The New York City draft riots were violent disturbances in New York City that were the culmination of discontent with new laws passed by Congress to draft men to fight in the ongoing American Civil War. First Lincoln freed the slaves and now he was conscripting Northern men into the army and forcing them to fight and die to make his proclamation a reality. Thus reasoned many white workers in the North who were concerned about free blacks competing for their jobs. The unfair draft laws caused deep resentment throughout the North, and in the summer of 1863 protests and outbreaks of violence were common in virtually every Northern state. Secret societies were formed to organize resistance to the draft, and draft officers were assaulted.
I would prefer to read Binder because i found this book more detailed and easier for understanding. Website has just brief information and too boring and plane.