2 - The New York City Draft Riots

Footnotes of History

Want more FOH? Visit footnotesofhistory.com/join Shownotes at footnotesofhistory.com/2 You've just crossed the Atlantic on a rickety ship, escaping near-starvation existence in your home country to arrive in a city of wonder. New York has it all - department stores, parks and most importantly of all, the promise of a living, even for the poorest in society. But now this new continent is at war with itself, theoretically over the most diabolical crime of all - human slavery. But is this correct? What else can you call conscription? What are the consequences when you take control of someone's life in order to pursue a war that they really have nothing to do with?