The roughest neighborhood in 19th century America was widely believed to the New York's Five Points. And the legendary slum is now the setting for a Sunday night television drama, "Copper," which portrays the exploits of a New York detective circa 1864.
This week in Newspaper Sunday we're taking a look at how newspapers dealt with the spectacle and shame of the Five Points.
- New York Tribune, June 14, 1841: "Arrest of Disorderlies" detailed a "descent upon the Five Points" by the police and a "strong corps of watchmen." Residents were "rendering the night hideous by their drunken revelry, riot, obscenity, and din."
- Brattleboro Phoenix, April 28, 1843: A Vermont newspaper reprinted an account of a writer who, like Dickens, toured the Five Points. The account began with relatively cheerful accounts but turned quite grim.
- New York Tribune, March 19, 1844: An incensed reader complained the New York Tribune continued to "pollute its pages" with crime coverage "suitable to the tastes of the denizens of the Five Points."
- New York Tribune, July 6, 1857: An article detailed a riot in the Five Points. The military had to be called upon to subdue Irish toughs known as "The Kerryonians," presumably natives of County Kerry, in the west of Ireland.
- New York Tribune, October 12, 1863: An article decried the prevalence of young children carousing in dance halls in the Five Points.
Note: After following the links above, click the "persistent link" at the Library of Congress's Chronicling America site to view the entire page of the newspaper.
More: The Five Points
Illustration: A scene in the Five Points/courtesy New York Public Library Digital Collections
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