By Patrick J. O'Hara

The city of Philadelphia was in constant turmoil during the 1830's. It was one of the largest cities on the eastern seaboard, and was the destination of a large immigrant population because of its factories. Because it was a center of manufacturing for so many years, Philadelphia also became a starting point in the American labor movement. The rise of the union movement there caused a number of riots. The Irish, being the largest group in the unions, were often singled out for the blame.

The rise of the Nativist movement in the United States was a backlash against the large tide of Irish and German immigrants. Nativism had been growing since the mid-1840s in response to massive immigration, especially from Ireland and Germany. Many of these immigrants had become part of urban Democratic political machines, much to the resentment of non-Democratic old-stock Americans. The Irish, because of their numbers, command of the English language, and political behavior, were obvious targets for these groups that wanted to restrict immigration to only those that fit the "Žmerican" ideal. The Irish also constituted about 43 percent of the foreign born in the middle of the century.

In 1844, the complaint by Catholics that their children were required to read from the King James

Bible each morning in the Public Schools led to a series of riots in the city of Philadelphia over the issue. The King James Bible was required reading in all Pennsylvania public schools, in part because of the efforts of James Buchanan, the future president. Buchanan was a Pennsylvania legislator for many years, and in the 1830's pushed through legislation creating the first state mandated public schools in the nation. However, in an effort to keep religiosity a part of the curriculum, the Legislature inserted the daily Bible reading. The Catholics objected over what they saw as a heavy handed attempt to undermine their religion when the substitution of the Catholic Bible was not allowed.

What had started over not so much a separation of Church and State, but rather whose religious interests would be represented, soon divided the city. The anti-Catholic, anti-papal feeling on the part of many of the members of the anti-immigration movement soon bubbled over to the top. Rancor on the part of the Nativists turned into actual physical action. The churches of the Irish Catholics were the primary targets of the Nativists attacks. Of the Catholic Churches burnt during the series of riots, all of the targets were Irish. Although the German Catholics had a large presence in the city, none of their churches were touched. Again, this was often because the Irish were the most prominent immigrant group, and were the most vocal about the conditions of life around them, both spiritual and social.

One person, recalling the riots, recounted that when there appeared to be a mob approaching the church he was in on one Sunday, the Mass continued, but the male members of the congregation slipped out of the pews, and gathered at the back of the church, handing out clubs. When it appeared the mob outside had dispersed, the congregation breathed a sigh of relief.

The City of Philadelphia seemed to have adopted a hands off method of dealing with the riots. It provided little protection to the Irish who were being attacked mercilessly by the frenzied mobs.

However, the police also turned a blind eye to the counter-attacks by the Irish. Protestant churches ended up being the targets of Irish Catholic wrath.

The riots became a rallying cry for both sides. The Catholics attacked the lack of protection afforded to their members by the civilian authorities during the disturbances. The Protestants published tracts affirming the Catholics duplicity in the matter. Most of them hearkened up an image of the Pope trying to take over the government of the United States. These tracts assumed a life that continued for many years to come. Some were still in publication or re-publication at the time of the Civil War. Others were given new life by the German-American artist Thomas Nast, whose hatred of the Irish was almost equaled by his hatred of the Cathoic Church.

The Philadelphia Irish didn't mobilize against the attacks in an organized manner, however. One person who felt that the Irish of Philadelphia should have been more vocal, and belligerent, was the

Archbishop of New York, John Hughes. When Hughes was called into a meeting with the Mayor of New York about the matter in Philadelphia, the mayor asked Hughes if he was worried about any of his churches being burned. The outspoken Hughes remarked, "No, but I'm afraid some of yours might burn." Hughes would go on to say that the Irish of New York would not go without a fight, and he would condone such action. "I readily believe that the Irish in Philadelphia should have done more to protect themselves," he said. "They should have defended their churches, since the authorities could not or would not do it for them."

Though a number of people died as a result of the Bible Riots, the end result wasn't as bad as it might have been. There was more property damage than deaths as an outcome of the attacks. Rather, there was a split in society that took a long time to heal. And, as another by-product of the attacks, the Irish were more galvanized as a force, more determined to shape their lives in this new American society. They took up the challenge to become more involved in politics, the labor movement, and society in general. The Irish learned how to make the system of government work for them, to protect them, and eventually become an extension of them.

The Philadelphia Riots would prove to be another bump in the road to acceptance that the Irish would endure.