Term Paper on "How Were Catholics Treated Socially Economically and Politically in the Period Between 1865 and 1895?"

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In addition, these Catholics were faced with other problems, such as extreme prejudice, bigotry and religious discrimination which highly affected their overall social, political and economic lives. One special group, although not of the Catholic faith, was the European Jewish immigrants, "refugees who were... desperately eager to become Americans, although... they retained and nurtured much of their traditional culture" (Carnes 641) which inevitably led to this group being harassed and ridiculed for their religious differences. This is a good symbol of how Catholics were also ridiculed for their religious beliefs, especially in the eyes of the Protestants living in the Unites States, especially along the Eastern Seaboard. In essence, "the Protestant majority treated 'new' immigrants as underlings, tried to keep them out of the best jobs (even despite having superior artistic skills), and discouraged their efforts to climb the social ladder" (Carnes 643).

Anti-Catholic bigotry, although lessened by the bravery and sacrifices of certain Catholic patriots during the American Revolution, surfaced from about 1830 to the Civil War and then periodically into the late 1890's. As the number of Catholics increased in the U.S., the English-speaking Protestant majority became afraid the of Catholic immigrants. The Irish Catholics that poured into the cities in the East were the hardest hit, for they took on hard jobs and were forced economically to live in squalor and poverty. Rumors then began to spread that the Catholic immigrants were conspiring to take over the U.S., and eventually, anti-Catholic sentiments developed into a political party called the "Know Nothing Party." As Mark C. Carnes points out, "many...Americans concluded wrongly... that the new immigrants were incapable of becoming good citizens and should be kept out" (642) which only led to increased the bigotry and hatred toward the Catholics.

Immigrant men from these various ethnic groups were greatly affected by all of this discrimination in the areas of social acceptance, economic gain and political standing. As laborers, they worked hard and long with little pay. In places called "sweatshops," the immigrants worked under horrible and unhealthy conditions, and if they attempted to join a union for protection, they were often fired or even killed. By 1886, "a union known as the Knights of Labor had grown to 700,000 members, many of whom were Catholic" (Evanston 89). When some bishops attempted to get the Knights condemned by the Vatican, Cardinal James Gibbons of Baltimore wrote to Pope Leo XIII and then journeyed to Rome on the Knight's behalf. Not too long after… READ MORE