Of course, its history has had a dark side, too.
In the 18th century, New York was a slave center second only to Charleston, S.C. Wall Street financed the slave economy in the U. S. after New York State abolished human bondage in 1827. The Draft Riot of 1863 remains the worst civil disturbance in all of American history. Slum housing, in the mid-1800s, was as bad as anything, anywhere. The world depression of the 1930s began on Wall Street. And, unbeknown to most residents, New York played a central role in the American Revolution. It was the site of the largest battle — a crushing defeat for the Continental Army — the focus of both British and American strategy, the site of the tragic prison ships and the headquarters of the British Army and Navy.
And, let’s not forget, the 400th anniversary celebrates the colonized New York. Native Americans made their home in what is now the city long before that.
Most important, as the historian Thomas Kessner has demonstrated, New York has throughout its history offered more opportunity than other American cities. In 1625, the Dutch traders, though slave owners and traders, set a new standard of toleration, diversity and the acceptance of human difference, no doubt in the pursuit of business. The problem in New York history is not how to find something important to highlight, but how to choose among so many thousands of competing possibilities.
History not only reminds us how we got to where we are now; it also provides clues as to where we are going and how to get there. No doubt, New York faces a host of challenges. But history also reminds us that New Yorkers, through grit and hard work, have overcome difficult obstacles throughout the centuries. The Civil War, devastating fires, economic depressions, market crashes, epidemic diseases and the 9-11 World Trade Center attack failed to bring Gotham to its knees.
No other place on the planet has shown so clearly that different cultures, races, classes, religions, political causes and languages can exist in proximity without setting off mayhem. The record of this most heterogeneous of cities shows that diversity, toleration and the acceptance of human differences, even amid the density in which its residents reside, have usually led to peace. What has always counted most is effort, talent, creativity and opportunity.