Why has a majority in the United States harbored such a long and deep distrust of Catholics? Explain what events, persons, or characteristics served to prolong such anti-Catholic behavior into the 20th century

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Suggested Response:
In the past in Europe Catholics had persecuted, tortured, and even killed those who defied its authority in the past. The numbers of Catholic immigrants increased suddenly and dramatically in the 1800s. Fearing Catholics gaining power, the political activities of Tammany Hall, a labor organization in New York City, to assist Catholic voters intensified anti-Catholic sentiments. Popular novels were written in which Catholics kidnapped and tortured Protestant women and later rumors were spread that a convent in Massachusetts had done just that. This convent was later burned to the ground even though those rumors were never proven. Public school textbooks depicted priests as living in luxury and oblivious to the poor and hungry. The Catholic Church was described as the enemy of freedom and knowledge because of its history of religious persecution and its suppression of the Bible. The Catholic Church created an alternative private school system. In Philadelphia, the public schools did allow Catholic students to study from the Douay (Catholic) Bible when Bible reading was required. The Native American party protested this and soon a riot broke out over this, resulting in several deaths and burned buildings. Anti-Catholic nativists attacked Catholic voters and property during the 1955 elections. Although anti-Catholic sentiment declined during the Civil War, it flared occasionally.