National Ambitions, Local Realities

IN THE SPRING OF 1919, MARGARET LONG presented a speech at a government-sponsored Americanization conference titled “Coordinating a Community.” Long was the director of field work for the National Catholic War Council (NCWC), an organization formed by US bishops in 1917 to coordinate the American Catholic response to World War I. The community in question was East St. Louis, Illinois, a small city whose industries had been pivotal to the war effort but had been torn apart by political corruption, labor strife and racial violence, culminating in major racial unrest in 1917. She spoke of a United States War Department initiative to create the War Civics Committee, where national organizations would connect with local interests to provide industrial welfare. Long explained that the NCWC would contribute by creating a community center staffed by Catholic laywomen called the National Catholic Community House. Long said nothing about how the house would address the city's racial divides or economic problems. Instead, she emphasized the work the laywomen social workers, known as secretaries, would do for the city's Polish, Lithuanian, and Bohemian immigrants. Echoing the era's language, she said these Catholic women would help immigrants become “the very best American citizens, whose slogan is first, last and all the time ‘America First.’”1The East St. Louis National Catholic Community House was part of a larger movement by the NCWC to get Catholic women involved in Americanization efforts. By the World War I era, laywomen had many organizations at the parish and diocesan level, but they did not have a national organization equivalent to the Protestant YWCA.2 During the war, Father John Burke, the executive director of the NCWC, realized that the lack of a group that could represent Catholic womanhood in national wartime programs put all Catholics at a disadvantage.3 As the war was winding down, Burke heard that the War Department was looking for partners in East St. Louis, and he saw an opportunity. In January of 1919, he sought permission for the NCWC to “cooperate in the work of Americanization, particularly in contested war centers like East St. Louis.”4 The house the NCWC would build in that city would become the template for the broader network of National Catholic Community Houses.In linking the community house to Americanization, Burke, Long, and others in the NCWC sought to have Catholics to take the lead in addressing one of the key issues facing the nation: immigration. As historians like Leslie Tentler and Jay Dolan have shown, immigration, and particularly immigration from southern and eastern Europe, reshaped the US Catholic Church in the early twentieth century.5 A tremendous growth in the number of Catholics meant an increase in the church's political and social power. At the same time, the high number of immigrants in their ranks led to accusations of disloyalty. During the war, as 100% Americanization campaigns became prominent, suspicion of Catholics rose.6 This became even more prominent in the postwar period as calls for immigration restriction ramped up.7 The emergence of the NCWC during the war represented a move to fearlessly promote Catholic involvement in national movements, but in ways proving that Catholics were unquestionably loyal and would not cause social disruption.8As they began their Americanization work in East St. Louis, the NCWC secretaries would confront contradictions at the heart of the NCWC's national agenda. They entered the city with confidence, quickly taking the lead in building their community house and pushing back challenges by the evangelical Protestant YWCA to have a presence in immigrant work. At the same time, they sought to ingratiate themselves with local elites who were largely responsible for the wretched conditions the patrons of their house faced. They embraced a Catholic ethos that they believed gave them a moral framework for their work, but they also uncritically adopted the racial views of the White majority who saw the root of East St. Louis's problems coming from They to as social who would Catholic immigrants to a but they were also laywomen in a and had to to a and immigrant parish who were of their the NCWC secretaries to East St. Louis to a for Catholics in a national and immigrant Catholics the American In the they to and even and racial divides of East St. East St. Louis National Catholic Community House from a larger effort the War Department and that during World War I. of War had in as of and he believed in creating to to to in by creating for and War Department to to provide They to the and the YWCA to but Catholics about Protestant war work, they also the of and the The in a for their war work, and the war saw an to to conditions in industrial that had and social problems from the of war East St. Louis would become a for St. Louis had become a of for War Department early in the The the from St. Louis, had quickly in the from a to a to a center of industries that and had the of to the major of St. Louis, but was also a was not to that city's was the and by The city's in the and early twentieth by White from the as as and immigrants. had been a community in the city from but and A of in and 1917 did to and conditions and social At the time the US war in East St. Louis was the city in the in East St. Louis racial This is known as the East St. Louis but that is a more for as the was that of an a to of the had been building a and local the southern of as had been a of in and themselves as White entered their the of a group at an an the of White the and the White did nothing to the The number of was of were many that the number of was a were and In the local at but the city the of formed the War Civics in East St. Louis in an to to the The was with addressing industrial and in national organizations the NCWC, the the the the and the American and an of the Community of the War to the had for the work, but This of the who saw as a for to the and to in a a Burke and