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Onward Catholic Soldiers: The Catholic Church during the American Civil War
Acton Institute ^ | Fall 2011 | Mark Summers

Posted on 09/09/2014 10:52:49 AM PDT by Pelham

It is a common, even clichéd saying that the American Civil War pitted "brother against brother." Certainly, the conflict divided the nation as the seceded Southern states fought for independence, while the Northern and Border states fought to preserve the Union. Even within the sections, there were politicians, civilians, and soldiers who sympathized with the other "side." The issues of Slavery, "States-Rights," and the meaning of the Federal Constitution created passions and hatreds, which leapt from the ballot box to the battlefield. Even churches— especially churches— were prone to this division. Each section, denomination, and parishioner believed God to be on their side.

The sectional conflict of the 1860s over slavery and union collided with other heated socio-political struggles of the 19th century. America's pastoral Protestant society, so praised by Alexis de Tocqueville, with its patchwork of Yankee Pilgrims, Anglican planters, and Scotch-Presbyterian yeomanry was becoming more urban, immigrant-filled, and Catholic. Southern and Border states had already assimilated a small gentry of French and English Catholics but would not see drastic ethnic and religious change. Instead, the newcomer Catholics from Germany and Ireland chose to settle in the port cities and factory towns of the northeast and Midwest. They spoke with foreign accents, crammed tenements, performed manual labor, and backed big city political machines. Indeed an entire political faction arose to counter the influx of refugees from the Irish potato famine and German political revolutions of the 1840s. They were officially known as the American Party but were famously nicknamed Know Nothings for their secretive ways. They campaigned, among other things, to close saloons, limit Catholic immigration, restrict political office to Protestants, and require a 21-year wait for citizenship. The Know Nothing movement exploded in popularity during the 1850s as its candidates captured the mayoral elections of Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia,

(Excerpt) Read more at acton.org ...


TOPICS: General Discusssion; History; Religion & Politics
KEYWORDS:
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To: Mrs. Don-o

Evidently pings are able to inflict pain. Who knew?


41 posted on 09/09/2014 5:10:56 PM PDT by Pelham (California, what happens when you won't deport illegals)
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To: Pelham

Evidently asking not to be put on a ping list gets a rude response rather than a simple OK, sorry.


42 posted on 09/09/2014 5:15:27 PM PDT by ansel12 (LEGAL immigrants, 30 million 1980-2012, continues to remake the nation's electorate for democrats)
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To: Mrs. Don-o

Yet there you are supporting immigration, which since JFK’s 1965 Immigration Act, most certainly means democrat voters, since it was written for that purpose.


43 posted on 09/09/2014 5:23:43 PM PDT by ansel12 (LEGAL immigrants, 30 million 1980-2012, continues to remake the nation's electorate for democrats)
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To: Zionist Conspirator

“As I understand it, most American Catholics (though certainly not all) sympathized with the South-”

Not really. At the time of the Civil War the bulk of Catholics were in the North as a result of the Irish Potato Famine. The article points out that they wanted to be good members of their new home and supported the Union.

There were some old Catholic families in the South, in New Orleans, Charleston, Richmond, and Baltimore among other places. The Catholic church was somewhat ambivalent about the War.

“There are still a few Catholics (not many, since the Catholic establishment isn’t fond of Southerners)”

I have any number of Catholic cousins in Louisiana. As far as I know they like Southerners just fine.


44 posted on 09/09/2014 5:25:21 PM PDT by Pelham (California, what happens when you won't deport illegals)
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To: miss marmelstein

“I never heard that Catholics sympathized with the south. “

I suspect that the Catholics who lived in the South did. There doesn’t seem to be any record of Catholics in the South opposing the Confederacy.

Unionist activities in the South are pretty well known, including some like the Free State of Jones that weren’t all they are cracked up to be.


45 posted on 09/09/2014 5:34:17 PM PDT by Pelham (California, what happens when you won't deport illegals)
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To: ansel12

It’s not a ping list.


46 posted on 09/09/2014 5:40:00 PM PDT by Pelham (California, what happens when you won't deport illegals)
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To: livius

livius, I want to congratulate you for actually reading this most excellent article.

As long time Freepers we know that reading the article in question is rarely a requirement for posting something, and in fact it often seems to be actively avoided.


47 posted on 09/09/2014 5:55:25 PM PDT by Pelham (California, what happens when you won't deport illegals)
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To: ansel12

“Pro-life conservatism and America, don’t stand a chance until we end immigration and reduce it to almost nothing”.

All those hispanics flooding across the border could be evangelical protestants instead of Catholics and they would still vote for the party that wanted to tear down the borders and make them instant citizens and put them all on welfare.
And that’s a fact.


