When was gangs of new york based

The film's historical background is greatly entrenched within the history and climate of the Five Points neighborhood of the time.

Cross and Orange Each of the Five Points is a finger. When I close my hand, it becomes a fist. And, if I wish, I can turn it against you. The Five Points area was built on what was known as the Collect Pond. The pond was a main source of fresh drinking water for the city. As a result, many businesses were erected along the shores of the pond and contaminated it in a short period. The pollution became a problem and a hazard.

It was proposed to be cleaned and used as a centerpiece or a recreational park, but that proposal was rejected. Instead, it was decided to fill in the pond, and the land fill was done poorly. Buried vegetation began to release methane gas, which is a natural by-product of decomposition. The area also lacked adequate storm sewers. Because of the poorly filled in land, houses and buildings shifted on their foundations.

The place was infested with mosquitos due to the poor drainage. In essence, it stunk, and the place was filled with disease. Nobody wanted to live there except the poorest of the poor. When the Irish began immigrating to the city in large droves largely due to the Great Irish famine of —, Irish immigrants began piling into the Five Points and making the neighborhood their new home. Generally regarded as one of the all-time greats, Daniel Day-Lewis is the only male actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor 3 times.

He was nominated for his performance in "Gangs of New York" in While some of the characters in the film were fictional and not based on real historical figures, the character of Bill Cutting was. The last name may have been changed, but William Poole's real nickname "Bill the Butcher" was used in the movie. The main difference is that in Gangs of New York , Cutting survives to see the civil war and participates in the draft riots of , whereas Poole was shot to death in In classic fashion Daniel Day-Lewis spent an extreme amount of time getting into his role, spending time working with multiple professional butchers so that he could more authentically portray Bill the Butcher.

DDL's method acting style means he spends an extreme amount of time preparing for his role, literally living the life of the character as best as possible. Additionally, DDL resurrected an old New York accent for his role that would have fit in with the period. He managed to capture the seething rage and distrust of the Irish that was prominent during the period.

The Know Nothing was a movement created by Nativists who believed that the overwhelming immigration of German and Irish Catholic immigrants was a threat to republican values and controlled by the Pope in Rome. They were dubbed the Know-Nothings by outsiders of their semi-secret organization. This had nothing to do with them knowing anything. It had to do with their reply when asked about the organization's activities, often stating, "I know nothing.

The real Bill the Butcher was a leader of the Bowery Boys and known for his skills as a bare-knuckle boxer. Poole's trade was that of a butcher, and he was infuriated when many butchering licenses were being handed out to Irish immigrants.

Unlike the movie which Bill Cutting mentions his father died fighting against the British, the real William Poole's father did not die fighting the British. In fact, Bill Poole trained in his father's trade and eventually took over the family store. Also unlike in the movie, William Poole was shot in real life. However, he was shot at Stanwix Hall, a bar on Broadway near Prince.

William Poole did not die in a glorious street battle against his Irish enemies. Instead, he died from the gun wound at his home on Christopher Street. His last words were: "Goodbye, boys. I die a true American. What was true in the movie was the conflict the real Bill the Butcher had with the Irish immigrant gang the Dead Rabbits. Although the character of Amsterdam Vallon, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, was greatly a work of fiction, it can also be argued that the character of Amsterdam in Gangs of New York was very loosely based on the historical figure of John Morrissey.

John was born in Templemore, County Tipperary, Ireland in Like William Poole, he was well known as a highly skilled boxer, gambler, and gang leader of the Dead Rabbits. Unlike the movie, Morrissey's father was not killed by Bill the Butcher and revenge was not his true motive in going head to head with the Butcher.

In reality, he became Poole's adversary when he was hired to prevent Poole from seizing ballot boxes and rigging an election. Morrissey and the Dead Rabbit gang were rewarded by Tammany Hall as they were allowed to open a gambling house without police interference. Poole and Morrissey would go toe-to-toe, but not in an epic gang battle. The two fought in a boxing match, in which Morrissey lost. A few weeks later, Lew Baker, a friend of Morrissey, shot and fatally wounded Bill the Butcher at a saloon on Broadway in Morrissey was a champion boxer, but when he retired, he ran for Congress and was backed by Tammany Hall.

He ended up serving two terms in the House for the 40th and 41st Congress, representing the 5th Congressional District. As a Congressman, Morrissey always looked out for the interests of the Irish.

When I first wrote and researched this piece on the historical relevance that the film Gang of New York depicts, there was little information on Dagger John Hughes or any information that pointed me in the direction of this real life priest. The real life person was actually brought to my attention recently in a comment below. After digging into this historical character a bit more, it could be argued that the character of Priest Vallon that Liam Neeson may have been based on John Joseph Hughes, better known as the archbishop of New York.

