Monthly Archives: July 2022

Meeting of August 30, 2022

Tom Roza on “New York City Draft Riots”

One of the ugliest events to occur during the Civil War was the Draft Riots that took place in New York City in July 1863. The riots exposed deep rooted racial, political, and ethnic divisions that existed in New York City; these prejudices were fueled by massive numbers of immigrants fleeing Europe to escape famine, political division, and war. The riots were driven by several root causes:

  • Draft requirements that allowed wealthy white men to avoid the draft
  • Pervasive racial hatred directed at Negroes
  • Political corruption and division

Tom’s presentation delves into these root causes, what they caused, and the aftermath of the riots.

Tom Roza has been a student of history for over 60 years. His interest in history in general and the Civil War began with his elementary education in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and has evolved ever since. As an officer and the Secretary of the South Bay Civil War Roundtable, Tom has made numerous presentations on the topic of the Civil War to both his Roundtable organization and other historical organizations in the Bay Area. Tom is also a published author of the book entitled Windows to the Past: A Virginian’s Experience in the Civil War, which has been accepted by the Library of Congress into its Catalog; Tom is currently working on a sequel entitled Lost Cause – Justice Found.

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Quiz for August 30, 2022

Civil War Quiz: What Do You Know About the Border States?

Q#1 – What are the names of the original four Border States?

Q#2 – Which state became a border state in 1863?

Q#3 – What main social/economic element did all the border states share in common?

Q#4 – Which Border State provided the Union Army with approximately 50% of its gunpowder during the Civil War?

Q#5 – Which of the Border States voted for Abraham Lincoln in the Presidential election of 1860?

Q#6 – Which of the Border States voted for Abraham Lincoln in the Presidential election of 1864?

Q#7 – Besides formal combat between regular armies, the border regions saw what other type of combative action?

Q#8 – Did Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation apply to the Border States?

Q#9 – What was the main political concern by the Border States in 1861 that might have led to them seceding from the Union?

Q#10 – What was the Maryland Legislature’s position on secession and the Civil War?

Q#11 – Which Border State did President Lincoln see as strategic to Union victory in the Civil War?

Q#12 – In 1861, what action was taken by President Lincoln against which Border State that was ruled unconstitutional by Chief Justice Roger Taney, at that time acting only as a circuit judge?

13 – What was Missouri Governor Claiborne F. Jackson’s reaction to the Missouri Constitutional Convention voting to remain within the Union, but rejecting coercion of the Southern states by the United States?

Q#14 – In 1861, after a series of military defeats, the Missouri secessionist forces retreated to southwestern Missouri where Governor Jackson and his exiled Confederate sympathizing took what political action?

Q#15 – The Kentucky legislature did not vote on any bill to secede, but passed two resolutions of neutrality, issuing a neutrality proclamation May 20, 1861, asking both sides to keep out of the state. What action broke that neutrality?