48 posted on 09/09/2014 5:59:44 PM PDT by NKP_Vet
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To: NKP_Vet

So you want to end immigration, or try to convince people that Evangelical Hispanics are as democrat voting as Catholic Hispanics, or both?

It was kind of a strange post.


49 posted on 09/09/2014 6:03:16 PM PDT by ansel12 (LEGAL immigrants, 30 million 1980-2012, continues to remake the nation's electorate for democrats)
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To: Pelham

Well! Actually, Catholics were responsible for the war, slavery and the Lincoln assassination! I read it right here on FR.


50 posted on 09/09/2014 6:09:11 PM PDT by miss marmelstein (Richard III: Loyalty Binds Me)
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To: miss marmelstein

I think those honors go to my WASP and Celt relatives. Although we wouldn’t turn down mackerel snappers wanting to help.


51 posted on 09/09/2014 6:22:56 PM PDT by Pelham (California, what happens when you won't deport illegals)
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To: ansel12

No I was just attempting to tell you the truth. Poor people that want a better way of life, no matter what religious faith, will vote for Sugar Daddy until they get on their own two feet and don’t look for Sugar Daddy to take care of them. Most hispanics, whether Catholic or Protestant, have no idea Obama is pro-abortion and believes in same sex “marriage”. I know that to be a fact because I have talked to many of them. They look at me like I’m crazy when I start talking politics and telling them the truth about the democrat party. They only know one thing, the democrats want their family to be with them and Obama is a great president. Most of them can’t read English, but that’s never been a requirement to vote for a democrat.


52 posted on 09/09/2014 6:22:57 PM PDT by NKP_Vet
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To: NKP_Vet

That isn’t the truth, and it sounds like support of more immigration.

Protestant hispanics are far more likely to vote republican, and have, as high as 56% in 2004 for instance, and in 2008 the Protestant Hispanic vote went 48% for McCain/Palin, they are clearly reachable, while Catholic Hispanics are not, they never vary.

Catholics have always been democrat voters and still are, with the exception of 4 or five times in our history (depending on the source), and Hispanic Catholics will never vote pro-life republican and the democrats know it, and support more immigration, all liberals support more immigration.

Your claims are nonsense, and why make them anyway, let’s just end this immigration.


53 posted on 09/09/2014 6:29:04 PM PDT by ansel12 (LEGAL immigrants, 30 million 1980-2012, continues to remake the nation's electorate for democrats)
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To: ansel12

As usual your head is square up something. Now tell me, how many protestant hispanics have came into America? LOL. 95% of illegals claim to be Catholic.


54 posted on 09/09/2014 6:46:34 PM PDT by NKP_Vet
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To: Pelham; x_plus_one; Patton@Bastogne; Oldeconomybuyer; RightField; aposiopetic; rbmillerjr; ...
+

Freep-mail me to get on or off my pro-life and Catholic List:

Add me / Remove me

Please ping me to note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of general interest.

55 posted on 09/09/2014 6:50:13 PM PDT by narses ( For the Son of man shall come ... and then will he render to every man according to his works.)
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To: NKP_Vet

Why be angry or hostile?

If you support importing pro-abortion democrat voters, then just make your case.


56 posted on 09/09/2014 6:52:14 PM PDT by ansel12 (LEGAL immigrants, 30 million 1980-2012, continues to remake the nation's electorate for democrats)
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To: Pelham

Ping


57 posted on 09/09/2014 6:57:46 PM PDT by what's up
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To: ansel12

Your postings are mindless. Can’t get interested in a back and forth with you and all the Catholic bashing. Have a good night.


58 posted on 09/09/2014 7:39:31 PM PDT by NKP_Vet
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To: Pelham
There are some errors in the article--Daniel Carroll (delegate to the Constitutional Convention) was a cousin, not a brother, to Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the Signer of the Declaration of Independence. The draft riots in New York City in July 1863 did not kill "hundreds" of people but slightly over 100.

The article does not seem to mention Father Ryan, the "poet laureate of the South," a Catholic priest.

59 posted on 09/09/2014 8:12:51 PM PDT by Verginius Rufus
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To: livius

“...they weren’t even allowed to participate in politics or run for office.”

Too bad that is not still the case...we wouldn’t have to deal with such as a Pelosi or a Biden or many others of the leftwing set in US politics.

And a question for you...why are so many Catholic politicians ‘leftwing’? (and I mean that in the context of ‘against the America established by our Founding Fathers’...including the Catholics of the day who were a part of our Founding Fathers)


60 posted on 09/09/2014 8:31:45 PM PDT by GGpaX4DumpedTea (I am a Tea Party descendant...steeped in the Constitutional Republic given to us by the Founders)
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