However, it would be very loosely, but then again, it may be the same with John Morrison and Amsterdam Vallon. Hughes was an ardent champion of the Irish.

After all, he was one himself and originated from the County Tyrone. While there are little records of archbishop Hughes chopping down Nativists in bloody street battles, he did hold off anti-Catholic riots in Spreading from Philadelphia, Nativist rioters threatened to burn down Catholic churches, but John Dagger Hughes put armed guards in front of every Catholic church in the city and declared:. Leaders of the city knew he meant business and the Nativists were not allowed to hold their rally.

John definitely fought for the Irish in America and campaigned religiously on their behalf. He strongly believed that education was the key for his countrymen to take advantage of the almost limitless possibilities that American held at the time.

John Hughes did not look favorably upon slavery but also believed that conditions of laborers in the Northern States weren't better and often worse. He felt Abolitionists should also take up the cause of Northern urban laborers.

Regardless, an important Irish American figure that is definitely worthy to note. William Tweed, the "Boss" of Tammany Hall, the Democratic Party political machine that played a significant political role in New York City during the 19th Century, plays an important role in the film. Within the movie, his character is perhaps the most accurate and genuine according to Tweed's historical legacy. Much like the movie, Tweed used Irish gangs like the Dead Rabbits as muscle to rig elections and to stop other groups from rigging ballots for opposing parties.

He was extremely popular with the voters, especially Irish immigrants, who he promised jobs and assistance to win their votes.

Tweed in real life was extremely corrupt and used politics as a pure means to profit. He was also the proprietor of the Metropolitan Hotel. The New York Times attacked Tweed constantly of corruption.

It is the year , and lower Manhattan is run by gangs. He believes that America should belong to native-born Americans and opposes the waves of immigrants, mostly Irish, entering the city. Leonardo DiCaprio has starred in numerous blockbusters, including Titanic , one of his most famous roles. He has been nominated for three Oscars. 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 tied to the political establishment in New York City. He despises the recent and numerous Catholic emigrants in New York. The movie's plot is driven by both his desire to kill Bill and his growing admiration for the man. In the movie's finale, Amsterdam confronts Bill the Butcher and his gang during the historic Anti-Draft riots of Amsterdam kills the gang leader and leaves for a new life in San Francisco.

This book is controversial, and many critics believe that Asbury sensationalized the period and that his book is riddled with inaccuracies. The Scorsese movie has a definite sense of place, and the director sought to bring the Five Points neighborhood of the s to life.

There was a lavish amount of money spent to make sure that the motion picture was as realistic as possible and that viewers had a sense of what it was like to live in a 19th-century urban slum. The Five Points neighborhood was a real-life area. It was the most notorious slum in New York, and it was crime-ridden and a center of prostitution in the city. In the motion picture, several gangs controlled the area for the political bosses who ran the city at this time.

The gangs ensured that people would vote for these bosses. The movie portrays these bosses as ruthless and corrupt. This aspect of the film was largely accurate, and the Five Points was a center of criminality and corruption in the city until it was torn down in the early 20th century.

It also captures the terrible conditions in which people lived and the filth and squalor they had to endure. The movie also captures the varied population of the area, particularly the many Irish immigrants who had fled the Great Irish Famine However, there are many inaccuracies in the movie concerning the presentation of Five Points.

In reality, most of the neighborhood was populated by people who had regular jobs and worked hard every day. They were laborers and porters, who had tough jobs and could barely afford their rent. They constantly suffered from food insecurity and struggled to care for their families. The movie shows Five Points as a place of unrelieved squalor and poverty, but in fact, the area by the s had significantly improved.

Evangelical Christian missionaries concerned with the Five Points' sinfulness had managed to persuade the New York city authorities to improve conditions in the slum. Another inaccuracy of the movie is that there are many Chinese immigrants shown in the movie. This is an anachronism because there was no real Chinese presence in New York until the s and s.

During the Civil War, there were only a few hundred Chinese origin people in the entire city. Another glaring inaccuracy in the movie was the presence of catacombs under the Five Points district. Bill the Butcher and the other gangs are shown as practically literally living underground.

However, there were no catacombs in the neighborhood. Scorsese added these caves for dramatic effect. While the catacombs did not exist, they were a compelling setting for the movie.

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. At the start of the film, Bill the Butcher and his mob engage in a pitched street battle with the Priest Vallon's Irish gang.