Hey, it's the Barry boys.

Hey.

Hi there, welcome to the Barry boys. This is Greg Young.

And this is Tom Myers.

And today we are marking the 160th anniversary

of one of the most dramatic moments in New York City history.

The Civil War draft riots.

For several days starting on July 13th, 1863,

thousands of people took to the streets in violent protest,

fueled initially by anger over conscription to the Union Army,

which sent New Yorkers to the front lines of the Civil War.

At least it sent those who couldn't afford to buy their way out of the draft.

And within 24 hours, it quickly turned violent

with New Yorkers attacking other New Yorkers.

For several days, nobody was safe,

especially African-American New Yorkers.

Today we remember the Civil War generally in iconic terms,

big terms, good versus evil and right versus wrong.

The draft riots, however, present a nuanced reinterpretation of that storyline.

It places New York City not outside the significance of the battlefield,

but squarely within it.

The Union was not united, but an assortment of different viewpoints.

...