Between 1880 and 1920, over 20 million immigrants entered the United States. These newcomers comprised an amazing 15% of the total population. In New England, the majority of newcomers were from Eastern Europe. The large numbers of immigrants settling across the country evoked a complex response from the “natives” (White American-born citizens), who reacted with anxiety and hostility.

Many immigrants stayed in the port cities where they had first arrived while others found economic opportunities further afield. Depending on their locations, they took jobs in factories, mines, and as agricultural laborers. In Western Massachusetts, most took farm jobs and within a generation, many had started businesses and had purchased farms of their own.

These latest newcomers greatly affected the cultural, as well as the economic and political landscapes. Immigration almost single-handedly accounted for the tremendous growth of the Catholic Church in the United States during this period. Many American Protestants reacted to these newcomers with a mixture of anti-Catholicism and nativism. As for the American Catholic Church itself, it struggled repeatedly to assimilate new immigrant groups and cultures.