Civil War Draft Riots Compared With 1992 Los Angeles Riots

The Civil War draft riots in New York City and the L.A. riots of 1992 are widely viewed as the most severe urban disturbances in U.S. history. Both involved substantial racial conflict and looting, whatever the initial grievances may have been. In the Civil War case, Irish immigrants were particularly vulnerable to the draft because they could not afford to buy themselves out of it. They blamed African-Americans for the War, especially after the Emancipation Proclamation. In the LA case, African-Americans attacked Korean-owned businesses and there was widespread multicultural looting.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• riots
• Civil-War
• draft
• Los-Angeles
• racial-conflict