• How does this article give you a better understanding of the
changing perception of Irish immigrants in America? •
What forces allowed the Irish to be assimilated into U.S.
culture despite initial resistance?
Much of the anti-Catholic bias that confronted Irish-American
immigrants focused on the figure of the Pope. To many nativist
Americans, the idea that Catholic immigrants professed allegiance
to a foreign-born religious leader raised serious doubts about
whether they could ever be "truly" American. The advent of...