History, Natural History & the Arts
In the early morning hours of July 4, 1919, a fire alarm was sounded in the village of Corinth, Saratoga County. Many residents thought some kids were celebrating Independence Day a bit early, but when the International Paper Mill fire whistle sounded everyone knew it was real.
The popular German-American Club next to a creek on lower Pine Street was ablaze. [Read more…] about Corinth’s 1919 German–American Club Fire
Censorship is the official prohibition or restriction of any type of expression conceived as a threat to the sociopolitical or moral order. Attempts by the authorities to suppress freedom of the press in the American colonies were recurrent. These efforts would eventually lead to a confrontation at the Supreme Court in the case of New York v. John Peter Zenger in August 1735. [Read more…] about The Palatine Printer & Three Scots Behind The First Amendment
For a long time Rotherhithe was London’s natural port, gaining its name from the Anglo-Saxon term for “landing-place for cattle.” There were shipyards in the area from Elizabethan times until the early twentieth century, and working docks until the 1970s. [Read more…] about Engineering Theatre: The Brunel Legacy in London & New York
Book purchases made through this link support New York Almanack’s mission to report new publications relevant to New York State.
In 1844 America was in a state of deep unrest, grappling with xenophobia, racial, and ethnic tension on a national scale that feels singular to our time, but echoes the earliest anti-immigrant sentiments of the country.
In that year Philadelphia was set aflame by a group of Protestant ideologues — avowed nativists — who were seeking social and political power rallied by charisma and fear of the Irish immigrant menace. [Read more…] about Fires of Philadelphia: A New Book On The 1844 Nativist Riots
The idea of utopia as a place of peace and plenty away from the hardships of ordinary life, is a recurring theme in literature. The term entered popular usage after publication of Thomas More’s Utopia in 1516. His Eden is an idyllic island society wholly removed from the corruption of sixteenth century England. [Read more…] about Myth and Migration: The Old West As Urban Invention
Long Island has a rich agricultural history. One aspect of that past, often overlooked, is the toll exacted on those doing the actual labor.
Author Mark Torres’ new book shines a light on a chapter of that history. Long Island Migrant Labor Camps: Dust for Blood (History Press, 2021) tells the story of the migrant laborers who traveled to Long Island from the 1940s through the 1970s. The camps in which they lived were often little more than shacks and the plight of the migrants were a debated topic among journalists, officials, and the general public for years. [Read more…] about Long Island Migrant Labor Camps (Podcast)
Book purchases made through this link support New York Almanack’s mission to report new publications relevant to New York State.
Tara McCarthy PhD’s book Respectability and Reform: Irish American Women’s Activism, 1880-1920 ( Syracuse University Press, 2018) explores the contributions of a small group of Irish American women in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era who emerged as leaders, organizers, and activists. [Read more…] about Respectability and Reform: Irish American Women’s Activism
Switzerland may not a member of the European Union, but it is part of the Schengen border-free travel zone. Checkpoints between countries are put up only during emergencies. The recent influx of refugees led to a decision for the border to be sealed, making Lake Como a migrant frontline. Those with the means to do so have turned to locals to help them cross the Alps on their journey towards Germany or Britain. [Read more…] about MicroHistory and Migration: From Moltrasio to London, New York and Montreal
This week on The Historians Podcast, David Pietrusza discusses his memoir Too Long Ago: A Childhood Memory, A Vanished World about his Amsterdam, NY, roots. Pietrusza is a historian who has written books about presidential elections and other topics. He and podcast host Bob Cudmore were raised in the Reid Hill section of Amsterdam, a primarily Polish-American neighborhood in the 1950s. [Read more…] about Growing Up in Amsterdam, NY, in the 1950s
In the 1830s, anti-Catholic attitudes inflamed by conspiracy theories were reaching a fevered pitch, especially in New York and Massachusetts where attacks on the homes of urban Irish immigrants occurred with some regularity.
In 1834 the bigotry turned particularly violent. Its greatest instigator was Samuel B. Morse who whipped his Protestant brethren into a fury. [Read more…] about ‘Monkish Traditions’: 1830s Hatred of Irish Immigrants