A headline in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (3 April 2014): "Report: Minnesota not so nice to immigrants." The article goes on to say: Despite a self-professed sense of acceptance of newcomers and a well-worn notion of "Minnesota Nice," the state does not provide some of the most basic protections to the more than 350,000 immigrants and refugees living here, a new report claims. Coincidentally, today I was also reading a historical account about the Irish in Boston, Massachusetts, during the famine years -- with eery parallels. A website called "The History Place" includes an eight-part history of the Irish potato famine ( http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/famine/index.html.) The Boston account comes from the chapter "Gone to America." Copyright limitations prevent me from reproducing the story here. However, to paraphrase and summarize (and motivate you to go read the entire chapter): In 1847, the first year of the famine, 37,000 Irish immigrants arrived in Boston, a city with a population of about 115,000. The large number of Irish immigrants overwhelmed Boston, where descendants of the English Puritans were faced with an unwanted "social revolution." The Irish took any unskilled jobs they could find, at the very lowest rungs of society. The huge demand for housing allowed unscrupulous landlords to charge exorbitant amounts for rooms with no water, sanitation, ventilation or sunlight. There was no enforcement of sanitary regulations, building or fire codes. Unsanitary conditions led to widespread disease, especially cholera. Sixty (60) % of children born in Boston during this period didn't live to see their 6th birthday. The "Gone to America" chapter goes on to report about the Irish experience in New York and other American cities, about anti-Irish sentiments and ultimately, the "rise of the Irish" with the elections of John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. The eight chapters in the Irish Potato Famine segment include:

• Introduction
• Before the Famine
• The Blight Begins
• The Great Hunger
• Coffin Ships
• Financial Ruin
• Gone to America
• After the Famine
• Author/Bibliography

This site also looks like a great place for quick reads about American (and world) history: the American Revolution, the U.S. Civil War, 20th century topics including WWI and WWII, U.S. presidents, etc.