Walk With You - Scene 31

Walk With You

Scene 31

St. Louis, Missouri - 1854

Immigrants from Ireland and Germany flood the town.

Music: The Ash Grove - Welsh Folk Song

HARRIET SCOTT (V.O.)

The Forty-Eighters were Europeans who participated in or supported the revolutions of 1848 that swept Europe.

In the German states, the Forty-Eighters favored unification of the German people, a more democratic government, and guarantees of human rights.

Disappointed at the failure of the revolution to bring about the reform of the system of government in Germany or the Austrian Empire they gave up their old lives to try again abroad.

Many emigrated to the United States. These emigrants included Germans, Czechs, Hungarians, and others.

Many were respected and politically active, wealthy, and well-educated; as such, they were not typical immigrants. A large number went on to be very successful.

SUPER IN

St. Louis Missouri 1854

HARRIET SCOTT (V.O.)

In August, election day riots broke out in St Louis between immigrants and natives. Ten were killed and almost a hundred buildings were damaged.

FADE IN:

The streets of St. Louis are filled with mobs of people.

Between 1840 and 1850, St. Louis continued rapid growth, both in area and population.  The city's population increased five times during this period.

The river traffic increased so rapidly that by 1850 St. Louis was the second largest port in the United States.

This was the Golden Age of river traffic. Eliza and Lizzy would take John Blow down to the docks and watch the ships come and go.

An important factor in the population increase was the influx of large numbers of immigrants, particularly from Germany and Ireland.

The Germans, who fled the revolution in their homeland, settled here in such numbers that by the early fifties, the City ordinances had to be translated into German for their benefit.

In 1854, John Berry Meachum while preaching from his pulpit passed away.

FADE TO - Panoramic view of Washington DC. Zoom in to the Capitol building where the United States Supreme Court is located.