<P> U.S. President Abraham Lincoln diverted several regiments of militia and volunteer troops after the Battle of Gettysburg to control the city . The rioters were overwhelmingly working - class men , mostly Irish or of Irish descent , who feared free black people competing for work and resented that wealthier men , who could afford to pay a $300 ( equivalent to $9,157 in 2017 ) commutation fee to hire a substitute , were spared from the draft . </P>
those most likely to have taken part in the new york city draft riots of 1863 were
working - class men , mostly Irish or of Irish descent ,