As immigrants fled crisis and catastrophe in Europe, they descended on New York City. Irish immigrants settled into Five Points, one of the most notorious slums of the mid 1800s, where gangs like the "Forty Thieves" and the "Dead Rabbits" had their roots.
Graft and corruption replaced law and order as Boss Tweed and other Tammany Hall politicians used gangs as "enforcers." Police, often controlled by crooked government officials, did nothing as gangs forced people to vote (often more than once) for their preferred candidates.
Set against the backdrop of a country falling apart, "Gangs of New York" depicts a city falling apart during the draft riots of 1863. Some of the movie's characters are real: Bill the Butcher, Boss Tweed, Monk Eastman, Johnny Sirocco and Hellcat Maggie. Others, like Amsterdam Vallon and Jenny Everdeane, are fictional. See this time of turmoil come alive on the big screen, but visit our story to see pictures of the historical people and authentic gang-fighting scenes.
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