New York in the American Civil War of the worst incidents of civil unrest in American history. The week of July 11 to July 16, 1863, was known at the time as "Draft Week". Many citizens were upset with new laws passed by Congress to draft men to fight in the unpopular war. The ensuing disturbances were the largest civil insurrection in American history apart from the Civil War. President Lincoln sent several regiments of militia and volunteer troops to control the city. The rioters numbered in the thousands and were mainly Irish Americans. Smaller-scale riots erupted in other cities throughout the North, including in other places
Opposition to the American Civil War Opposition to the American Civil War Popular opposition to the American Civil War, which lasted from 1861 to 1865, was widespread. Although there had been many attempts at compromise prior to the outbreak of war, there were those who felt it could still be ended peacefully or did not believe it should have occurred in the first place. Opposition took the form of both those in the North who believed the South had the right to be independent and those in the South who wanted neither war nor a Union advance into the newly declared Confederate States of America. The