Catholic Immigrants In The 19th Century

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In the mid-19th century, a large number of Catholic immigrants from Ireland and German began to flood into America searching for better lives. Along with the immigrants came other members of the faith such as bishops and priests. Throughout early American history, Catholics endured prejudice and persecution due to the large majority of Protestants in the country. Protestants felt threatened by the new Catholic immigrants and as a result they discriminated against them. The Catholic immigrants, particularly the clergy, searched to find a way to convince their Protestant peers that they were legitimate Americans. Some believe that the immigrants fought because they were forced into joining service into the war due to the Enrollment Act of 1863. However, both Catholic immigrants and clergymen voluntarily joined both the Union and Confederate Armies to prove their legitimacy as …show more content…
Several sacraments that stood out were baptism, Communion, and confession. After battles, chaplains would search for Catholics in hospitals and on battlefields to prepare the wounded for death by hearing confessions and giving last rites (Fabun). They would also help those who are Protestant by offering to baptize them in hospitals and while they recovered from their battle injuries (Fabun). By baptizing those who were not a part of the Catholic Faith, the chaplains gained a larger audience during Masses with military regiments, and more members of Catholicism as a whole. With many soldiers being new members of the Catholic Church, they would often come home after the war and persuade their friends and families to join the church and or reconsider their previous prejudices against Catholics (Fabun). Even though many families and friends of Civil War veterans did not convert to Catholicism, they gained a new understanding of the religion and accepted the religion as a

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