History TearJerker / DearAmerica

The Stewarts travel to stay with Mrs. Stewart’s cousin Deborah and her family after their house burns down. After a long and difficult journey, they get their to greet....James’s new wife, Suzanne. She explains that Deborah died in childbirth a few months ago, and her baby didn’t survive. Mrs. Stewart is devastated. And so is James. He is obviously still in deep grief, and when Sally later asks why he married Suzanne, Mr. Stewart answers:
---> “James needs someone to care for his children. And Suzanne needs a roof.”

* Near the end of the book, Mem becomes very sick. [[spoiler: Her stepmother Hannah is tending to her. Up to then, Mem had not known what to call Hannah because she was afraid to dishonor her mother. Here though, she blurts out Hannah's first name.]] This cements their relationship.

** The events leading up to her marriage are this: Her Father (who is lousy with money) promised her hand in marriage to a man they barely both know without her consent, hardly anyone seems interested in how she feels about it but rather it's a duty for her, she can't even decide on a wedding date because her father and Stanley and the Priest did that for her, her wedding night is implied to be unromantic, her husband criticizes her for what is going wrong or not being done properly, she has to mother three girls young enough to be her sisters, she can hardly confide in other married women about her marriage and her [[HappilyMarried close friend doesn't understand]], she becomes widowed before her 14th birthday. Anetka is only a young teenager and her life has been decided for her by outside forces and some of the people she is supposed to trust don't really respect her autonomy or feelings or intellect, it's no wonder she has a breakdown towards the end of the book.

* The fact that Miriam was disowned for marrying an Irish-American fireman, and [[spoiler: her subsequent reconciliation, especially with Mama.]]

* Lily Sump’s whole life is this, among with being TheWoobie. She’s verbally and emotionally abused by her mother, treated like a doll by her father, has no friends and is essentially being used to be married off to get her parents more money. and [[spoiler: She is killed in the earthquake, and Minnie unwillingly impersonates her for days. To make matters worse, she was killed while trying to run away to meet up with a secret boyfriend....who didn’t love her at all, and was only using her for her money.]] It’s possible that Minnie could have been the one person who truly cared about her.

* Pringle and Gideon spend a good part of the book with the Pritchard family, a young couple and their children who they met by chance, and they become close; Pringle even nannies for the Pritchard children. But when Gwen, the mother, realizes that Pringle is the daughter of a mine owner (Gwen's brother was killed in a mining accident), she instantly turns her back on Pringle, even as her husband and (surviving) brother show more compassion. For her part, Pringle is infuriated when she learns that Gwen's brother was involved in the accident that killed her parents. The epilogue states that after the fight, Pringle never saw the Pritchards again.

* Pringle and Gideon spend a good part of the book with the Pritchard family, a young couple and their children who they met by chance, and they become close; Pringle even nannies for the Pritchard children. But when Gwen realizes that Pringle is the daughter of a mine owner (Gwen's brother was killed in a mining accident), she instantly turns her back on Pringle, even as her husband and (surviving) brother show more compassion. The epilogue states that Pringle never saw the Pritchards again.

* The fact that according to the epilogue, [[spoiler: Mary dies of cholera at 17. In the end, she made nothing of herself in America, or had the chance to.]]
* Mary learning of her [[spoiler: parents deaths. She was working so hard to bring them to America, and now she‘ll never see them again.]]

* The deaths of Mr. and Mrs. O'Donnell: who died before they can meet their young blind daughter again.
** Worse comes to worse when Mary finds out that their daughter Alice is being kept as a servant for a wealthy family with a lot of children and that she's barely getting the decent treatment she deserves. Mary has to deliver the bad news to her. Thankfully Alice is taken in by Mary’s friend Sean and his uncle Quinn.

* The assault on the Lenape village that leads to Caty and Thomas being "rescued". The two of them are dragged away in tears from the people they've come to love as family, and their last sight of the village is as it goes up in flames. The epilogue reveals that, despite their best efforts, Caty and Thomas were never able to discover the fate of the family. They do discover the fate of another assimilated captive, a boy named John [=McCloud=] who is, in all probability, Caty's love interest Snow Hunter (he had once told Caty that he was also born English and his original name was John), but it's bad news; John was killed around the same time as the attack on the village. The epilogue states that Caty never married; combined with the final entry, it's implied that this is because her heart was always with Snow Hunter.

