The Absolute Lawlessness of the 1800s in NYC
My friends, dates, clients, people who find themselves this deep into my newsletter, laser hair removal technicians, really anyone who has spent more than 5 minutes with me knows that I have a passion for American History. I could handle this normally, digesting it quietly then going about my merry way. But, no, everyone in my path has to relive whatever I learned in a bizarre game of historical telephone they didn’t ask for; the details are murky, it’s usually being relayed after a few cocktails, and someone is always being “such a gaslighting, narcissistic dick”.
My favorite century to dive deep into is the 1800s because it was such a nightmare. Candidly, if you want to feel better about the current state of affairs in our country, research literally any decade in the 19th century and enjoy an unethical, immoral, irresponsible, and entirely unhinged trip down United States memory lane. People were marching West with zero laws in place to govern them, the country was embroiled in a Civil War that built for decades before and lasted for decades after, we were shamelessly stealing Native American land, our banking system was a trash fire that endured two massive collapses – and welcome to me, third martini.
Because I’ve taken it upon myself to be the Ms. Frizzle of New York history to anyone in my orbit, let’s chat about a handful of the more maniacal things we thankfully didn’t have to personally live through.
The Chaos That Was the Implementation of the Commissioner’s Plan of 1811
We discussed this in a newsletter eons ago, but there was nothing quite disrupting in the 19th century like the time the government decided to rebuild, from the ground up, an already fully populated city. Surveying the city took 14 years (you can still find original survey bolts in the city) and the project took nearly 60 years, which is impressive seeing how long it took to build a few stops on the Q train recently. You can spend hours on google and highly-focused websites pouring over this; between carving up the Manhattan schist with primitive technology, moving pre-existing homes on literal pulley systems, rendering perfectly fine swaths of the city into piles of rubble without a care for public opinion, an L-train delay seems fairly minor in comparison.
The Potato Famine and the Five Points
I apologize to everyone I’ve dragged to the Tenement Museum; it’s a product of my obsession with the Five Points, discussed in a prior newsletter. The Irish Potato Famine, a potato blight caused by fungus, killed over one million Irish and drove another one million refugees to the US looking for a chance to survive. With no resources or skills, the majority of these immigrants lived in the crowded tenants and filthy streets of the Five Points, now Chinatown. The neighborhood was disease-ridden, notorious for prostitution, and was the most violent slum in the world at its height. It had once been a pond (that was drained [due to pollution] down what is now Canal Street, where the namesake came from) that became a landfill so the ground below had no water source, leaked methane, and was vile. The neighborhood remained an inhumane hotbed for the majority of the 1800s, all while run by the Bowery Boys and the Dead Rabbits.
New York’s Great Fire of 1835
On a frigid December night in 1835 a fire broke out in a warehouse on the (now) corner of Hanover and Wall Streets in Financial District. As it spread, gale force winds blowing towards the East River quickly spread the fire, only being halted when U.S. Marines created a rubble wall by blowing up buildings along Wall Street. It destroyed half a billion dollars’ worth of property in today’s money, leveled 17 city blocks, torched 700 buildings, and nearly took down a booming city. Desperate for water to fight the flames, first responders tried to drill holes in the frozen rivers with little success. The severity of the damage convinced New Yorkers to speed up completion of the Croton Aqueduct, a more reliable water source.
The Draft Riots
During the Civil War, the Federal Government turned to conscription to fill the Union Armies fighting in the south. Residents throughout northern states were required to sign up for the draft, furnish a substitute, or pay a fee of $300 in lieu of serving. In northern cities, large portions of the lower class, particularly recent immigrants, resisted the idea of sacrificing themselves so that the rich could grow richer. In 1863, draft resisters went on a three-day rampage, destroying draft offices, burning buildings, and killing 119 people. City leaders brought in the Union Army to quell things, which turned into even more of a train wreck.
Building the Brooklyn Bridge
An obsession of mine from a prior newsletter, I just find it incredible that the bridges millions of people rely on daily to enter and exit Manhattan were made by seemingly rudimentary techniques almost 140 years ago. The construction of the bridge took 14 years and was full of tragedy, nightmares, and total chaos. The bridge opened in May 1883 and 150,000 people crossed in the first day alone. However in the first week, someone spread a rumor that the bridge was collapsing at peak occupancy, leading to a stampede that killed over a dozen people. The city enlisted the Barnum & Bailey circus to lead its 21 elephant supply over the bridge to quell everyones’ fears…because…1800’s logic.
Tammany Hall and Boss Tweed – Politics at That Time
So I need a cocktail and a powerpoint to fully cover this but tldr, the political engine of the 1800s was arguably more corrupt than our present-day circus. But no political machine was quite as unscrupulous as Tammany Hall, as it controlled New York politics from the 1790s to the 1960s. It began as a social and patriotic club yet got entrenched in the backbone of New York politics after supporting Andrew Jackson’s presidency and being rewarded after his election by the spoils system. While its name is synonymous with corruption (and for very good reason), its popularity resulted from its willingness to help the poor and immigrant populations. Under notorious leader “Boss” Tweed, the city expanded into the UES and UWS, the Brooklyn Bridge was begun, land was set aside for the MET, and social services expanded – however, it thoroughly lined the pocketbooks of Tweed and his friends. Tammany Hall gained alliance with the rich elite of the city because of their control of the immigrants and propertyless males.
If any of this is remotely interesting to you, I recommend the American History Tellers podcast (you can find it on Spotify or Apple Music). The Age of Jackson series covers the Antebellum period and is a refresher to the things you half paid attention to during high school history.