3. The Draft Riots of 1863

The Draft Riots of 1863 are regarded as the deadliest racially incensed insurrection in American history, aside from the Civil War. Image from Library of Congress

The worst riots in American History up until the Civil War point were the Draft Riots of 1863. In the midst of the Civil War, working-class Irish immigrants shared a growing resentment for laws that allowed the upper classes to avoid being drafted to fight for the Union. When the Union Army attempted to draft in New York for the second time, four days of rioting occurred, spanning across the city.

Among the locations rioted was The Provost Marshall’s Office when on July 13, five-hundred protesters burned the building to the ground. The nearby Bull’s Head hotel which allegedly denied the subversives alcohol was also burned. A nearby orphans asylum for black orphans was also burned by white protesters, who feared job competition from the black population. The children were reportedly smuggled out as the building burned.

Check out more battlefields of the Draft Riots.