* Margaret's BackStory also qualifies. After their parents' deaths, her older brother William had to leave her at a local orphanage because they were practically starving. Margaret had also become ill with influenza by then.

* The Triangle fire is horrifying enough in the abstract, but with Angela's sister, cousin, and one of her work friends among the workers, it's horrifying. When Angela sees her cousin Rosa standing in the window, preparing to jump to her death ([[TruthInTelevision This is an accurate depiction of history]]; many of the Triangle fire victims [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled chose to kill themselves by jumping rather than endure a slow death by fire]]), she collapses; upon coming to, her friend Sarah tells her that Rosa has jumped and is dead. (Angela does get one piece of good news later; her sister is alive, having escaped on one of the freight elevators before they became inoperable. But it's hardly enough to mitigate the horror she's witnessed.)

* The assault on the Lenape village that leads to Cate and Thomas being "rescued". The two of them are dragged away in tears from the people they've come to love as family, and their last sight of the village is as it goes up in flames. The epilogue reveals that, despite their best efforts, Cate and Thomas were never able to discover the fate of the family. They do discover the fate of another assimilated captive, a boy named John [=McCloud=] who is, in all probability, Cate's love interest Snow Hunter (he had once told Cate that he was also born English and his original name was John), but it's bad news; John was killed around the same time as the attack on the village. The epilogue states that Cate never married, and the final scene implies that this is because her heart was always with Snow Hunter.

* The assault on the Lenape village that leads to Cate and Thomas being "rescued". The two of them are dragged away in tears from the people they've come to love as family, and their last sight of the village is as it goes up in flames. The epilogue reveals that, despite their best efforts, Cate and Thomas were never able to discover the fate of the family. They do discover the fate of another assimilated captive, a boy named John McCloud who is, in all probability, Cate's love interest Snow Hunter (he had once told Cate that he was also born English and his birth name was John), but it's bad news; John was killed around the same time as the attack on the village. The epilogue states that Cate never married, and the final scene implies that this is because her heart was always with Snow Hunter.

* Anetka finding out that her husband still has feelings for his late wife Sophie. It leads her to believe that he doesn’t see her as a wife, just a replacement mother for his daughters and housewife.

* The death of[[spoiler: Mem's mother.]]

The Stewarts travel to stay with Mrs. Stewart’s cousin Deborah and her family after their house burns down. After a long and difficult journey, they get their to greet....James’s new wife, Suzanne. She explains that Deborah died in childbirth a few months ago, and her baby didn’t survive. Mrs. Stewart is devastated.

* Willie Faye's BackStory.

* Abgail’s older sister Elizabeth develops a crush on Pierre, a young official. She uses the sister’s last cloak to make him a Bounty coat, and gives it to a coworker of him as gift....only for Abby to later see that Pierre immediately gave in ''to his dog.'' She tries to hide this from Elizabeth, knowing it will break her heart. [[spoiler: she sees it. And it does.]]

* The fact that according to the epilogue, [[spoiler: Mary dies of cholera at 17.]]
* Mary learning of her [[spoiler: parents deaths.]]

** Post-Attack is a real BreakTheCutie for Betty: her father is arrested by FBI men ransacking their house, taking the radio, her brother's binoculars, the camera, her younger brothers' Indian head penny collection. She also sits alone at lunch, what with other girls ignoring her and Piper avoiding her because she thought her to be too [[GoodIsBoring "goody goody"]] to be a friend and that her friends wouldn't approve. She even loses her beloved piano, one that she faithfully played on and cleaned, when the Japanese are all ordered to move. For "twenty-five crummy dollars".

* The epilogue reveals that Johnny Sato, who Piper had had a crush on, is killed in the Army trying to rescue the Lost Battalion.

* The epilogue reveals that Johnny Sato, who Piper had had a crush on (and also the brother of Betty, Piper's best friend by this point), is killed in the Army trying to rescue the Lost Battalion.

** She spends most of the volunteer session the week after sitting with Jack, one of the soldiers she's closest to so he can grieve for his friend in silence. Since Jack is usually joking around with her (or making non-serious passes at her), it's especially striking.

