Catholic power and influence were often on the mind of American Protestants during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Catholic religious threat stood at the center of the resurgent nativism of the era and fueled anxiety about the future of the American nation at a time of tremendous growth and geographic expansion. But, as Katharine Moran reveals in her insightful and captivating new book, American Protestants not only thought about Catholics, they also thought with Catholicism as they sought to extend America's own power and influence across the continent and throughout the globe. Many looked to the Catholic imperial past for models and lessons as they laid out their own vision of empire.

Moran traces this admiration for a Catholic imperial past by examining how Protestant Americans recalled Catholic missionary activity in three distinct times and places: the Upper Midwest, Southern California, and colonial Philippines. In each instance, she first recounts the history of Catholic missionary activity in the region and how it was commemorated by those looking back. She then describes the lessons that Protestant Americans drew from their Catholic precursors as they thought about their own emerging empire. Through these case studies, Moran reveals how stories of the Catholic past colored the US imperial outlook and shaped the American imagination. Father Jacques Marquette, for instance, became touted as an example of peaceful conquest, one who forged respectful ties with Native peoples as he brought Christianity and civilization to the frontier, thus providing a counterpoint to histories of colonial exploration dominated by war and conflict. Among their boosters, Father Junipero Serra and the California missions embodied hospitality and benevolent paternalism, offering a model for regional development and mutual benefit. As American interests extended overseas, the colonial Spanish friars in the Philippines came to be praised for their skill at instilling authority and maintaining social order. These visions of the Catholic imperial past became points of reference for Americans seeking to make sense of their own role in the world. At the same time, they also prompted a new understanding of the nation's religious history by incorporating Catholics into the American narrative and making them partners with their Protestant compatriots in the work of colonization and nation-building.

Richly researched, the book draws upon a wide range of sources—from newspaper accounts and commemorative histories to political speeches and public celebrations—to demonstrate how visions of the Catholic imperial past were crafted and propagated. As a work of cultural study, the book also looks closely at various forms of artistic, literary, and ceremonial production, including things like postage stamps and travel guides, that helped popularize a particular view of the Catholic past. They help us understand how particular “representations of Catholicism” (12) gained cultural currency and became a way for Americans to think about the course of empire. These “imperial church stories,” as Moran terms them, offered a new view of Catholicism that served the national interest, providing a usable past that helped Americans make peace with the imperial project and helped lay ideological foundations for the rise of the “American Century” that was to come. Although it is difficult to gauge the extent to which these accounts helped foster cross-confessional unity among Catholics and Protestants or the degree to which they influenced formal decision-making on the part of foreign policy elites, Moran's research leaves no doubt about their extensive circulation and deep reach.

The Imperial Church joins a growing body of literature that explores the religious aspects of empire, much of which has focused on its Protestant dimensions. Moran deftly incorporates Catholicism into that narrative, revealing the depth to which Protestant Americans looked to their Catholic counterparts for inspiration. The book also complements recent work in US Catholic history that seeks to place the American story in a more global frame. Although Moran's account, with its focus on Protestant perspectives, does not delve deeply into Catholics’ own views of colonization or imperialism, it nevertheless shows how it was impossible for Americans at this time to think of Catholicism on anything but a global scale. The church that had once been a foreign threat to the nation now became a model for American imperial aspirations. For their part, Catholics seemed unfazed by this cultural appropriation of their past (and even aided in its promotion) because of the tangible benefits they received from being celebrated as part of the unfolding American story. At a time in our nation's history when public monuments and cultures of commemoration have become flashpoints of debate, Moran's work reveals how a particular reading of the Catholic past emerged as a rallying point. It is perhaps also a much-needed reminder of how histories are fashioned and refashioned to serve particular needs and interests.