New York Daily Tribune page on the New York City draft riots

The New York City draft riots, the bloodiest urban disturbance in American history, occurred from July 13 to July 16, 1863 and were sparked by opposition to the federal government's attempt to enforce the first federal conscription act, or military draft, during the Civil War. The violence and destruction that ensued throughout the riots were mostly carried out by city laborers who feared that African Americans, newly freed by President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, would present competition for city labor jobs. Throughout the riots, Republican Party leaders and African Americans were specifically targeted, resulting in assaults on party leaders and the destruction of their private property, the burning and subsequent destruction of the Colored Orphan Asylum, and the deaths of 11 African Americans.