Dataset
The main dataset for my History 1993 project is David M. Barnes collection of New York police officer’s accounts of the events of the 1863 Draft Riots. This collection of accounts is a digital book held within the Harvard library. There are several ways of extracting the data from the book. The book is separated into individual accounts from specific officers. This dataset would allow me to track the exact specifics of the riot and where when and how the whole event played out. Each officer reflects on specific events starting from the outbreak to the entering of the US army.
This dataset also allows the ability to track specific people throughout the Draft Riot events. With specific names of officers, I can search for more details on each officer and attempt to find their history. Along with David Barnes’ book, The New York census of 1850 will be another dataset I am planning on using to help understand the demographics of the event. The Irish population of New York played a crucial role in the riots and the census should allow me to shift through large amount of statistics on the state New York. This data could help locate where the population of Irish lived within the state and link them to the areas of conflict during the riots.
My first step will be to extract the text from the David Barnes book and hopefully be able to organize the names of officers and find out the specific accounts they lay out in their notes. Extraction will be the first step for both the census and the David Barnes book.
A key aspect of this research will be visualizing and presenting the events of the riot through each specific recollection of the events. I would like a majority of the project to be interactive and displayed through maps of New York City.
