During the nineteenth century, nativists and many of New York's native inhabitants despised Irish immigrants due to their poverty and large numbers. The Irish symbolized poverty and desperation and stereotyped them as criminals. Their poor appearance caused many people, especially those who agreed with nativist ideology, to view them with disgust. Furthermore, the New York Draft riots in 1863 contributed little to public opinion of the Irish. Feeling embittered by the injustice of the new bills, the rioters took desperate measures. The rioters were predominantly Irish and participated in the burning and looting of several buildings. Rioters caused several deaths and injuries to the leader of the chaos from July 13 to 16. An article in Harper's Weekly contained several drawings depicting the madness. The images showed violent clashes with the police, the lynching of an African American, the ruins of a building and the looting of a shop. These images depict the destructive and disturbing actions of the rioters. The New York Draft riots only increased the public perception that Irish immigrants were dangerous and brought harm to the United States. The new wave of Irish immigrants created competition for jobs and territory in the city, which increased anti-Catholic nativism. Many of the Irish immigrants hoped to escape starvation and sought new opportunities and were willing to work for meager wages to support their families. Nativists saw themselves as superior to foreigners because they believed they helped build the United States and that immigrants were taking advantage of it. In Orvilla S Belisile's novel titled The Arch Bishop: or Romanism in the U...... middle of paper ...... involved in the riot but did not include any details about the religion or ethnicity of the American rioter. This is notable because it could cause a specific group to be targeted while the general reference to Americans causes them to cross the public's radar. In the article entitled Ireland in America the author draws attention to the large number of immigrants who arrive from politically and socially problematic “foreign lands” and are “thrown among us.” His use of language shows some concern for the large number of Irish immigrants arriving in New York City. However, the writer shows sympathy for the hardships the Irish encountered in their homeland and states that the Irish immigrated to avoid the “jaws of famine.” 7 His tone is optimistic that the Irish will “grow up with the vigorous and fruitful American tree” and become productive members of society.