Why wouldn’t she try to save her cows or the barn? Ann Durkin Keating, a history professor at North Central College in Naperville, Ill., who specializes in Chicago history, said the cow story caught on because of anti-Irish and anti-immigrant sentiment — and it all started with a rogue reporter. His story had not implicated Mrs. O’Leary by name, but Ms. Keating said Catherine O’Leary — an Irish immigrant — was an all-too-convenient scapegoat. “Within 48 hours, they’re blaming the O’Learys for this,” Ms. Keating said. In 1997, the Chicago City Council passed a resolution that exonerated Mrs. O’Leary and her cow.

Source: New York Times March 12, 2021 14:37 UTC