Untitled (Outline of the District of Columbia, with black spaces showing the strategic location of important Roman Catholic institutions with reference to the accessibility to the Capitol, the White House and the Government Departments.)
- Title:
- Untitled (Outline of the District of Columbia, with black spaces showing the strategic location of important Roman Catholic institutions with reference to the accessibility to the Capitol, the White House and the Government Departments.)
- Alternate Title:
- Rome's Political Meddling in America
- Collection:
- Persuasive Maps: PJ Mode Collection
- Creator:
- Vance, James Scott
- Other Creators:
- The Fellowship Forum
- Date:
- 1927
- Posted Date:
- 2015-08-25
- ID Number:
- 1221.01
- Collection Number:
- 8548
- File Name:
- PJM_1221_01.jpg
- Style/Period:
- 1920 - 1939
- Subject:
- Religion
Bias
Politics & Government - Measurement:
- 16 x 21 (centimeters, height x width)
- Notes:
- As a "nation of immigrants," Americans have produced persuasive maps addressing the issues of immigration and nationality over most of the country's lifetime. The collection includes a number of these maps published since the 1840s. Some are welcoming, encouraging, and provide advice to immigrants. Some assert that the diversity of our nationalities is a source of strength for the country. And yet others attack immigrants in general, or specific ethnic or religious immigrant groups, particularly Asians, Catholics, and Jews. For the range of these maps, Search > "immigration.”
In the 1920s, "ordinary Americans" were increasingly threatened by the cumulative effect of massive Catholic immigration - Irish, Italian, German, Eastern European. Concerns about alien customs and practices and the fear of allegiance to a foreign Pope were heightened by the activities of the Ku Klux Klan (Bokenkotter 1990, 370-71; Rooney 2014). And by 1927, when this map was produced, there was a growing realization that Al Smith, the progressive, popular, four-term Governor of New York, could conceivably become the nation's first Catholic President.
This map is the principal focus of a slim polemic entitled "Proof of Rome's Political Meddling in America." "The purpose of this volume is easily stated. It is to present proof, which is irrefutable because it is almost wholly from Roman Catholic sources, that the Roman Catholic Church in the United States, in its effort to 'make American Catholic,' is in quest of temporal power, and that it is 'in politics' as a means to that end." (Vance, 8). The book focuses on "the pernicious influence of the Pope and his minions in American life, with especial attention paid to the Catholic Welfare Council, and the expected shots at Al Smith, the potential for the Vatican to use radio 'for spreading their propoganda,' the problems with parochial schools, etc." (Scott, Garrett, "The Bibliophagist", http://www.bibliophagist.com/cgi-bin/gsb455/13000.html, accessed December 30, 2014).
The map is captioned "Outline of the District of Columbia, with black spaces showing the strategic location of important Roman Catholic institutions with reference to the accessibility to the Capitol, the White House and the Government Departments." Georgetown and Catholic Universities, the Franciscan monastery and sites of "other important Roman Catholic activities" are identified
"their strategic location quickly strikes the observer, as they almost surround all of the important Government buildings."
For other maps in the collection attacking the Church, Search > "Catholic."
For further information on the Collector’s Notes and a Feedback/Contact Link, see https://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/content/about-collection-personal-statement and https://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/content/feedback-and-contact - Source:
- Vance, James Scott. 1927. Proof of Rome's Political Meddling in America. Washington: The Fellowship Forum.
- Cite As:
- P.J. Mode collection of persuasive cartography, #8548. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
- Repository:
- Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library
- Archival Collection:
- P.J. Mode collection of persuasive cartography
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- For important information about copyright and use, see http://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/copyright.