ABSTRACT
“In order to understand the American people one must understand their belief in education.” And in order to understand this American commitment to education, it is necessary to understand the integral relationship between education and the political life of the nation. Even though the Catholics ran against three opposition parties, they emerged as an important balance of power not only within the Democratic party but also in New York City politics. Since the Democratic party could not afford subsequent Catholic defection, it was forced to sponsor legislation which would remedy, at least in part, Catholic educational complaints. It was obvious that the Society’s days were numbered. With “melancholy forebodings of the future,” the trustees issued their thirty-seventh Annual Report in May, 1842. When the Common Council had initially denied the Catholic application for school funds, Bishop John England of Charleston wrote that he quite expected such a decision.
