Danger on the doorstep: anti-Catholicism and American print culture in the Progressive Era

Abstract

on the Doorstep is a fascinating study of anti-Catholicism in the Progressive Era, a subject that has been neglected by historians for far too long. Nordstrom's thorough research and careful analysis of editorial cartoons of the period (and the politics that inspired them) leave the reader with a far better understanding of this crucial era.-Tyler Anbinder, George Washington University Justin Nordstrom's splendid book is a singular contribution to a distinctive period in the cultural history of anti-Catholicism. Richly contextualized with an evident command of an abundance of sources and historical literature, this study is a fine blend of sharp analysis and an engaging rhetorical style. Readers will be treated to impassioned conflicts on the meanings of civic life, nationalism, and religious-political subversions and loyalties as manifested in American Print Culture. Nordstrom's many bright insights, particularly on the ironies of the conflicts that lace his wide-ranging analytical narrative, make for a stimulating read. There is no doubt that this book will be well received.-Christopher J. Kauffman, The Catholic University of America Fire and Roses: The Burning of the Charlestown Convent, 1834 From 1910 to the end of World War I, American society witnessed a tremendous outpouring of books, pamphlets, and newspapers expressing intense anti-Catholic hostility and calling on readers to recognize the danger Catholicism posed to the American republic. Anti-Catholic propaganda of this decade revived older xenophobic traditions in the United States, while revealing writers' deep anxieties about the early twentieth century. Nordstrom's Danger on the Doorstep examines for the first time the rise and abrupt decline of anti-Catholic literature during the Progressive Era, as well as the issues and motivations that informed anti-Catholic writers and their Romanist opponents.