The Dead Rabbits Riot was what erupted into a gang fight in 1857 between the Dead Rabbits and the Bowery Boys. Based on the movie clips from Gangs of New York, it seemed to be extremely violent. The New York State Militia was called in. The Dead Rabbits were an Irish American gang and the Bowery Boys were nativists, and thus mainly Anti-Irish and Anti-Catholic. Their conflict stemmed from complicated social and political issues.
Many Irish immigrants supported Mayor Wood, especially due to his efforts to provide food and create jobs during the recession in 1854, while nativists in this case did not. After he won the Sixth Ward Election, several laws limiting his power were passed. A specific issue was that of the Metropolitan and Municipal police forces. Wood lost complete control of the police force and a Metropolitan Police Force was established in place of the city’s police force. Unfortunately, many Irish immigrants had been in the police force an d now felt as if they were being targeted.
Apart from the police force, Blue Laws were enacted forbidding the sale of alcohol on Sundays- a problem for many Irish immigrants who owned saloons and taverns and who worked the rest of the week and consequently mostly went out on weekends. Saloons and taverns were places where the Irish could gather and socialize, so this would prevent them not only from drinking but also from gathering in social environments for discourse and discussion. The liquor license fee was raised, as were rent prices across the city preventing these businesses from being successful.
And so, this tension resulted in riots between the Dead Rabbits and the Bowery Boys, who were more so on the side of the police but had strong negative attitudes toward the Dead Rabbits. The violence was furthered by the disorganized state of the police force.
Thankfully, I have not witnessed any racial violence like this. The movie scenes we watched simply showed the two gangs going at it, but did not delve into the issues. I assume that the rest of the movie mentions the deeper issues, so I cannot necessarily say that this was a flaw of the movie.
