Gangs of New York

This historical drama was inspired by Herbert Asbury's 1927 non-fiction book, The Gangs of New York. The drama centers on the long-running Catholic–Protestant feud in New York, which erupts in 1863 into violence, just as an Irish immigrant group is protesting about low wages caused by an influx of freed slaves, as well as the threat of conscription into the American Civil War. Citywide draft riots break out just as the two rivaling gangs are preparing to fight. Union Army soldiers are deployed to control the rioters. As the rival gangs face off, cannons from naval ships are fired directly into Paradise Square, where the fighting takes place, interrupting their battle shortly before it begins.