Until
around 1845, the Catholic population of the United States was a small minority
in America. Ireland by the middle of the 19th century was a land of
farmers and agricultural laborers, who were Catholic. The diet of these people
mainly consisted of dairy, fish, and potatoes. It was believed that the blight,
which caused the famine, was probably a
new fungus. The fungus probably spread due to the moist weather and strong
winds of Ireland. Unfortunately, this fungus spread rapidly and devastated the
potato crops. The Irish famine saw a million people in Ireland dying due to
starvation. This led to millions of Irish Catholics fleeing to the United
States in the mid 1840s. American Catholicism changed drastically due to this:
They began to transform from a tight-knit group into a rather diverse mass of
urban and rural immigrants. Many Americans reacted with unease at the “hordes”
of Catholics who were entering the new country. The U.S. began to grow the
reputation for democratic ideals and work opportunity. The chance for a new
life that was not bound to poverty or oppression seemed enticing for many
immigrants.