ABSTRACT
Walt Whitman, America's first urban poet, celebrated New York as a ((city whose gleeful tides continually rush or recede, whirling in and out with eddies and foam!" He understood that the restless harbor, the crowded streets, and the busy people made New York a ((proud and passionate city-mettlesome, mad, extravagant city." For him, it was a unique place that would ((submit to no models" and tolerate no limits. Like the river currents, its power came from being both ((hurried and sparkling."l
The period between 1840 and 1865 proved Whitman correct. Rapid economic growth, significant population shifts, and intense political struggle created a series ofconflicts over religion, education, labor, and home rule. Two of the most violent riots of New York's history were compounded by several small riots. The sum total of all of this chaos raised doubts about the civility of the city and the nature of progress. People wondered whether a democratic system could control disorder while preserving liberty and opportunity. Nonetheless, the chaos was constructive because it meant that the city was confronting rather than ignoring the complex human dynamics of change.
