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[[File:Gangs_of_New_York_Poster.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Gangs of New York]]__NOTOC__
====Is the Gangs of New York a true story?====While the movie is inspired by events in the New York City of the 1860s, the movie is not based on a true story. The Gangs of New York , like many Scorsese movies, is an examination of organized crime in New York City. In essence, the movie is a vengeance drama. It is set in in the American metropolis before and during the American Civil War. The movie's focus is on the gangs that once controlled the Five-Points area of New York, which was a notorious slum. It follows the leader of a criminal gang which is tied to the political establishment in New York City. ‘Bill the Butcher’ played by the Anglo-Irish actor Daniel Day-Lewis rules the Five-Points. The character is a ‘Nativist’ and wants America to remain a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant country. He despises the recent and numerous Catholic emigrants in New York.
====The Plot====
The movie's plot is driven by both his desire to kill Bill and his growing admiration for the man. In the finale of the movie, Amsterdam confronts Bill the Butcher and his gang during the historic Anti-Draft riots of 1863. Amsterdam kills the gang leader and leaves for a new life in San Francisco. The movie was roughly based on the book by Herbert Asbury's, <i>The Gangs of New York</i>. This book is controversial, and many critics believe that Asbury sensationalized the period and his that his book is riddled with inaccuracies. <ref> Herbert Asbury's, <i>The Gangs of New York</i> (New York, Garden City, 1928) </ref>
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====The Five Points====
====The Violence and the Gangs====
[[File: Gangs three.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Slum dwellers in the Five Points]]
<i>Gangs of New York</i> is a compromisingly violent movie, and it is typical of Scorsese’s oeuvre. Many commentators likened it to modern gangster movies. The motion picture focuses on the recurring fights and battles between the native gangs led by Bill the Butcher and the Irish gangs. <dh-ad/>At the start of the film, Bill the Butcher and his mob engage in a pitched street battle with the Irish gang led by the Priest Vallon. The gangs are shown to be armed with weapons such as swords and axes. In other violent incidents, throughout the movie there are many casualties and many fatalities. While, gang fights were very common in 19th century New York and indeed bar brawls were probably much more common than now. The level of violence is exaggerated, by Scorsese and there were very few gang battles as portrayed in the movie. There were only a few instances when guns and swords were used.
Even though Five Points was poor, it was not that violent and murder was rare. At this time there was hardly a murder a month in all of New York. New York is currently one the safest cities in the United States and it was probably even safer in the 1860s. The Rise of the Mafia and Prohibition led to a dramatic increase in violence that the city became famous for.<ref> Schneider, Eric C. Vampires, dragons, and Egyptian kings: Youth gangs in post-war (New York. Princeton University Press, 2001 ), p. 67</ref>
====How accurate is the movie====
====Related DailyHistory.org Articles====
* [[How accurate is the movie The Aviator?]]
* [[How historically accurate is the movie 'Tora, Tora, Tora'?]]
* [[How historically accurate is the movie 'A Bridge Too Far'?]]
====Further Reading====
Bruce W. Dearstyne, <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01F81QJM8/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B01F81QJM8&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=21d19f9c3ae5ea6c8ae32e60fc0ff4d5 The Spirit of New York: Defining Events in the Empire State's History]</i> (Albany: Excelsior Editions, 2015)
Herbert Asbury, <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307388980/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0307388980&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=51a652fdc03cf809fcffe59af6ad4d70 The Gangs of New York]</i> (New York, Garden City, 1928)
Barnett Schecter, <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0802714390/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0802714390&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=838a063152ecf571cfd2e48f3293bdc4 The Devil's Own Work: The Civil War Draft Riots and the Fight to Reconstruct America]</i> (New York, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2005){{MediaWiki:AmNative}}
====References====