Anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic sentiment had been evident since the 1780′s, but a series of accusations and rumors in 1844 (e.g. that Catholics were trying to remove the Bible from public schools) by “Nativists” led to a number of attacks on Catholics and Irish in Philadelphia, PA that began on 6 May and resulted in the death of at least 20 individuals and the injury to 100 more, and the destruction of Catholic churches and the predominantly Irish neighborhood of Kensington, with more than $4 million (in today’s currency) worth of property damage.
The next day, the Nativists demanded that citizens defend themselves against “the bloody hand of the Pope” and the attacks continued. The First Brigade of the Pennsylvania Militia responded to the sheriff’s need for assistance but they were unable to stop the riots that lasted for another 3 days and ended in the destruction (by fires set by the anti-Catholic mob) of 2 Catholic churches, a Catholic seminary, and several private homes.
The nativist attacks continued through July, flaring into additional riots, which lasted almost a week until an estimated 5,000 militia were used to stop the violence. A grand jury investigation blamed the Irish and Catholics for starting the riots.
In the aftermath, Philadelphia passed a law requiring the city and surrounding district to maintain a police force of one man per 150 taxable inhabitants. The Catholic friars sued the city for damages for the destruction of its churches; the city argued that the Catholic church was “foreign organization under the Pope” and therefore had no civil rights (the city ultimately settled for about half of what the friars wanted).
The Catholic population would go on to establish its own network of parishes, schools, and social service institutions as a haven from a hostile Protestant culture, with 17 Catholic schools established in Philadelphia by 1860.
