{"id":487037,"date":"2022-08-22T15:00:53","date_gmt":"2022-08-22T12:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/the-real-story-behind-gangs-of-new-york\/"},"modified":"2022-08-22T15:00:53","modified_gmt":"2022-08-22T12:00:53","slug":"the-real-story-behind-gangs-of-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-real-story-behind-gangs-of-new-york\/","title":{"rendered":"#The Real Story Behind Gangs of New York"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4133d8dfc81\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4133d8dfc81\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-real-story-behind-gangs-of-new-york\/#%E2%80%9CThe_Real_Story_Behind_Gangs_of_New_York%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;The Real Story Behind Gangs of New York&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-real-story-behind-gangs-of-new-york\/#The_Real_%E2%80%9CBill_the_Butcher%E2%80%9D\" >The Real \u201cBill the Butcher\u201d<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-real-story-behind-gangs-of-new-york\/#I_Know_Nothing\" >I Know Nothing<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-real-story-behind-gangs-of-new-york\/#Old_Smoke\" >Old Smoke<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-real-story-behind-gangs-of-new-york\/#City_Life\" >City Life<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-real-story-behind-gangs-of-new-york\/#The_Civil_War\" >The Civil War<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CThe_Real_Story_Behind_Gangs_of_New_York%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;The Real Story Behind Gangs of New York&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<pre><code>     &lt;span class=\"mx-1\"&gt;A look at some of the real people and events behind Martin Scorsese\u2019s 2002 epic. &lt;\/span&gt;\n&lt;\/p&gt;&lt;div id=\"\"&gt;\n\n\n\n                &lt;figure class=\"sf-entry-featured-<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a> \"&gt;\n            &lt;img width=\"760\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Gangs-of-New-York.jpg\" class=\"articlethumb wp-post-image\" alt=\"Gangs Of New York\"\/&gt;                            &lt;\/figure&gt;\n\n    &lt;!-- START BYLINE --&gt;\n    &lt;div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center my-4 text-center medium dark-gray\"&gt;\n        By\u00a0Will DiGravio\u00a0\u00b7 Published on August 22nd, 2022 \n        &lt;\/div&gt;\n    &lt;!-- END BYLINE --&gt;\n\n    &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Real Stories is an ongoing column about the true stories behind <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">movies<\/a> and TV shows. It\u2019s that simple. This installment focuses on the real story behind Martin Scorsese\u2019s 2002 film Gangs of New York.&lt;\/em&gt;\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<hr\/>\n<p><strong>Martin Scorsese\u2019s<\/strong> 2002 epic\u00a0<strong><em>Gangs of New York<\/em><\/strong><em>\u00a0<\/em>will always hold a special place in the director\u2019s oeuvre: it was his first of many collaborations with <strong>Leonardo DiCaprio<\/strong>, after all. But the film is also a deeply personal one for Scorsese, himself one of New York City\u2019s most famous sons. It took more than twenty years for him to make. As Roger Ebert <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/interviews\/gangs-all-here-for-scorsese\">noted<\/a> during a 2002 interview with the director, Scorsese first took out an ad announcing the project after he finished <em>Taxi Driver\u00a0<\/em>in 1977.<\/p>\n<p>For Scorsese (<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20031209182847\/http:\/\/hnn.us\/comments\/6212.html\">via NPR<\/a>):<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>This film sort of represents the foundation upon which all my other movies are based in a way. It sort of creates a world in which the worlds I depict in <em>Mean Streets<\/em> and <em>GoodFellas<\/em> and <em>Raging Bull<\/em>, to a certain extent, <em>Taxi Driver<\/em>, it\u2019s the foundation from which those worlds emerged And, yes, there\u2019s no doubt. This is based on history.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Here is a look at some of the true stories and people behind Scorsese\u2019s monumental achievement, <em>Gangs of New York,<\/em> which is based on a book of the almost-same- name by Herbert Asbury, <em>The Gangs of New York<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Real_%E2%80%9CBill_the_Butcher%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>The Real \u201cBill the Butcher\u201d<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The film begins with a fight between two gangs in the Five Points, a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan. On one side are the Irish Catholic immigrants, called the Dead Rabbits, led by \u201cPriest\u201d Vallon, played by <strong>Liam Neeson<\/strong>. Vallon is the father of young Amsterdam, who grows up to be the man played by DiCaprio. They face in combat the Confederation of American Natives, a Protestant group led by William \u201cBill the Butcher\u201d Cutting, played by\u00a0<strong>Daniel Day-Lewis.