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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 974.8130049162
EAN num: 9780275987275
ISBN number: 0275987272
Label: Praeger Publishing houses
Manufacturer: Praeger Publishing houses
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 240
Printing Date: July 30, 2006
Publishing house: Praeger Publishing houses
Sale Popularity Level: 472332
Studio: Praeger Publishing houses
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Product Description:
In 1832, 57 Irish Catholic workers were brought to the United States to lay one of the most difficult miles of American railway, Duffy's Cut of the Pennsylvania Railroad. These men were chosen because, in the eyes of the railroad company that hired them, they were expendable. Deaths were common during the building of the railway, but this stretch was worse than most. When cholera swept the camp basic medical attention and community support was denied to them. In the end all 57 men--the entire work crew--died and were buried in a mass unmarked grave. Their families in Ireland were never notified about what had happened to them. The company did its best to cover up the incident, which was certainly one of the worst labor tragedies in U.S. history. Set against the backdrop of a quickly industrializing America, this books tells the story of these men, the sacrifices they made, and the mistreatment that claimed their lives. The saga of Duffy's Cut focuses particularly on the Irish laborers who built the railroads. Who were these men? Who hired them? Why did they come? Perhaps most important, why did they die? Based on archaeological digs at the site and meticulous historical research, the authors argue that the annihilation of the work crew came about because of the extreme conditions of their employment, the prejudice of the surrounding community, and the vigilante violence that kept them isolated. In shedding light on this tragic chapter in American labor history, The Ghosts of Duffy's Cut also illuminates a dark side of America's rise to greatness.
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Rated by buyers -
Aside from the fact that this is a spell-binding story, this book is to be valued for its excellent summary of the situation in Ireland as well as in the United States at the time of this tragedy, and the factionalism that was such a chronic characteristic of Irish labor history on our canals and railroads. This is an exceedingly well-researched and written book and a very important addition to 19th century transportation and immigrant history in particular.
Rated by buyers -
This book offers a fascinating look into the world of 1830s-era
Philadelphia and its environs. There is interesting material
here on the history of immigration, the Irish in America, railroad construction, epidemiology, ghosts and folklore. The core of the book is a story about Irish railroad workers in Chester County that was largely unknown until the authors began studying it (they obtained a historical marker for it from the Commonwealth's Historical Commission in 2004). In addition, there are interesting ghost stories that will make for better than average Halloween reading.
Rated by buyers -
This remarkable new book is a must read for Irish-American history. A reconstruction of the fate of an immigrant Irish work crew who died of cholera (and possible violence) while building the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad in rural Chester County in 1832 is the main focus. The story of the tragic deaths of 57 young Irish immigrants is combined with much fascinating detail concerning Irish and Irish-American history of the time. The much neglected history of the P and C Railroad is handled very well as is the discusion of the pandemic of Asiatic Cholera in North America. There is even a evocatively described ghost story. Readable, yet scholarly, this is an incredible book.
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