This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, we take a look at one of the biggest disasters in US history, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The tremors ripped apart the city’s water system, leaving it nearly defenseless against raging fires that soon broke out. The ensuing inferno … [Read more...]
Episode 002 The Statue of Liberty, Immigration History, & More
This week at In the Past Lane we bring you 4 features. The first two relate to immigration which, as you well know, is a major political issue in the US these days. Here's the lineup: 1) The first feature examines a little-known aspect of American immigration history -- specifically, the story … [Read more...]
Lady Liberty Had Something Else in Mind – The Statue of Liberty Originally Had NOTHING to Do with Immigration
InThePastLane.com by Edward T. O'Donnell The story of the Statue of Liberty provides an excellent opportunity to examine how the icons and traditions a society holds dear often originated with very different purposes and meanings. … [Read more...]
OP-ED The Pope is Coming to Get Us
[Please note: this piece originally appeared in the Huffington Post, September 23, 2015] When Pope Francis arrives in the United States this week, he will be greeted with an extraordinary outpouring of affection and adulation. It will come not merely from Catholics, but also from among … [Read more...]
Nativism Yesterday and Today – The Case of the Irish
People who rail against immigrants and minorities these days would do well to study up on their American history. Take for example the case of the Irish. Today the descendants of Irish immigrants constitute one of the most prosperous (second only to Jewish Americans) and powerful ethnic groups in … [Read more...]