\u00a0<\/strong>The opening scene ends with Bill killing the \u201cPriest,\u201d thus winning the territory for the protestant faction. The film then fast forwards nearly two decades later, where Bill, still the leader of his gang, works as a political operative, allied with the powerful Tammany Hall, led by William \u201cBoss\u201d Tweed (<strong>Jim Broadbent<\/strong>).<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"I_Know_Nothing\"><\/span>I Know Nothing<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The character played by Day-Lewis is based on a man named William Poole, also nicknamed \u201cBill the Butcher.\u201d A boxer, butcher, and firefighter, Poole held tremendous sway in the community. He was affiliated with the Know Nothing party, a secret group whose members, if asked by anyone outside the group about the society, were instructed to respond, \u201cI know nothing.\u201d Their platform included: \u201cdeportation of foreign beggars and criminals; a 21-year naturalization period for immigrants; mandatory Bible reading in schools; and the elimination of all Catholics from public office.\u201d The influence of the Know Nothing party grew, and, in the 1850s, they boasted hundreds of elected officials around the country, including more than 100 congressmen and eight governors. As Lorraine Boissoneault, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smithsonianmag.com\/history\/immigrants-conspiracies-and-secret-society-launched-american-nativism-180961915\/\">writing in <em>Smithsonian, <\/em>notes<\/a>, \u201cKnow-Nothings were the American political system\u2019s first major third party.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Poole was a major figure in the rise of the Know Nothings and the nativist cause. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smithsonianmag.com\/history\/immigrants-conspiracies-and-secret-society-launched-american-nativism-180961915\/\">Boissoneault writes<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>No person exemplified this veneration of the working class more than Poole. Despite gambling extravagantly and regularly brawling in bars, Poole was a revered party insider, leading a gang that terrorized voters at polling places in such a violent fashion that one victim was later reported to have a bite on his arm and a severe eye injury. Poole was also the Know Nothings\u2019 first martyr.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Old_Smoke\"><\/span>Old Smoke<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The martyrdom of Poole came in 1855. He got into a dispute with Irish boxer John Morrissey, who carried the nickname Old Smoke. The two, according to Boissoneault, exchanged insults and drew guns before the police arrived. Later, Poole returned to the saloon and was shot in the chest by one of Morrissey\u2019s men. His last words, at the age of 33: \u201cGoodbye boys, I die a true American.\u201d The circumstances and timing of Poole\u2019s death mark an obvious difference between him and Scorsese\u2019s Cutting, who, in the film, dies by a gunshot wound decades later.<\/p>\n<p>Murder charges were brought and then eventually dropped for Morrissey and his men. Poole became a hero in death. And decades later, Morrissey was elected to Congress with the help of Tammany Hall. He then later served in the New York Senate until his death in 1878.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"City_Life\"><\/span>City Life<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Historians and critics alike have praised Scorsese\u2019s film for its realistic depiction of immigrant life. To Ebert\u2019s mind:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>No movie has ever depicted American poverty and squalor in this way: Immigrants huddle on shelves in a rooming house, starving children die in the streets, there is no law except the rule of the mighty, and each immigrant or racial tribe battles the others.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The set design and abundance of background characters bring this texture and level of authenticity to the film. There is <strong>Roger Ashton-Griffiths<\/strong> as P. T. Barnum, the famous showman and politician. And <strong>Cara Seymour<\/strong> as Hell-Cat Maggie, one of the most well-known woman gang members of the period. Then there is, of course, one of the film\u2019s main, albeit fictional characters, Jenny Everdeane (<strong>Cameron Diaz<\/strong>), who works as a pickpocket, often donning a disguise to enter and steal from the homes of the wealthy. Each of these characters plays on Scorsese\u2019s broader depiction of the period, <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">theme<\/a>s like class and crime, and how each can at times be both dreadfully serious violence and spectacle.<\/p>\n<p>Talking with NPR after the film\u2019s release, historian Tyler Anbinder said:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Certainly in terms of the visual images of the period, he\u2019s gotten that just right. The Five Points as depicted in the movie, 19th-century New York as visually depicted in the movie, he couldn\u2019t have done much better than that. He also does a fabulous job of recreating the sense that the Irish and immigrants, in <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a>, when they came to the United States in the 19th century did feel persecuted and were very much discriminated against, and he gets that theme very much right, too.