1. For nearly two hours this morning, I settled into Episode 2 of American Experience: New York, "Order and Disorder (1825-65)". This episode explored the rapid growth of New York City as an industrial center, with much of its burgeoning population crammed into the cramped neighborhoods along the narrow streets of Lower Manhattan. Immigrants from across Europe, especially from Ireland, arrived in huge numbers and competed with blacks living in New York for cheap labor. I loved how this episode gave much attention to the writings of Walt Whitman who marveled at the influx of new people arriving in New York and wrote long lines of detailed verse about the energy and vitality of New York City. Unlike many writers who were appalled by this expansion of New York City's immigration population, Whitman loved the variety of peoples, the languages they spoke, the music they played, and the vigor they contributed to life in New York City.
During period of history in New York City, a great economic depression occurred and to put men to work, the city created an expansive public works project with the ambitious construction of Central Park. But, also during this period, as the Civil War broke out and with the passage of the Conscription Act, turmoil erupted in Manhattan. The Conscription Act allowed men to buy their way out of the draft for a fee of $300, a way of keeping wealthy men from having to serve the Union army. Lower and working class white immigrants deeply resented this clause of the act and on July 13, 1863, with New York city unprotected by any police or militia or soldiers because they'd been sent to the Battle at Gettysburg and hadn't returned, the Draft Riots broke out.
Mobs of mostly Irish immigrants took to the streets and attacked wealthy citizens, burned buildings, targeted military and governmental centers, and temporarily brought the draft to an end. Soon the rioters turned their attention to black New Yorkers. The Irish resented black workers and over the next few days committed atrocities including the lynching, mutilation, public burning, and drowning of black men, the storming of a black children's orphanage (the children escaped), and the destruction of black businesses and homes. It was a gruesome five days brought to an end when soldiers who had fought at Gettysburg returned to Manhattan and quelled the riot.
If I had every read about or heard about the Draft Riots of 1863, I had forgotten about them, but I'll never forget these terrible five days again.
2. Early in the afternoon, the Deke and I sprang out of the house and piled into the Sube and blasted our way up the North Fork of the CdA River to pay Jim and Stephanie Byrd a visit at their peaceful property along the river not too far from Prichard. We sat on the river bank and relaxed, enjoying the cool riverside air and the refreshing breezes that kicked up, and yakked for nearly two hours. It was a blissful time with good friends and soaking up the early autumn comfort of the mountain and river air.
3. I'd taken pork chops out to thaw a day ago and immediately upon arriving home, I seasoned them with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and rosemary. I also warmed up the leftover rice and braising liquid from our rump roast dinner and the Deke made a superb salad. The pork chops fried up quickly and soon the Deke and I dove into this simple and delicious dinner.
After dinner, I rested a bit, let my dinner settle, and then the Deke and I headed up to the Inland Lounge where for a little while we were the only customers so got to yak with Cas and Tracy uninterrupted for a while. Soon, though, other denizens of the Lounge filed in and we had a great time yakkin' with Seth about his trip to Chicago and taking his kids to Wrigley Field and spending a night across the street at the Hotel Zachary and having fun strolling around downtown and along the Chicago River. Seth put me in high living vicariously mode as I listened to him and thought about the fun times I've had in Chicago (but I've never seen a game at Wrigley).
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