The Fires of Philadelphia

A gripping and masterful account of the moment one of America's founding cities turned on itself, giving the nation a preview of the Civil War to come. America is in a state of deep unrest, grappling with xenophobia, racial, and ethnic tension a national scale that feels singular to our time. But it also echoes the earliest anti-immigrant sentiments of the country. In 1844, Philadelphia was set aflame by a group of Protestant ideologues—avowed nativists—who were seeking social and political powe