"Cabrini," the feel good movie about an American hero

Also, a reminder about our history as a nation built by immigrants while anti-immigration feelings still fester and divide us

Click here for the Cabrini trailer

Early in the movie, Mother Cabrini and six sisters arrive at “Five Points,” a notorious Manhattan slum that reveals its dark and dangerous nature as a place teeming with poverty, violence, and desperation where “rats have it better than children.” 

The movie is set in a fascinating period in our history when we were becoming the melting pot of the world. The world financial system had faltered and immigrants from all over the world were flocking to the United States. Our financial systems had been rocked by two severe panics; unemployment was high, bankruptcies were common, and services were strained by the waves of immigration, which at the same time were building the infrastructure of our young nation.

In spite of the gift of the Statue of Liberty given to the US in 1886, anti-immigration feelings were on the rise due to economic anxieties, language and religious differences, all of which led to a fear that American cultural and social norms were being undermined, not unlike today’s focus on our “border crisis.”

It was into this steaming stew that Mother Cabrini and her sisters arrived in 1889. Even before the desperate political and economic situation of the time, Five Points had been shaped into the crushing density of the murder capital of the world by water, greed and incompetence.

The beginnings of Five Points go back to a spring-fed pond

In 1700s Manhattan, Collect Pond included 48 acres of a spring-fed pond up to 60 feet deep, filled with fish, and the main source of drinking water for area residents. Surrounded by middle class and expensive residences, the pond was used as a picnic area during summer and a skating rink during the winter.

The availability of water attracted commercial enterprises: breweries and slaughterhouses, tanneries, and pottery-making enterprises that spilled their contaminated wastewater back into the pond turning it into a health hazard. To address the hazard, the city decided to fill in the pond, reclaim the land and build more houses on it.

The reclamation project was poorly done and methane gas began to accumulate and, with a poor system of storm sewers, the land began to subside, houses shifted, mud filled the streets, and the area became a breeding ground for mosquitos. Middle and upper class inhabitants fled the area leaving it to the waves of immigrants arriving from famine-torn Ireland, Italians fleeing economic and political unrest, poor people from all parts of the world looking for a better life, as well as newly emancipated slaves.

Mother Cabrini came to New York City in 1889 when immigrants were being processed through Castle Garden, where nearly ten million immigrants were processed from Denmark, England, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Russia, Scotland, and Sweden.

Ellis Island. The federal government assumed control of immigration in early 1890 and immigration processing was moved from Castle Garden to Ellis Island in 1892. Between 1892 and 1954, 12 million immigrants were processed through Ellis Island, formerly known as Kioshk (Gull Island) by the Native Americans who hunted there, and as “little Oyster Island,” by the Dutch, and was at one point a public execution spot for pirates. In 1774, It was purchased by Samuel Ellis and passed down and sold until it was finally ceded to the United States in 1808, for $10,000, and was primarily used for military purposes until 1892.

Tammany Hall, Corruption, Massive Immigration, and Major Reforms

Rich, powerful men, political and corporate, dominated the New York City scene of the 1890s. As Cabrini so graphically shows, the 1890s were a terrible time for the poor … crime and violence, inadequate health care, child labor, unemployment, lack of housing and education made life miserable. There were no safety nets.

These conditions also prompted major reform movements and many heroes emerged and deserve to be honored without taking anything away from the major contributions Mother Cabrini worked for. (Thank you ChatGPT for this list.)

• The Progressive Movement sought to address the problems caused by industrialization and urbanization, including poor working conditions, child labor, and inadequate housing. Progressives in New York City advocated for government intervention and the implementation of regulations to improve public health, housing, and labor conditions.

Settlement House Movement

• Led by social reformers like Jane Addams (who founded Chicago's Hull House, with similar institutions in New York like the Henry Street Settlement founded by Lillian Wald), the settlement house movement aimed to improve the lives of the poor, especially immigrants. Settlement houses provided services such as education, healthcare, and employment assistance, and played a crucial role in community building.

Labor Reform Movement

• The labor movement gained momentum in response to the harsh realities of industrial labor, seeking better wages, hours, and working conditions. Notable events like the 1892 Homestead Strike and the founding of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in 1886, though not exclusive to New York, influenced labor activism in the city. In New York, labor unions organized strikes and advocated for workers' rights, often facing fierce opposition from employers and the police.

Women’s Suffrage Movement

• Although the struggle for women's suffrage was a national movement, it had significant activity and support in New York City. Prominent suffragists, such as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, advocated for women's right to vote, leading to the eventual passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920.

Tenement Reform Movement

• Concerned with the appalling living conditions in New York City’s tenements, reformers pushed for laws to improve housing standards. The New York State Tenement House Act of 1901, which came a bit after the 1890s but was the result of efforts that built up during this decade, mandated changes that significantly improved conditions, such as requiring new buildings to have outward-facing windows, indoor bathrooms, and fire safeguards.

Temperance and Prohibition Movement

• The temperance movement, which sought to curb the consumption of alcohol, was active in New York City, reflecting a nationwide push that would eventually lead to Prohibition in the 1920s. Advocates argued that alcohol was responsible for many social ills, including poverty and domestic violence.

Educational Reform

• Efforts to improve and reform education included expanding public education access, improving curriculum standards, and addressing the needs of immigrant children. Educational reformers worked towards compulsory education laws and the establishment of kindergartens and vocational training.

While Cabrini only deals with the reforms championed by Mother Cabrini, many reformers were involved in improving life for impoverished workers and families, then and now.