James M. McPherson Quote

Rioters were mostly Irish Catholic immigrants and their children. They mainly attacked the members of New York's small black population. For a year, Democratic leaders had been telling their Irish-American constituents that the wicked Black Republicans were waging the war to free the slaves who would come north and take away the jobs of Irish workers. The use of black stevedores as scabs in a recent strike by Irish dockworkers made this charge seem plausible. The prospect of being drafted to fight to free the slaves made the Irish even more receptive to demogogic rhetoric.


pp. 91–92 - Drawn by the Sword: Reflections on the American Civil War (1996)


Rioters were mostly Irish Catholic immigrants and their children. They mainly attacked the members of New York's small black population. For a year,...

Rioters were mostly Irish Catholic immigrants and their children. They mainly attacked the members of New York's small black population. For a year,...

Rioters were mostly Irish Catholic immigrants and their children. They mainly attacked the members of New York's small black population. For a year,...

Rioters were mostly Irish Catholic immigrants and their children. They mainly attacked the members of New York's small black population. For a year,...