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George Washington Cable
After the Civil War, noted author George Washington Cable moved to Northampton because his portrayal of racial issues in his novels made him unwelcome in his native New Orleans. On the other hand, Cable, and others like him, were alarmed by the welter of ethnic immigrants flocking to America in the late nineteenth century. With the backing of Andrew Carnegie, he founded the Home Culture Clubs (later the Peoples' Institute) to "Americanize" and uplift working girls unaccustomed to New England ways. Cable arranged for students at Smith College to hold classes for the city's wage earners.
Contents Historic Northampton.