The Dead Rabbits Riot

Before illustrating the Dead Rabbits Riot itself, Abinger takes into consideration the multiple elements that lead to a gradual escalation of indignation amongst Irish-American immigrants among them nativist movements, prohibition laws, and an overall erratic political climate ripe for discord and truculence. The Dead Rabbits Riot was particularly provoked by bills, which were passed in 1857 in spite of the mayor of the time. These bills also proved to be a suppressive burden on the economic livelihoods and social mobility of Irish-Americans. Irish-Americans condemned the Police Act, which declared that a new police force would be created by a state-appointed board rather than the mayor whose policies were favorable for Irish-Americans. Irish-Americans instead found themselves yielding minimal, poor-ranking government positions. Saloons served as integral periods for relaxation for the working (predominantly male) populations of Irish-Americans; the more radical forms of the temperance movement became instilled with nativist sentiment. Irish-Americans were particularly weary of the growing prominence of the nativist Know-Nothing Party, which aspired to gradually curtail the economic and political liberties of immigrants. The heated politics of the time cultivated a hostile environment in New York as the mayor himself refused to disband his police force for months despite the passage of the new city laws. Moreover, rumors circulated that nativist groups planned to enflame the Catholic Church on Mott St, a direct assault on the civil rights of Irish-Americans. A particular target of the mobs in the Dead Rabbits Riot was Metropolitan Abraham Florentine Jr. who was representative of the nativist mentality, which Irish-Americans feared the police force was turning toward. It was in fact well-known that Florentine Jr. had sought a city council seat on the Know Nothing Party ticket. Pursuing Florentine Jr. who had stealthily entered a tavern, which served as the headquarters of the Bowery Boys, the mob began to ambush the tavern before they were driven away by the Bowery Boys. Fighting soon escalated into a full on riot between the Bowery Boys and Five Pointers in what we now identify as the Dead Rabbits Riot.