By Catherine A. Paul, 2018. Housing has been an issue throughout American history, from urbanization to overcrowding. While this article does not provide an exhaustive list or analysis of all of America’s issues related to this topic, gentrification, affordable housing, eviction, and homelessness are all issues that have risen to prominence in recent years.
Continue Reading »The Southern Tenant Farmers’ Union (STFU) was founded in Arkansas in 1934 by a group of socialism-inspired sharecroppers. The STFU was notably an interracial and gender-inclusive organization. They sought relief from the federal government for populations neglected by the New Deal’s agricultural policies, such as sharecroppers and tenant farmers.
Continue Reading »Immigration and Ethnicity: Documents in United States History By Catherine A. Paul January 18, 2018 Chinese Exclusion Act, 1882 The Chinese Exclusion Act was signed into law on May 6, 1882 by President Chester A. Arthur in response to native-born Americans’ belief that unemployment and declining wages were due to Chinese workers. This…
Continue Reading »By Catherine Paul, 2017. The 1926 Passaic Textile Strike began on January 25th, 1926 and lasted through March 1st, 1927. The work stoppage involved more than 15,000 wool and silk workers in and around Passaic, New Jersey. The Passaic Textile Strike is notable for the use of force against the demonstrators, the debates over free speech, the role of intellectuals and intellectualism, and for being the Communist Party’s first attempt to organize a large-scale demonstration encompassing the region’s textile industry.
Continue Reading »Paterson Silk Strike, 1913 By Catherine A. Paul October 31, 2017 The Paterson Silk Strike of Paterson, New Jersey lasted from February 1913 until July 1913 and was one of many industrial conflicts that erupted between 1909 and 1913 (Golin, 1992). During the strike, 1,850 strikers were arrested and jailed, 300 mills and dye houses…
Continue Reading »William Lloyd Garrison (December 10, 1805 – May 24, 1879) – Abolitionist and Editor of The Liberator By Catherine A. Paul “I will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject I do not wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderation.… I am in earnest—I will not equivocate—I will not…
Continue Reading »Catherine A. Paul received her Master of Social Work (M.S.W.) from Virginia Commonwealth University in May, 2018. She graduated from Fordham University with a B.S. in psychology in 2013. In 2012 she spent a semester in Rwanda studying post-genocide restoration and peacebuilding. Upon graduating from Fordham, Paul moved to Oakland, CA with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps…
Continue Reading »By Catherine A. Paul, 2017. Polio is caused by a virus; it affects the body by attacking the central nervous system, specifically those neurons essential for muscle activity. The first U.S. polio epidemic swept across the country in 1916, and then again in the late 1940s and 1950s.
Continue Reading »Written by Catherine A. Paul. “Throughout the history of the United States, music has been used to bring people together. By singing together, people are able to form emotional bonds and even shape behavior…Therefore, it is unsurprising that social movements have similarly interwoven music and action to create and sustain commitment to causes and collective activities.”
Continue Reading »Until the start of the 20th century, Americans typically believed in the power of the “melting pot” to create a common culture out of the various groups coming to America. However, this surge in immigration led to the creation of Americanization programs.
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