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A Public Health Services physician checking a woman immigrating into the United States for illness.

How the Irish Became Everything

Two new books explore the messy complexities of immigration—from the era of Lincoln to Irish New York.

A “Malicious Fabrication” by a “Mendacious Scribbler for the ‘New York Times’”

The Times, as a “venomous Abolition Journal” could not be trusted to provide the truth for a white, slave-owning southerner.
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Fans of Trump’s Immigration Views Should Remember How Figures Like Him Targeted Their Ancestors

Keeping the Irish poor out of America helped shape our restrictive immigration policies.
Immigrants from Europe pose for a photograph upon their arrival at Ellis Island (1913).

First, They Excluded the Irish

Trump may block entry to foreigners who need public benefits—a proposal rooted in 19th-century laws targeting poor immigrants.
Shades of green.
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Green Sprigs of Courage

How the mythologizing of the Union Army’s Irish Brigade helped dispel anti-Irish sentiment.
Destroyed buildings and streets in the aftermath of the Chicago fire.

What Really Started the Great Chicago Fire?

The famous disaster razed a metropolis and spread a pack of colorful lies. To sift through the ashes today is to encounter some uncomfortable truths.
Migrants feet and bags after being dropped off within view of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington on Aug. 11.
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The Disturbing Precedent for Busing Migrants to Other States

In the 19th century, Americans dumped poor migrants overseas. Now some governors are shipping them off to other states.
Liquor shop operated by Patrick J. Kennedy, storefront reading "Cotter and Kennedy"
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Bridget the Grocer and the First American Kennedys

History has paid little attention to Bridget Kennedy, JFK’s widowed great-grandmother, who managed both her family and business in Boston's anti-Irish climate.
Oil cloth cape, worn to protect a firefighter’s upper body from embers and water. Likely from the Shiffler Fire Hose Company No. 32, of Philadelphia, founded in 1846.

There Was an Ashli Babbitt in the 19th Century. His Story Is a Warning.

To understand the right’s plans for Babbitt, look to George Shiffler.
This 1856 political cartoon depicts the responses of the three candidates to the results of the election. Winning Democrat James Buchanan sits reading the returns of the election while newspaper editors approach from the left. Behind them the defeated Republican candidate John C. Fremont rides off into the West. To the right the second defeated candidate, Millard Fillmore, laments his fall into the “caverns of Know-Nothingism.”

Here’s What Happens to a Conspiracy-Driven Party

The modern GOP isn't the first party to embrace huge conspiracies. But the lessons should be sobering.
Travels through Virginia. From Theodor de Bry's 'America', Vol. I, 1590, after a drawing of John White. Depicting American Indians dancing.

The Construction of America, in the Eyes of the English

In Theodor de Bry’s illustrations for "True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia," the Algonquin are made to look like the Irish. Surprise.
Know Nothing flag reading "Beware of foreign influence."

The 19th Century Roots of Federal Immigration Policy

Let’s get the history of American immigration policy straight.
'Hanging of the San Patricios following the Battle of Chapultepec' by Samuel E. Chamberlain

During the Mexican-American War Irish-Americans Fought for Mexico in the 'Saint Patrick's Battalion'

Anti-Catholic sentiment in the States gave men like John Riley little reason to continue to pay allegiance to the stars and stripes.
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It’s Time to Fulfill the Promise of Citizenship

The rights we save may be our own.

How the Bloodiest Mutiny in British Naval History Helped Create American Political Asylum

Outrage over the revolt spurred the U.S. to deliver on a promise of the revolution.

How the 19th-Century Know Nothing Party Shaped American Politics

From xenophobia to conspiracy theories, the Know Nothing party launched a nativist movement whose effects are still felt today.
Political cartoon depicting children recoiling from Catholic bishops crawling onto the beach with their robes and hats making them look like crocodiles.

When America Hated Catholics

In the late 19th century, statesmen feared that Catholics were something less than civilized (and less than white).
Sons of the Republic of Texas at Alamo monument
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Every American Needs to Take a History of Mexico Class

Learning the history of Mexico can help Americans better understand themselves.
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The Other Pandemic

In addition to COVID-19, another pandemic is preying upon the human spirit, nourished by a vulgar bigotry that has gone viral.

The Irish-American Social Club Whose Exploits Sparked a New Understanding of Citizenship

In 1867, the Fenian Brotherhood was caught running guns to Ireland, precipitating a diplomatic crisis.

The “Miscegenation” Troll

The term “miscegenation” was coined in an 1864 pamphlet by an anonymous author. It turned out to be an anti-abolition hoax.

Today’s Voter Suppression Tactics Have A 150 Year History

Rebels in the post-Civil War South perfected the art of excluding voters, but it was yankees in the North who developed the script.

Slavery Myths Debunked

The Irish were slaves too; slaves had it better than factory workvers; black people fought for the Confederacy; and so on.

Is Corned Beef Really Irish?

The rise and fall and rise of the traditional St. Patrick's Day meal.

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