NCWC saw the as a to their in a major national was that the NCWC did not have an did have a led by Catholic of Father John but had Catholic war Burke and had that the War Department the YWCA as an for war work, and they began for a national Catholic by the NCWC, could the how “the of industrial could an for Catholic women to create centers in immigrant The that the NCWC had work in and and had for more centers in and The would East St. and realized they a social to take of the work, but would a The Catholic women who had of the social work the had been the who had and of social for Catholics and their Catholic laywomen became prominent in the social work Catholic women in were in the the National Catholic Community House NCWC would have laywomen with the and for their have the to a social to take of the national of Long had as and at She had the social and the in with she to work an of the NCWC and as she the she about to do of for the Long also a suspicion of Protestant and social workers, and a for the she saw as a In of a to Long to director of the National Catholic Community of even the NCWC had permission to do the work, Long to East St. Louis and began to the challenges of the conditions as and with in and and a to and In a to Long also that the War Civics work was by the local who have in the these she believed in the of they were and that the of the work of their community Long that to the community house the NCWC would have to the local of East St. the the NCWC secretaries began a of organization in East St. Long laywomen with of social work to the The she in to do were who had with the in and who had been a director for US in By of 1919, Long had who had as an to director of the in Long, the secretaries entered the city as with them by their as social and their as Catholic laywomen from their and They had to about how to with local and about whose they would and they to with who had and and particularly to a the of the War Civics and in East St. At first, they were with and were he their for a with local industries and a of the to by they began to that the to the that was and that he was not the NCWC in the and did not to and By had and Long a had in East St. Louis “the of A in the but the lack of at the time the secretaries with local NCWC secretaries also to organizations involved with the War Civics Committee, but they the prominent national group the as a In many the NCWC could have from the the had a national presence in as as the lead Americanization work their The secretaries the of the YWCA and their for community a of the had a of their would to Burke and others in the NCWC the of the YWCA in war work, and the secretaries their from YWCA early about and at the In of East St. Louis, Long that the YWCA had a and a and that Catholic were their In one of that the YWCA the best I that they to house not to in the of Community House in the In the same she also that a local the work by and that the had the same time, NCWC in to take the YWCA in East St. that the NCWC was work, the YWCA had Catholic social and that had not the of women in By of 1919, Long to that the NCWC was to in like East St. Louis, they to have a of the field and I to is not the in The NCWC's work in the city was by they saw that the YWCA had and but their of the organization them back from Instead, they that would and in the they did not have the to that NCWC secretaries did that of could by in the Catholics of East St. Louis as key As they that they were not a city but a with network of and The secretaries had that local organizations would their work by and them the Catholic In Long that the Catholic had formed during the war to do work, and women have the they do that the war is a she to and that local women as they were for an and house the secretaries began to a in the the women from the and the women who in or their them to the of the war work that had them and to work for the of all and and lack of the national NCWC also to local Catholics that they had for their and they for the they sought permission from the local of the had to the in at the of and he had the of with wartime as as a that southern and with the industrial city of East St. East St. Louis was more the and formed and St. was by immigrants and their St. by St. by Polish, and many early sought to the in a to more diocesan parish and the NCWC Americanization work in he saw an to NCWC and secretaries to and local Catholics that they would of the but they early that East St. Louis Catholics would not partners in the Burke to East St. Louis to with diocesan and the that the NCWC would to could have a in the of the and he could a diocesan to work. They a the NCWC would the building of the house and for the and the would take secretaries by the January Long, and with and the diocesan to that they had a for the Catholic community to get them about the that the had to but he did At the they the for the NCWC to the and and the and that was of the at the the of the diocesan a from the for East St. Louis the was not to a that would the in East St. local Catholics the of the but they their their and the work of the would a key but for the NCWC secretaries, as a prominent and a local in East St. Louis was also a of the local to the War the of who in the of “the best of all and and and and and was a a major the of a and to Long, “the of the in East St. had an early with Long and local of were involved in Long that that was to the of East St. Louis for their and he the from would a by the of about the community center was not a the part of the or in with the who had and in East St. Louis, the NCWC secretaries were a particularly issues of particularly the had major to the War Civics and a of the National Catholic Community House would to house women who in the the secretaries the of industrial these and the local elites whose from had the of the had sought to labor and and a in immigrant labor led them to to work as of White and them for and local interests had racial in East St. Louis by the building of to to where that