KEEPING "EVERY CATHOLIC CHILD IN A CATHOLIC SCHOOL" DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION, 1933-1939

Abstract

The quest for state and federal aid for Catholic schools is not new. Concerns regarding excessive entanglement, mission dilution, and external control have been voiced for decades. A particularly instructive historical period on this issue is the era of the Great Depression. Because of widespread economic hardship across sectors, Catholic leaders were active and engaged in the politics of federal and state aid for schools and experienced both success and failure.