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Civil_War\"><\/span>The Civil War<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Much of the film is set against the backdrop of the American Civil War. Scorsese depicts horrific racism and violence directed at Black Americans. Images of Abraham Lincoln abound. And the poor and working-class people of New York live in fear of the draft, of going off to die for a country that cares so little about them. Some enlist and choose to look at the bright side, saying at least now that they are in the army, they might get the chance to eat. Scorsese shows how immigrants were cornered by political and military operatives immediately after they step onto US shores. They wanted two things from the immigrants: to vote and fight for them.<\/p>\n<p>The film ends with one of the most famous incidents of the war: the 1863 New York Draft riots. Earlier that year, Lincoln signed a conscription law that made all men aged 20-35 and all unmarried men aged 35-45 subject to military duty, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.history.com\/topics\/american-civil-war\/draft-riots#:~:text=The%20New%20York%20Draft%20Riots%20occurred%20in%20July%201863%2C%20when,destructive%20rioting%20in%20U.S.%20history.\">according to <em>History<\/em><\/a>. These men would all then be entered into a lottery. The catch was that one could buy himself out of the draft for $300, an amount most would be lucky to make in a year. The fee made it so that only the rich could buy their way out of service.<\/p>\n<p>New York City held its first lottery on July 11. By that Monday, July 13, things devolved into the deadliest riot in the country\u2019s history. Thousands of workers began to attack government and military buildings. They then began to attack the homes and businesses of Black Americans, who were not eligible for the draft because they were not considered citizens. According to <em>History:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>In one notorious example, a mob of several thousand people, some armed with clubs and bats, stormed the Colored Orphan Asylum on Fifth Avenue near 42nd Street, a four-story building housing more than 200 children.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The riots lasted until July 16. By that point, riots had broken out in other boroughs. And thousands of federal troops, who had been fighting at Gettysburg, arrived on the scene.\u00a0By the close, the official death toll reached 119. However, <em>History\u00a0<\/em>notes that some speculate the real total may have been closer to 1,200. Property damage totaled millions of dollars. About 3,000 of the city\u2019s Black residents were left without a home.<\/p>\n<pre><code>    Related Topics: Real Stories\n    &lt;!-- AUTHOR BOX --&gt;\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<div class=\"gray-bg p-4 border small mb-5\">\n<div class=\"row align-items-center text-md-center\">\n<div class=\"col-md-2\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/will.jpg\" class=\"circle img-fluid\" width=\"100px\" height=\"100px\"\/>\n        <\/div>\n<div class=\"col-md\">\n            Will DiGravio is a Brooklyn-based critic, researcher, and video essayist, who has been a contributor at Film School Rejects since 2018. Follow and\/or unfollow him on Twitter <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/willdigravio\">@willdigravio<\/a>.        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<pre><code>    &lt;!-- START RECOMMENDED READING 1 --&gt;\n                                &lt;section class=\"recommended py-5\"&gt;\n            &lt;h3&gt;Recommended Reading&lt;\/h3&gt;\n\n\n        &lt;\/section&gt;\n            &lt;!-- END RECOMMENDED READING --&gt;\n\n\n\n\n&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"&gt;&lt;\/script&gt;\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/gangs-of-new-york-real-story\/#utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=gangs-of-new-york-real-story\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;The Real Story Behind Gangs of New York&#8221; &lt;span class=&#8221;mx-1&#8243;&gt;A look at some of the real people and events behind Martin Scorsese\u2019s 2002 epic. &lt;\/span&gt; &lt;\/p&gt;&lt;div id=&#8221;&#8221;&gt; &lt;figure class=&#8221;sf-entry-featured-media &#8220;&gt; &lt;img width=&#8221;760&#8243; height=&#8221;500&#8243; src=&#8221;https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Gangs-of-New-York.jpg&#8221; class=&#8221;articlethumb wp-post-image&#8221; alt=&#8221;Gangs Of New York&#8221;\/&gt; &lt;\/figure&gt; &lt;!&#8211; START BYLINE &#8211;&gt; &lt;div class=&#8221;row align-items-center justify-content-center my-4 text-center medium dark-gray&#8221;&gt; By\u00a0Will DiGravio\u00a0\u00b7&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":487038,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Gangs-of-New-York.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-487037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=487037"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487037\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/487038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=487037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=487037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=487037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}