‘Gang’ Legacy:

Smokler on January 27, 2003

If you’ve seen Martin Scorcese’s new film Gangs of New York and you’re interested in the history of the Five Points neighborhood in lower Manhattan, there’s some pretty good web resources out there. A site hosed on a U.S. Government server has a map of the neighborhood and features information on a 1991 excavaction of the Foley Square Courthouse, which stands right on Five Points today. For more in depth studies, I recommend the books Five Points: Five Points: The 19th-Century New York City Neighborhood that Invented Tap Dance, Stole Elections and Became the World’s Most Notorious Slum, a lucid history of the area told with modern hindsight, and the original Gangs of New York by Herbert Asbury, colored unfortunately but the muckracking press of the time.

Another great book on lower Manhattan scum and villiany is Low Life by Luc Sante. Sante is mostly an essayist ond book reviewer but he turns brilliant historian in this examination of the slime on the nose of the skunk (look at a map of Manhattan. It looks like a skunk hung up by its tail). I used it quite a bit in my master’s thesis.

Reader interactions

20 Replies to “‘Gang’ Legacy:”

  1. Matt January 28, 2003 at 3:11 pm

    Cool info. What was your master’s thesis on?

  2. Matt January 28, 2003 at 3:11 pm

    Cool info. What was your master’s thesis on?

  3. Kevin January 28, 2003 at 3:15 pm

    My master’s thesis was on Weegee, a depressio era tabloid photographer in New York City. Hence, i did a lot of research on tablod topics such as murder and sin to support my assertion about Weegee, his life and work, and the nature of 1930’s masculinity.

  4. Kevin January 28, 2003 at 3:15 pm

    My master’s thesis was on Weegee, a depressio era tabloid photographer in New York City. Hence, i did a lot of research on tablod topics such as murder and sin to support my assertion about Weegee, his life and work, and the nature of 1930’s masculinity.

  5. Ed January 28, 2003 at 5:04 pm

    Here’s a link to a pivotal part of the Draft Riots not covered by Scorsese(http://blackhistory.harpweek.com/7Illustrations/CivilWar/ColoredOrphanAsylum.htm) and a link to a better movie (http://www.cidadededeus.com.br/).

  6. Ed January 28, 2003 at 5:04 pm

    Here’s a link to a pivotal part of the Draft Riots not covered by Scorsese(http://blackhistory.harpweek.com/7Illustrations/CivilWar/ColoredOrphanAsylum.htm) and a link to a better movie (http://www.cidadededeus.com.br/).

  7. nels January 28, 2003 at 8:37 pm

    Is your masters thesis public? Can it be read online somewhere? My curiosity is very high on what it looks like…

  8. nels January 28, 2003 at 8:37 pm

    Is your masters thesis public? Can it be read online somewhere? My curiosity is very high on what it looks like…

  9. Kevin January 29, 2003 at 10:52 pm

    Not so far as I can tell. I just checked the library catalog at UT and no sign of it. I just spent 15 frustrating minutes at University Microfilm’s web site and got nowhere. Sorry. What can I tell you about Weegee though?

  10. Kevin January 29, 2003 at 10:52 pm

    Not so far as I can tell. I just checked the library catalog at UT and no sign of it. I just spent 15 frustrating minutes at University Microfilm’s web site and got nowhere. Sorry. What can I tell you about Weegee though?

  11. Jer January 30, 2003 at 11:49 am

    I’d also like to mention the song “Five Points” by Black 47. It actually doesn’t tell you a whole lot (Ok, anything) about the neighborhood, but it’s a pretty kicking song anyhow.

  12. Jer January 30, 2003 at 11:49 am

    I’d also like to mention the song “Five Points” by Black 47. It actually doesn’t tell you a whole lot (Ok, anything) about the neighborhood, but it’s a pretty kicking song anyhow.

  13. Kevin January 30, 2003 at 2:46 pm

    I must download that immediately. I didn’t even know it existed.

  14. Kevin January 30, 2003 at 2:46 pm

    I must download that immediately. I didn’t even know it existed.

  15. Humza March 17, 2003 at 6:02 pm

    Hi, I’m writing a report on the gangsters of the twenties and the Five Points Gang came up a lot. Can you guide me somewhere for good sources and what their significance is in gangs today, or society today as a whole?
    Thanks. (its a major research paper!!)

  16. Humza March 17, 2003 at 6:02 pm

    Hi, I’m writing a report on the gangsters of the twenties and the Five Points Gang came up a lot. Can you guide me somewhere for good sources and what their significance is in gangs today, or society today as a whole?
    Thanks. (its a major research paper!!)

  17. Humza March 17, 2003 at 6:08 pm

    O ya also… can you give me some info on some other influencial gangs of the periord (WWI – Post WWI era) Thanks.

  18. Humza March 17, 2003 at 6:08 pm

    O ya also… can you give me some info on some other influencial gangs of the periord (WWI – Post WWI era) Thanks.

  19. Kevin March 17, 2003 at 8:58 pm

    Humza,
    I wish I knew. Have you started with the original Hubert Ashbury book and done google searches out from there?

  20. Kevin March 17, 2003 at 8:58 pm

    Humza,
    I wish I knew. Have you started with the original Hubert Ashbury book and done google searches out from there?

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