Sarah Churchwell

And I'm Sarah Churchwell, author, journalist and academic.

And I'm Sarah Churchwell, author, journalist and academic.

And I'm Sarah Churchwell, author, journalist and academic.

We're going to be looking at hidden social histories behind famous chapters from the past.

We're going to be looking at hidden social histories behind famous chapters from the past.

We're going to be looking at hidden social histories behind famous chapters from the past.

And we'll have characters and stories that have been totally forgotten, but shouldn't have been.

And we'll have characters and stories that have been totally forgotten, but shouldn't have been.

And we'll have characters and stories that have been totally forgotten, but shouldn't have been.

But it's not 9-11. This is the Black Tom explosion of 1916, the story of a massive sabotage campaign as Germany made a desperate effort to keep America from helping the Allies during the First World War.

But it's not 9-11. This is the Black Tom explosion of 1916, the story of a massive sabotage campaign as Germany made a desperate effort to keep America from helping the Allies during the First World War.

But it's not 9-11. This is the Black Tom explosion of 1916, the story of a massive sabotage campaign as Germany made a desperate effort to keep America from helping the Allies during the First World War.

Ah.

Ah.

Ah.

And gradually what you see in this period is mounting concern over what became called hyphenate Americans. This idea that foreign immigrant communities had divided allegiances. And so there are increasing demands for effectively loyalty tests.

And gradually what you see in this period is mounting concern over what became called hyphenate Americans. This idea that foreign immigrant communities had divided allegiances. And so there are increasing demands for effectively loyalty tests.

And gradually what you see in this period is mounting concern over what became called hyphenate Americans. This idea that foreign immigrant communities had divided allegiances. And so there are increasing demands for effectively loyalty tests.

And that's the phrase, right? America first. It is a phrase that was first popularized in this context in 1915, a year before Black Tom, in a speech that Wilson gave addressing these mounting concerns about hyphenate Americans, about whether they were real Americans or not.

And that's the phrase, right? America first. It is a phrase that was first popularized in this context in 1915, a year before Black Tom, in a speech that Wilson gave addressing these mounting concerns about hyphenate Americans, about whether they were real Americans or not.