had been and others the of for a industries for to to East St. The that “the is by to the and “the by of and is not to the of the in the The led to labor and many of to the and to as a the the Council of and industrial for the speech at the Americanization conference in 1919, Long an of East St. Louis's problems that the industrial and the local Catholics as as as a White Catholic from She of the growth of industries in the city and explained how East St. Louis's gave to of as she “the as that of This labor in did not or conditions but a labor that led to a where by the to the where “the city with Long was the of and that White women were to the She a to the of that the community had to the and was to the In an that had national the by the White community in East St. Louis, and of White At the same time, she did not put the industrial but spoke of their to the that the NCWC would as a for industries also to local racial they their for East St. Louis, the secretaries but not adopted and that the and of East St. Louis The for the house was to the they with at the and a that their and their their and their of a also with and social at the she presented a more she like and for the women she also that the with she was from a with a to women with and She that the was and and had an for and “the of the was not that of a She for for the women workers, for the the broader secretaries of in their East St. Louis work. they were a they saw their as the Catholics of St. Louis, and were very Catholics in the the St. Louis of racial were by Catholic the St. Louis's John was by to in the he that was for the in a city was at and by a southern the NCWC as an the of American Catholics in their and a of In their community NCWC were to local racial and the secretaries Long, had in the of had and In one of for the NCWC, she conditions in East a about She that the War Civics called for for and one for with a that their community house would the White and women were from the and they did women as of a with in East St. Louis was in the and in the of work in the secretaries did to a immigrant and their were their and the secretaries saw them as the of their work. as the secretaries entered the and of East St. Louis, they would that their for the community house did not with their Catholics in the the in the the NCWC secretaries had a of in their The was to a building at and from the NCWC and the War Civics to build a the of and St. Louis about from National In the secretaries a of a community and particularly for Catholic as as for to one of their the Americanization of Catholic the secretaries themselves with suspicion and even from the Catholics they sought to the secretaries were with their that to the women of East St. Louis, but that work also them with the The secretaries with the women who the house and how they were to have said that one of the I the of is nothing or in The secretaries also sought to to women the Long who had with Catholic in St. Louis, to do to Catholic women in the of 1919, and one of was to a for to for and would in a and the patrons work, the secretaries had to with the church's about particularly laywomen They challenges from and the diocesan who of the secretaries and the had for a in the of to as a the heard of he the of the diocesan to was that to the could lead to who is for these I and Long to with the but she had She to and said that they the NCWC to get the to that not to and they get to work secretaries would a of challenges in their work to immigrant was who the lead in and work the as as the of the NCWC's Catholic Americanization She had in community work, as an to and in She a more the secretaries, them the and She also that she to immigrant and spoke to in their She the conditions in their them and with and with In one she explained that one that had to get and she that to and also that many were to the War Civics Committee, particularly Father of the St. She called of the and the of the in East St. Louis, and she that he had a the was she by the War Civics Committee, particularly one of to an with to he was that of had been She also a with Father a at and parish who and Bohemian immigrants. They how were to the Protestant where they would the of the Catholic Church to they She in that that the War Civics Community was the same as the Protestant like many immigrant in the early twentieth were of social and Americanization work, the of the in their from the They an with the parish as a center of the immigrant with and as the of social in embraced to the of and to to work with and a of “the very to with the In a with she the of an and that them for they would not like to their of to She that in a with women the of the language, United States and the of and that that more time the of the American and not about the of as at to in the immigrant she had a more with in the community the of to connect with they a or In one that the to and question is a but also called and to a in of 1919, a was as of the East St. Louis St. Louis had a American was more by and and the during World War I was in the from the first, was of the to to all the in the house them I was a to the where in she a to a American and for to a that I a is a not for but of work that I She said that she had to to the Long to the NCWC house in and local She also that did work the she also had a Long that she not to the of Long was to for their Americanization work, but she also one to to the by the was not was to that they the very that in the group in they as to Long that they did she would to to a social work by like As she explained to she to who was to to the by the Long the secretaries to immigrants how to to an American in and In speech at the Americanization she the of the immigrants with and women of their could of the and they to as Long she in that they had the to the larger White American she that immigrants had they in their to as their and Long these would the of American in Long a that more immigrants the American In the of 1919, she sought to get the NCWC secretaries involved