New York in Newspapers

Sojourner Truth

Sojourner Truth (c. 1797 – November 26, 1883) was an American activist for abolitionism, women’s rights, universal suffrage, and other causes.  Early Life Sojourner Truth was born Isabella Baumfree (or Bomefree) around 1797 in Dutch-speaking New York to enslaved parents. Sold away from her family in childhood, Isabella was owned by several abusive enslavers. In …Read More

New York

New York is a state located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the northeastern United States. In addition to sharing a border with five other states, New York also borders Canada, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, and the Atlantic Ocean. One of the original 13 colonies, New York has become one of the most populous U.S. states, …Read More

Battles of Saratoga

The Battles of Saratoga were two Revolutionary War battles, fought on September 19 and October 7, 1777, near Saratoga, New York. Following the battles, British and German troops under British general John Burgoyne surrendered to American general Horatio Gates on October 17, turning the tide of the Revolutionary War in the Americans’ favor. Background In …Read More

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

On March 25, 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City caught fire and in about half an hour killed 146 people, the majority of them young women. Background The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was a sweatshop housed in the top three floors of a 10-story brick building in New York City. It employed hundreds …Read More

Jackie Robinson

Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was born in Cairo, Georgia, but grew up in southern California. He attended UCLA, where he participated in football, basketball, track, and baseball. From 1942 to 1944, during World War II, Robinson served with the U.S. Army. Afterward, he briefly played baseball for the Negro …Read More

Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem Renaissance was an American Black cultural movement that started in the years following World War I and ended in the mid-1930s. It was most vibrant during the 1920s and was centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. This period saw an explosion in Black cultural arts such as music, literature, poetry, …Read More