Small state, big history

Joe Kernan
Posted 2/12/15

In the type of email we’re not used to getting around here, Christian McBurney thanks us for the kind things we had to say about his book on Rhode Island spies in the Revolutionary War. While …

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Small state, big history

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In the type of email we’re not used to getting around here, Christian McBurney thanks us for the kind things we had to say about his book on Rhode Island spies in the Revolutionary War. While appreciation is always enjoyed, this thank you note had a press release attached that almost dispelled the snowbound chill around our hearts. McBurney has started a website called The Online Review of Rhode Island History (smallstatebighistory.com).

“Rhode Island is a small state,” McBurney explained, “smaller in size than some of our country’s counties and smaller in population than a host of cities. Yet it has a wonderful history all out of proportion to its small size – smallstatebighistory.com has been formed to promote that history. We intend to offer a variety of articles intended for a popular audience, but with an eye for accuracy over legend. We hope to make the state’s history interesting and fun and eventually create an impressive archive of articles for both readers and researchers.”

True to his “mission statement,” McBurney’s first issue includes articles by professional and amateur writers of remarkable expertise in their areas, like Dr. Patrick T. Conley, once upon a time, the youngest man to be granted tenure at Providence College. He is also a lawyer and a founder of the Rhode Island Heritage Commission. His grasp of the religious and moral fiber that runs through Rhode Island history makes him uniquely qualified to write about and edit writers about Rhode Island. In the first issue, Conley traces the career of Arnold and Elizabeth Buffum Chace, two names that are commonly seen but seldom explained to the general public. Professor Conley gives you pleasantly digestible information about where they came from and what shaped their sensibility, as well as suggested further reading. He is also co-editor of The Online Journal of Rhode Island History, which will give the new venture the academic authority and credibility such a venture needs.

Retired television reporter and public relations expert Brian Wallin offers up the short, sad tale of a post World War I submarine that went down off Rhode Island’s coast, an American submarine that perished in 1925, before there were well-developed rescue protocols for sinking subs.

But, for what the kids nowadays call “street cred,” you can’t beat Russell DeSimone’s brief history of the “Macaroni Riots” of 1914.

“While it would be another three years before the United States would become an active participant in the conflict, in Providence the effects of the war were felt immediately with a rise in food prices. The rapid and unexplained price rise caused Providence’s Mayor Joseph Gainer to call for an investigation. To conduct the investigation, the mayor called upon members of the Rhode Island Retail Grocers’ and Marketmen’s Association to do the investigating. Of course, their findings were to be expected; they declared that they were in no way responsible and that any price raises made by them were necessitated by a corresponding raise, which had been made by the wholesalers. One committee member stated, ‘For years the retail grocer has been made to bear the onus and the stigma of raising prices and he has born the blame patiently.’”

What DeSimone’s article does is to remind people that Socialist and even Communist parties were common among immigrant communities and how language barriers made the newcomers appear more radical than they really were. Reactionary politicians soon became adept at turning them into alien monsters and not aggrieved citizens and when the bullets started flying on Federal Hill, the potential for tragedy increased exponentially. The most amazing thing about the Macaroni Riots is that so few people got injured in the chaos.

“As they reached Federal Hill an older man addressed the crowd and urged them to take up sticks and stones. In a short time the crowd turned into an unruly mob and its participants began to throw stones at every building lining Atwells Avenue. No deference was shown as windows of both private dwellings and businesses were shattered. Anticipating the possibility of trouble, extra police were on standby duty at several stations. A call by the plain-clothes officers soon brought out the reserves including 25 mounted officers. The mob did not advance three blocks before the mounted force working as a unit moved down the street followed by police offices with nightsticks and weapons drawn. Given the unfortunate number of casualties of the week before, the officers were under strict orders not to shoot. Miraculously, nobody was shot and the riot was over in less than 30 minutes. In all, 23 people were arrested.”

And, in typical “ripped from the headlines” fashion, DeSimone’s account is eerily reminiscent of recent headlines across America.

“Following the Labor Day riot, quiet soon returned to the streets of Providence. Both the Providence Journal and the Providence Tribune stressed that this was a riot of hoodlums and not related to the price of macaroni…In actuality the riots had become as much a revolt against police treatment of residents in Providence’s Little Italy as it was about the cost of macaroni.”

If the list of contributors remains as solid as the one they have now, we can look forward to more stories from the past in the Online Review that don’t often appear in school books.

In addition to McBurney and Conley, co-editors include Robert Geake, Paul Caranci, Robert Grandchamp and Norm Demarais.

Contributors include a number of specialists as well D.K. (Kathy) Abbass for marine history; Ann Eckert Brown for colonial and federal decoration; Robert Grandchamp for the Civil War; Al Klyberg for ethnic subjects; and Scott Malloy on the Labor Movement.

“We want to publish articles on narrative history, but also want to cover newly-published books on Rhode Island history as well as Rhode Island history sites, artifacts, architecture and historic preservation,” said McBurney. “I am a real fan of Rhode Island’s independent book stores and museum gift shops. They are the backbone supporting Rhode Island history authors. That is why I listed them in a tab.”

While not immune to making a little money with their writings, most will consider it a success if it survives. There are no fees for access and advertising, for now, is limited to things with a historic dimension.

“There is little chance on my earning a profit on this website,” said McBurney, a lawyer whose day job included advising hedge funds on how to avoid taxes. “I am doing it because I want to promote Rhode Island’s history and I enjoy working with Rhode Island history authors. I view the opportunity of authors of articles to advertise their books on the website as another way to promote Rhode Island history and its authors. None of us earns much of a profit, if any, on our history books. It is mostly a labor of love.”

To contact an editor, please email editor@smallstatebighistory.com.

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