Union Army

New York Draft Riots Explode Over Class-Based Conscription System Enabling Wealthy to Buy Exemptions While Poor Fight

1863-07-13 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 9/10

On July 13-16, 1863, New York City erupts in the largest civil urban disturbance in American history as working-class mobs violently protest the federal draft law that allows wealthy men to avoid military service by paying $300—equivalent to an average worker’s annual salary—or hiring …

Irish Americans Black New Yorkers Democratic Party Union Army draft-riots class-inequality racial-violence conscription draft-exemption +1 more

Civil War Contractors Defraud Government with Defective Weapons and Shoddy Goods Costing Lives and Millions

1861-01-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 8/10

Throughout the Civil War, military suppliers systematically defraud the government and endanger Union soldiers by selling defective equipment and supplies in what becomes known as the “shoddy” scandal. Contractors sell boots made from cardboard that dissolve in rain, clothing made from …

War Department Union Army War contractors Shoddy millionaires war-profiteering contract-fraud corruption government-contracts accountability-failure