Episode 12: Escaped Nuns From Evil Convents: The Pizzagate of 1834
In the late summer of 1834, a torch-wielding mob burned down a Boston convent for reasons that sound a lot like . . . Pizzagate? Fueled by rumors of kidnappings, papal paranoia and phony exposés, conspiracy theories about nuns in their convents spiraled out of control in 19th-century America. Cristen unravels why that happened and how it set the stage for contemporary culture wars over saving the children.
sources:
Wallender, Andrew J. “A Popish Army In Our Midst”: The Rise of Anti-Catholic Conspiracy Theories, 1830-1839. Thesis.
Yacovazzi, Cassandra L. Escaped Nuns: True Womanhood and the Campaign Against Convents in Antebellum America. Oxford University Press. New York. 2018.
Yacovazzi, Cassandra L. “So Many Foolish Virgins”: Nuns and Anti-Catholicism From Maria Monk to the Know-Nothings. Dissertation. 2015.
