The Rise of Newport's Catholics
Quinn, John F Nineteenth-century New England was a hostile place for Catholics. In Massachusetts a mob torched a convent, in Maine a priest was tarred and feathered, and Rhode Island elected an anti-Catholic Know Nothing governor. "No Irish Need Apply" signs were common. Newport was different. It was a religiously diverse and tolerant city that welcomed Catholic French troops during the American Revolution. Later, as it became the favored summer retreat for...