I found this today on the Irish list and thought that all of you Irish researchers might like to see it. It is is in response to a question asked on the list ..... I'm not a historian, but I do love history. It was 'No Irish Need Apply'. But that wasn't all. What we don't learn in our History class is the fact that there were also the 'Anti-Catholic' laws to contend with and although all Catholics in the U.S. suffered, the Irish, as usual, received the brunt of it. I did a paper on the Anti-Catholic laws and the Irish immigrants. The following is a bit long, but important knowledge for those researching their Irish immigrants. Here is an excerpt from an historical paper (I don't know the author): 'Many Americans "believed that Irish poverty was a sign of laziness and immorality, of ignorance and superstition -- traits they considered inseparable from Irishness and Catholicism. Because of such beliefs, the newspapers in New York, Boston and elsewhere often depicted the Irish as violent and drunken, even as subhuman, more akin to apes than native-born Americans" (Miller, 54). Employers also posted the now-infamous "No Irish Need Apply" signs in their doors (Miller, 54). Thomas Nast's cartoons for magazines such as Harpers typically depicted the Irish as ape-like brutes prone to wife- beating, drunkenness and general anarchy. Ethnic tensions grew violent in 1837, when a mob of Protestant workmen from Boston burned down a Catholic convent in Charlestown, and in 1844 when native-born Americans in Philadelphia rioted for a week, destroying many Catholic churches and neighborhoods and killing at least a dozen immigrants (Miller, 54-5). The full text of the following can be found at http://www.cserv.org/only_yesterday.html "During the 17th century, Jesuits were blamed for inciting Indians against the British colonies. They were also charged with plotting to burn and murder Protestant colonists. In 1700, New York banned Catholic clergy. Any person "ordained by the Pope" who remained in New York after 1 November would be imprisoned for life and anyone of these who escaped and was apprehended would be executed. In Virginia, Catholics were denied the right to vote and Catholic clergy was banned from entering the colony. In 1765, Catholics were prohibited from owning weapons. Any Catholic found with a weapon or ammunition was subject to three months in prison and a fine. Furthermore, the same act prohibited a Catholic from owning a horse whose value was more than 5œ. The following year a similar law was enacted in Pennsylvania. In South Carolina a 1696 act allowed all Christians except Catholics the right of "full, free and undisturbed exercise of their consciences." Few years earlier in 1691, Massachusetts merged with Plymouth and set forth the same basic rights with the same exception. Maryland enacted a number of anti-Catholic laws during the first quarter of the 18th century. Public services led by a Catholic clergymen were prohibited; if a child's father were Protestant and the mother Catholic, the state would take the child from the mother upon the death of the father. Finally, in 1718, Catholics were denied the right to vote. With independence came state constitutions, and within the framework of some state constitutions were found religious conditions that discriminated against Catholics and non-Christians. New York and Massachusetts required the test oath to hold office. The test oath required one to disassociate oneself from any foreign authority including ecclesiastical. New Jersey limited the right to hold political offices to Protestants. Similarly in New Hampshire only Protestants could be elected to state legislative positions and the governorship. This New Hampshire law remained in force until 1876. Between 1820 and 1840 inclusive, 261,719 Irish immigrated to the United States. This accounted for approximately 35% of all immigrants. From 1841 to 1861, approximately 1.7 million Irish, mainly Catholic, entered the United States. From 1830 to the outbreak of the Civil War, violence against Catholics and their institutions was not uncommon in major eastern cities.Concomitant with outbreaks of anti-Catholic violence was the rise of anti-Catholic hate groups and literature. One of the first acts of violence occurred on 11 August 1834 when a mob attacked and burned Boston's Ursuline Convent. On 3 May 1844, rioting between Irish Protestants and Catholics erupted in Philadelphia leaving three dead and about fifty or so wounded. Native Americans (white, Protestants) and mainly Irish Catholics engaged in bitter conflicts throughout the week. By week's end the rioting left several dead and wounded. As many as fifty homes of Irish Catholics had been gutted by fire. Fire consumed the Catholic churches of St. Michael's and St. Augustine. A Catholics school and shops of Irish Catholics were also destroyed. On 5 July 1844, attacks against Catholics broke out with deadly results". If anyone would like to know more, do a net search using keywords "Anti Catholic Laws". Regards, Kelly at ABBA99@aol.com >From Bruce Glass Net Master, New Zealand.