in a by the of the War Civics who also the in the of East St. She sought to and as a to in immigrant women for in as as American ways of and the women would not to she to Long to that the NCWC secretaries do the Long the NCWC to a but also immigrants from She the secretaries to effort to get the to and not the War Civics House the By 1919, Long realized that the was but she that the secretaries like and also to and who was in the of 1919, to in the by immigrant to a about during the but she to that “the was of to to to the from the even as he was a women did the but by the that was a to work The effort to have the of from of from immigrant Catholics to a the the NCWC secretaries as they sought to work the Catholic parish of East St. Louis also ways to social work and the secretaries who in to work at the house the would to to ways to their house a with the East St. Louis National Catholic Community House building in a a and for to At all the secretaries who had the NCWC's work in East St. Louis in the had or at community and by of Long would to in and of the house the but the to the city by the secretaries to the of the At the same time, the secretaries as their with national began to 1919, the War Department had by the organizations who had with them during the war, and in of 1919, they these At first, at the NCWC were not they would to the work of the community but Burke to the In that same the National Catholic War Council a the National Catholic Burke as executive and he to the for the NCWC In he put them the of the National Council of Catholic a prominent became the director of the and of the National Catholic Community She with of a Catholic and a to many the house in East St. Louis was a local and a for the national NCWC community house The secretaries had the with their and they with the women who the of from the who the with one did East St. Louis do house was as they had with the women in the the secretaries an in with the industrial of the their lack of she to the of their community house also had in to Catholic women in the and the secretaries had formed a in women social the to the work of the secretaries, and in the of he their to have a and a The the at that time, they could with the to for the and that of their was the they could them to and their to all the others who have to about a broader The did back the but he to In a she the to could a Community House in a who had of the community for the to the and in lead the to that he they as Catholics Long, did not in to to She that not to to conditions but do all that to about secretaries also to the racial divides in the city White and even as they became more in to This in the work of Father an of the of the of a parish for Catholics one of the of were very Catholics in the a small number by in the back of East St. Louis parish the to the parish of St. in St. by Catholics in the also the at in part meant they would not have Catholics in their that the number of Catholics was meant “the field is an one for In by at the one for the local Catholic and that the house a for the of the secretaries with or with at the secretaries sought to their work with immigrant but immigrant their to do that “the to Americanization and that the of the parish to first, last and The and very She for how to work with immigrants and of with the been and is the She that the best was to their by not with them but by to them the of the work in In the of at the house with a for and Americanization work. she she a the YWCA for gave an to the Community House known and as of the women were Catholics a was at She the Americanization work of the house with these by to them a the of linking with immigrant and Americanization work. In many ways of Americanization as immigrants. for the of the community house secretaries could also to In a to she that was a to “the work of these in with and and coming to the in the Community they the community gave more to the Catholic of the work Long had about how she had immigrant work to Catholics back to the gave of is a for them to have the to the Church in She that an like the secretaries, that to Catholic She believed that that “the Community House is Catholic in East St. Louis to the of the Church the by the time in January the NCWC's in East St. Louis was in the of the community house were to the NCWC at the time In of Burke to East St. Louis for the of the and he also with the diocesan and them to to and to the of the Catholics of community to by them that “the of the Catholics of the United States East St. The of the house would in a of to but do not the and in diocesan and parish to At the same time, the began to more national and with issues as immigration and and they of the National Catholic Community House East St. Louis had been a and they had in building the the to the secretaries to work but the secretaries and the last community house diocesan was in In Burke to to that the could the National Catholic Community and Burke to the to the Community House of East St. Louis, St. The house was a national of the NCWC house represented a larger the city would in the twentieth The War Civics had also by the early the did work with the city to a for the and social had and the was East St. Louis's industrial the city World War but racial divides became more and the of from political in the and led to economic and a from a high of in to The Catholic presence in East St. Louis also with parish and At Catholic in a city that had the community house the Catholic community house building as a in East a of the of the postwar of the National Catholic War The secretaries who to St. Louis had to part of a Catholic of social They to part of the NCWC's national to put Catholics and center in about Americanization and that all and could the of This national involved coming a community from the and how to at the local The secretaries to themselves to with and to to and In the their national the of the NCWC secretaries to create for the of East St

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