Road to the White House. Part 2

Description

The Road to the White House tells the story of how Irish immigrants to the United States rose from impoverished, despised, disorganized outsiders to elect John F. Kennedy as the country's first (and so far, only) non-Protestant, non-Anglo Saxon president. The series, filmed in both Ireland and America, follows the rise of Irish-American political machines in cities like New York, Boston, Kansas City and Chicago and features contributions from Pulitzer Prize winning authors such as Robert Caro and Jack Beatty.</p> <p>The three-part series tell the story of six unique and powerful Irish-American politicians whose ancestors all came to America as impoverished Irish immigrants. The Irish, by the very process of coming to America, changed the country. They were the first immigrant group in the US who seized upon politics as a means of making a living and they left a permanent mark on the American political landscape which stills resonates today. The series opens in New York in the mid 1800s with the story of Richard 'Boss' Croker, it continues in New York with the story of Alfred E. Smith. The series also covers the Kansas Machine with the story of 'Boss' Tom Pendergast before moving on to Boston with James Michael Curley, to Chicago with the Major Richard J. Daley Story and ending with the John F. Kennedy election victory.

Runtime

50 minutes

Series

Subjects

Contributor

Geography

Genre

Database

Alexander Street

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