Ep 2.51: Schools, Socialism, and Father James Henry

This episode explores the aftermath of the Great Strike of 1877 as socialist politics in St. Louis shift from the streets into the classroom. Monsignor and Teresa examine the Working Men’s Party’s push for control of the public school system, debates over high schools, kindergartens, free textbooks, and the growing conflict with Catholic education. At the center of the story is Father James Henry, a formidable Irish priest whose quiet political strategy fractured the socialist coalition and redirected Irish Catholic loyalty back toward parochial schools and the Democratic Party. The episode reveals how education—not labor—became the decisive battleground that shaped St. Louis politics and Catholic identity for generations.