In 1849, the Astor Place Riots broke out, which was the mark of the first prominent fight between urban immigrants and “Nativists”. The tension started rising when two theaters put on Shakespeare’s play Macbeth; however, one theater had Edwin Forrest as an actor and the other, Astor, had William Charles Macready. But it wasn’t so much about Forrest vs. Macready as it was about America vs. Britain. Forrest’s acting spoke to “patrons of the rum-selling groceries, clip shops, and Bowery saloons,” while Macready performed for the wealthy. Macready believed his way of acting was superior to Forrest’s, denouncing Forrest’s performance as vulgar. Astor represented the English Aristocracy, so Macready’s insults were interpreted as a direct attack on Americans. Rynder’s handbill that said, “Shall Americans or English rule the city?” successfully intensified the growing conflict. The growing rage eventually led to windows of Astor being smashed and around 10,000 people rioted outside. Over 22 people died during this riot.
Another riot, known as The Dead Rabbit Riot, broke out in 1847 between the Dead Rabbits and Bowery Boys. This was another riot that was a result of growing conflict between immigrants and Nativists. The Dead Rabbits were a Irish American gang and the Bowery Boys were Nativist, anti-Catholic, and anti-Irish. The Nativist tried to decrease urban saloon businesses, which were mainly owned by immigrants, by trying to pass “blue laws”. These blue laws would prohibited businesses, such as the saloons, to stay open on Sundays, which was economically devastating because Sunday were their most popular day. Nativists also tried to make it extremely difficult for the Irish to gather in saloons, but this was the prime location for the Irish to have a good time. These were a couple reasons that contributed to the growing tension between the immigrants and Nativists, which ultimately resulted in the Dead Rabbit Riot.