** [[TheIngenue Betty Sato]] gets harassed for her race at school, even to the point where someone spat in her face. It even hurts her when Chinese and Filipino students started wearing buttons that stated their family nationality to ward against anti-Japanese attacks.
*** Post-Attack is a real BreakTheCutie for Betty: her father is arrested by FBI men ransacking their house, taking the radio, her brother's binoculars, the camera, her younger brothers' Indian head penny collection. She also sits alone at lunch, what with other girls ignoring her and Piper avoiding her because she thought her to be too [[GoodIsBoring "goody goody"]] to be a friend and that her friends wouldn't approve. She even loses her beloved piano, one that she faithfully played on and cleaned, when the Japanese are all ordered to move. For "twenty-five crummy dollars".
** A clerk at a local drugstore rudely ignores Jim Sato for Piper and when the latter calls the old lady on it, the woman was about to call him a slur. Adults have gotten so low to insult teenagers.
** Piper almost doubts whether she should trust her Japanese American neighbors and loses her temper when Bud (her crush) comments with the word "Jap" and he excuses it by saying "Everybody says it".
** A lot of Japanese American men were arrested after the attack, most of them from the congregation, especially innocent Mr. Harada. Piper wishes the whole news was a joke.
** News comes out from Pearl Harbor that revealed a two year old girl named Shirley Hirasaki had died in the attack (This was a RealLife victim and [[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/64940571/shirley-kinue-hirasaki the story gets worse]]).

** Issei people are ordered to be moved elsewhere, which includes elderly and middle-aged neighbors who were born in Japan, Piper even worries how this will affect families left behind. Then it not only includes those Japan-born citizens, but also American born citizens like Mrs. Tokita who had an ink smudge on her finger.
** Issei born Mr. Tokita missed out on his infant son saying "Da-Da".
*** Later Mr. Tokita has been interrogated for so much that he is taken from his family and when he comes back, his son doesn't recognize him screaming "No man. No man."

* The epilogue reveals that Johnny Sato, who Piper had had a crush on, is killed in the Army trying to rescue the Lost Battalion.
** Worse is that his younger sister Betty really didn't want him to go to war and was devastated when he announced his enlistment.

* The Triangle fire is horrifying enough in the abstract, but with Angela's sister, cousin, and one of her work friends among the workers, it's horrifying. When Angela sees her cousin Rosa standing in the window, preparing to jump to her death ([[TruthInTelevison This is an accurate depiction of history]]; many of the Triangle fire victims [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled chose to kill themselves by jumping rather than endure a slow death by fire]]), she collapses; upon coming to, her friend Sarah tells her that Rosa has jumped and is dead. (Angela does get one piece of good news later; her sister is alive, having escaped on one of the freight elevators before they became inoperable. But it's hardly enough to mitigate the horror she's witnessed.)

* Pringle and Gideon spend a good part of the book with the Pritchard family, a young couple and their children who they met by chance; Pringle even nannies for their children. But when Gwen realizes that Pringle is the daughter of a mine owner (Gwen's brother was killed in a mining accident), she instantly turns her back on Pringle, even as her husband and (surviving) brother show more compassion. The epilogue states that Pringle never saw the Pritchards again.

* Patsy finally summons the nerve to ask about the day she was brought to the plantation, a question that she's always believed held the key to her past. Devastatingly, the answer tells Patsy nothing, pretty much cementing that Patsy will never know the answer or be able to find her family, which had been her lifelong dream. [[note]]The epilogue confirms this, but also indicates that Patsy [[HeartwarmingMoments got her wish for a family by other means]], forming a FamilyOfChoice with other freed slaves.[[/note]]

* Patsy finally summons the nerve to ask about the day she was brought to the plantation, a question that she's always believed held the key to her past. Devastatingly, the answer tells Patsy nothing, pretty much cementing that Patsy will never know the answer or be able to find her family. (The epilogue confirms this, but also indicates that Patsy became part of a FamilyOfChoice with other freed slaves.)

* In the epilogue, [[spoiler: we learn that Spicy escaped to freedom, eventually marred Hince, and changed her name to Rose.]]

* Patsy finally summons the nerve to ask about the day she was brought to the plantation, a question that she's always believed held the key to her past. Devastatingly, the answer tells Patsy nothing, pretty much cementing that Patsy will never know the answer. (The epilogue confirms this, but also indicates that Patsy found family with other freed slaves and lived a happy life.)

* Nancy, one of the few slaves who [[StockholmSyndrome doesn't want to be free]], rejects her mother when she comes looking for her, and even tells a magistrate that she doesn't remember her mother (that much is likely true) and wants to stay with her mistress. She does eventually start to see the other side; while she never leaves the plantation permanently, she begins paying visits to her mother, who is delighted to the point of tears.