"The Five Points Rules the World!"

"Scene at the Five Points Riot. Women and men throwing brickbats down on the police." An engraving from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newpaper shows how women participated in the 1857 riot.

In 1857, New York City's native-born elite used the Republican-controlled New York State Assembly to try to oust Mayor Wood and force genteel behavior on the Irish working poor. Their efforts led to the Five Points riot of 1857.

The State Assembly passed two laws in April 1857. The first law disbanded the New York City police department, a Tammany stronghold. To take police power away from Mayor Wood, the Assembly created a new unit, the Metropolitan Police, which would answer only to the Assembly.

The Metropolitan Police was also created to enforce the Assembly's second law, which reduced the number of licensed saloons in the city, limited the amount a person could drink, and closed all saloons on Sundays.

Many Irish working people saw these laws as a direct attack on their way of life. Some Five Points residents decided to resist. On Sunday, July 4th, the first day the laws took effect, Five Pointers celebrated Independence Day with saloons open and full, as was traditional. When the Metropolitan Police tried to enter the neighborhood, the Five Points riot began.

The July 4th riot began with fists and rocks and escalated to include clubs and guns. On one side there was the Irish of the Five Points, led by a gang of young working men known as the "Dead Rabbits." On the other side was the Metropolitan Police and a gang of native-born working men called the "Bowery Boys." After hours of battling, which left scores injured and twelve dead, the fighting slowly subsided.

A fine old faction fight... Many Five Pointers knew of the once-popular Irish tradition of "faction fights," based on family or regional feuds.
Source: Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper

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