"George J. Marlin, author of Fighting the Good Fight: A History of the New York Conservative Party (St. Augustine's Press, 2002), here traces the political and electoral history of American Catholics from the time of Lord Baltimore and the founding of Maryland to the election of George W. Bush. It is an inspiring story of ethnic Catholics who arrived on America's shores with only the clothes on their back, worked through their parishes and neighborhoods to overcome nativist bigotry, and became a significant voice in local, state, and national political affairs."--BOOK JACKET.