New York Draft Riots and the Duty of the Military Service

Thesis: The Conscription Act of 1863 was the main reason riots occurred in New York and the military service did not fulfill the responsibility to contain the violence

Naveed Nekoo Leah Simmons Senior Division Group Website

Explanation of Topic Choice: When we were first deciding our topic,there was a list with recommended topics for National History Day. We picked a few topics that had taken place around the Civil War because we were both very confident about creating a project about that period. We thought it would be an excellent idea to quickly research the project to see how many valid sources were available. We were very upset to learn that none of these topics had any sources available on the main data bases such as History Reference Center. Then, we finally found it, a topic that had taken place around the Civil War with many approvable sources. This was the New York Draft Riots. How Research is Conducted: Research mainly took place online, through databases such as ABC-Clio American History, CultureGrams, and SIRS. Aside from databases on the internet, websites that ended .net or .gov in their URL were used in the process of finding reliable information. We tried to use a lot of primary sources such as newspapers because they had the most facts and were written by someone who experienced the riots. The local media center in Reservoir High School was put to use as well. Although these places had quality information, only some of the sources ended up being used in the final project. Process for Selecting Category: Our project, The New York Draft Riots and the Duty of the Military service, is all about the responsibility of the New York Military Service. Riots broke out in New York City in 1863 and the military service of New York not fulfilling the responsibility to control the riots. This led to many deaths and injuries of helpless civilians. Our website will revolve around the idea that the New York Military Service did not fulfill the responsibility to control the riots and what their actions have caused. It will also contain information on how the rights of the people to live in a safe environment was taken away by the lack of support from the New York Military Service.

Relation to Theme: The theme for National History Day this year is Rights and Responsibilities in History. We believe that our topic of the New York Draft Riots fits perfectly into this category. Throughout the research process we have discovered that when the riots had broken out in New York City, the U.S. Military was not prepared for the revolt and therefore the military was not fulfilling their responsibilities. By doing this, they were taking away others rights to safety. (425 words)