The majority of the scenes of the movie were very factual. The large gang war happened. It was the Bowery Boys VS. The Dead Rabbits. The 5 points gangs were known and feared by every one in town. The 5 points fire almost took out the whole town. The fires was very destructive in the movie and in history. Shamif's election was a real event that was represented in the movie. The civil war was the biggest event that effected the gangs. Some of the gang members were being drafted to the military. This started to pull apart the gangs and the city as a whole. Riots between the gangs were a normal occurrence in the 1850's. The Irish immigrants were coming in to new york for better lives. The gangs and everyone else in new york did not want the new Irish men pushing job competition. The gangs tried to push them out of the 5 points area. The Irish men fought and fought for there freedom to stay. The film did a great job of capturing this conflict between the two groups.