With Good Reason

Sisters of Mercy
August 16th, 2008

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The contributions that Irish nuns made to help destitute immigrant Catholic children in New York City were instrumental in developing modern American social institutions like foster care and welfare. Maureen Fitzgerald (College of William and Mary) says before the nuns aided these children, they were being sent to live with Protestant families outside NYC, often never seeing their parents again. Also: Cindy Hahamovitch (College of William and Mary) compares the history and experience of guest workers in the United States to other countries.

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The foster care system can trace its roots back to 19th century America when thousands of hungry children were roaming the streets of big East Coast cities. Producer Nancy King says some of these kids ended up in Virginia.

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