Annotated Bibliography
Dickens, Charles. “American Notes for General Circulation …” Gutenberg Project. Accessed November 7, 2016. http://www.gutenberg.org/zipcat2.php/675/675-h/675-h.htm.
This is a book written by Charles Dickens in the mid-19th century which details his experiences and observations on his trip to America. He wrote about Five Points extensively, and I will use his observations on Five Points as a contemporary perspective on the state of the town and the people who live there.
[Dead rabbits’ fight with the Bowery boys. By Saugerties Bard. Air: Jordan. J. Andrews, Printer, 38 Chatham Street, N. Y. 1857?]. New York, New York, monographic, 1857. Online Text. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/amss.sb10094a/. (Accessed November 17, 2016.)
This is a song written about the fight between the Dead Rabbits and the Bowery Boys, and it gives details about the story, but also shows the reputation of the Sixth Ward as a dangerous place because of the gangs.
“DOOM OF THE OLD TOMBS; SOON TO BE REMOVED TO MAKE WAY FOR NEW PRISON. Something About the Grim Structure in Centre Street Where Many Notorious Criminals Have Been Confined, and Numbers of Executions Have Taken Place — The Structure to Be Substituted Will Have More Room.” New York Times, July 4, 1896. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B0DE2D71730E033A25757C0A9619C94679ED7CF&legacy=true.
This is an article on the “Tombs” which was a notorious prison, also wrote about in Dickens. Explains how the prisoners were treated in the Tombs, a place where many of the gang members would be brought to stay overnight before being tried. People still call the Detention center in Manhattan the “Tombs” today.
Gorn, Elliot J. “”Good-Bye Boys, I Die a True American”: Homicide, Nativism, and Working-Class Culture in Antebellum New York City.” The Journal of American History 74 (September 2, 1987): 388-410. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1900028.
This scholarly article displays how issues of nativism and class intermingled and manifested itself strongly in gang culture in New York around the time of the Civil War. I will use this in my analyzation of the gang affiliations of either being for Tammany Hall or anti-Catholic nativists.
“NO MORE RIOTING.; MAYOR WOOD ASKS FOREIGN SYMPATHY A $400,000 Tax. INVITATION TO THE GREAT EASTERN. Unaccountable Action of the Common Council WHO THE PARTIES WERE. CORONERS’ INQUESTS. Two More Deaths…Making Eight in All. Interesting Incidents of the Late Riots. CONDITION OF THE WOUNDED. OFFICIAL RETURNS FROM EACH PRECINCT.” New York Times, July 7, 1857. Accessed November 3, 2016. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E05E7D7103AEF34BC4F53DFB166838C649FDE&legacy=true.
A detailed account of the riots that occurred throughout the weekend, showing how the fights were instigated between gangs, how the neighborhoods they fought in were affected, and the dynamic between the gangs fighting and what made them eventually stop.
“RIOTING AND BLOODSHED; THE FIGHT AT COW BAY. Metropolitans Driven from the 6th Ward. Chimneys Hurled Down Upon the Populace. ” Dead Rabbits” Against the “Bowery Boys.” ORDER RESTORED AT MIDNIGHT. Riots in the 6th, 7th and 13th Wards. THE STREETS BARRICADED. THREE REGIMENTS CALLED OUT. THE 4TH AND 5TH OF JULY. Six Men Killed and Over One Hundred Wounded. THE CITY UNDER ARMS.” New York Times, July 6, 1857. Accessed November 5, 2016. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9C07E1DE163CEE34BC4E53DFB166838C649FDE.
A detailed account of the riots that occurred throughout the weekend, showing how the fights were instigated between gangs, how the neighborhoods they fought in were affected, and the dynamic between the gangs fighting and what made them eventually stop.
The Great Metropolis or Guide to New York. Vol. 5. New York, 1849.
A guidebook/directory written in 1849 that told stories and gave the locations of some of the gang fights that occurred. Useful for creating accurate locations for the tour stops.
“THE PUGILISTS’ ENCOUNTER.; Post-Mortem Examination-Coroner’s Investigation. DEATH OF WILLIAM POOLE.” New York Times, March 9, 1855. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9403E4D6133DE034BC4153DFB56683 8E649FDE&legacy=true.
An article from the 19th century perspective on the gang fight and death of William Poole, the leader of the Bowery Boys. Gives insight into the rivalry between the Tammany Dead rabbits and the nativist Bowery Boys. Poole remarked upon his death that he regrets most that he is killed by an Irishman.
Yamin, Rebecca. “Lurid Tales and Homely Stories of New York’s Notorious Five Points.” Historical Archaeology 32, no. 1 (1998): 74-85. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25616594.
An article that takes a look at the archaeological evidence found at the Five Points area in the 21st century and how it gives insight into the way people lived in 19th century Five Points.