colored Orphan Asylum
- Burned to the ground at 44th St & 5th Ave
- Military response
- Regiments diverted from Battle of Gettysburg
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Congress passed new conscription laws in 1863 to raise troops for the ongoing Civil War, provoking intense working-class resentment, particularly among Irish American laborers who could not afford the $300 commutation fee that allowed wealthier men to avoid the draft. This economic inequity, combined with fears that freed Black workers would compete for jobs, created volatile conditions in Lower Manhattan.
Between July 13 and 16, 1863, mobs—predominantly Irish American—attacked draft offices, public buildings, Protestant churches, abolitionist homes, and Black residences throughout Lower Manhattan. The Colored Orphan Asylum was burned to the ground. President Lincoln diverted militia regiments from Gettysburg to restore order, but the military did not arrive until the second day, by which time widespread destruction had already occurred.
The riots left 119–120 officially confirmed dead and an estimated $1.5 million in property damage. Many Black residents permanently left Manhattan, contributing to a sharp population decline below 11,000 by 1865. The violence highlighted the fractures within Northern society over race, class, and the conduct of the war, and it remains the largest civil urban disturbance in American history.
Political Outcome
Order restored by federal troops diverted from Gettysburg; draft eventually continued; Black population of Manhattan significantly reduced as residents fled
Civil conscription laws enacted by Congress, provoking mass working-class resistance
Federal military authority asserted over New York City; martial law considered but not formally declared