On The Draft Riots Of 1863

369 Words2 Pages
This part of the documentary on the draft riots of 1863 really enlightened me and informed me to things that I did not know about. The draft riots of 1863 actually lasted four days. The reason why these riots were happening was because of the three hundred dollars they had to pay if they did not want to participate in the draft. People could not afford to just shell out three hundred dollars. Some people, back in those times, were only paid five hundred dollars a year. How could the government then expect them to just pay 60% of what they make in a whole year. The black slaves were exempt from being drafted into the war. The white men began to think that they had less value because whites only had to pay $300 for their “worth” but people pay