“...the 1863 NYC Draft Riots.”
The NYC Democrat Riots were only stopped by bringing in troops who had been at Gettysburg and using warships cannons.
The Democrats were trying to kill every Black they could get their hands on, including the children in the Negro Orphans’ Home.
Kent State, on the other hand, set off the shutdowns of thousands of universities across the nation and assured the victory of the Anti-War Movement. But those shooting were not planned and, like most unplanned things, did not accomplish what was intended, but it’s opposite.
There is a difference between a demonstration and a riot. Firing on the demonstration, much like all those before and after, turned it into a riot. Dumb mistake on the part of the Guard.
You make it sound like the NYC "Democrats" - who were in fact probably 99% Irish immigrants (including my gg-grandfather) - rioted against blacks. While many were victims, the real targets were gov't officials and any civilians who had anything to do with the draft or supporting same.
You are also sadly mistaken with regard to the Kent State "demonstrators" as you call them. From Robert Bork's
Slouching Towards Gomorrah [emphasis mine]:
"On May 2, a crowd of about 800 assembled on campus, disrupted a dance in a university hall, smashed the windows of the ROTC building, and threw lighted railroad flares inside. The building burned to the ground."
"From May 1 to May 4 there were, in addition, riots in the town's main street, looting, the intimidation of passing motorists, stoning of police, directions to local merchants to put antiwar posters in their windows or have their stores thrashed, and miscellaneous acts of arson. All of this occurred before the shooting."
"On May 4, a Monday, about a thousand students gathered on campus. Guardsmen arrived and, probably unwisely, ordered the crowd to disperse. The order was predictably ignored. The Guard fired tear gas canisters into the crowd. The Guard, consisting of a hundred men surrounded by rioters shouting obscenities and chanting "Kill, kill, kill," were under a constant barrage of rocks, chunks of concrete and cinderblock, and canisters. Fifty-eight Guardsmen were injured by thrown objects. Several of them were knocked to the ground. They had little tear gas left, and the gas had, in any event, been made ineffective by the wind. The Guardsmen retreated up the hill, appearing frightened, and then some of them suddenly turned and fired for thirteen seconds. The firing was apparently spontaneous rather than ordered."
"Demonstrators" my @ss.