The effects of the draft riots
The Civil War Draft remained effective through the rioting. The riots further divided an already conflicted nation. Once the horrors and motives of the riots were recognized, steps to reform and compensate were taken. Tammany Hall gathered together a fund of two million dollars to compensate primarily the Irish immigrant rioters. The money was used as both compensation for the poor Irish immigrants, and for restoration of the New York tenement housing.
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"Uncle Sam poster." Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History. Ed. Thomas Carson and Mary Bonk. Detroit: Gale, 2010. U.S. History in Context. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.
The Draft Riots influenced future war protests, like Vietnam. The Civil War draft, which was still successful, influenced the implementation of conscription in future wars like the World Wars.
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"Harpers Weekly magazine political cartoon of William Marcy Boss Tweed, who ruled Tammany Hall,..." Gilded Age and Progressive Era Reference Library. Ed. Lawrence W. Baker and Rebecca Valentine. Vol. 1: Almanac. Detroit: UXL, 2007. U.S. History in Context. Web. 4 Jan. 2014.
Another reform initiated as a result of the draft was the Tenement House Law. This called for a limit on the amount of people that could inhabit a certain space in the city. Also, it required a proper ventilation system and access to a fire escape on all properties. The idea of this law still has its effects to this day. The idea of reform came long before the Draft Riots but the riots reinstalled this notion and in effect, laws like these were put in place.
One the most significant effects of the riots was the heavy drop in the city's African American population. After the Draft Riots, the African American population dropped to only about ten thousand. This contributed to only about one percent of New York's total population. This decline was mainly due to the mass amount of African-Americans fleeing the city, after the riots turned into a race riot.
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