the journal of literature and the arts at saint david’ s school
the first place. After graduating from the seminary, Hughes’ first assignment for the Church was in Philadelphia. There, he stood up for people who could not protect themselves. He spoke out against slavery and strongly opposed nativism, an anti-Catholic movement that prioritized people born in America over immigrants. When Hughes publicly pointed out that it was the Catholic priests and nuns who stayed in Philadelphia to care for the sick during the cholera outbreak in 1834, not the Protestants who fled the city, he was challenged to a debate by John Breckenridge, a prominent Presbyterian minister( Loughery 80). The two men agreed to hold a debate in the newspapers, but there was no Catholic newspaper at the time. Hughes first needed to found one in order to have a place to share his ideas. Nothing would deter him. The two men battled it out in the papers for nine months. Hughes used aggressive language and signed his name with a dagger-like cross, which is why he became known as Dagger John, someone who was willing to fight for his beliefs.“ It is unlikely that either man won many converts among their readership, but the drama turned Hughes into a hero for the immigrant Irish population”(“ Most Rev. John J. Hughes, DD”). Hughes’ relentless striving to achieve his goals earned him the respect and trust of his people.
Hughes protected his Irish Catholic flock at every turn. In 1838, the Catholic Church gave Hughes a great opportunity to serve his followers when he was made coadjutor to New York’ s Bishop, John Dubois. Hughes became the sole bishop when Dubois, the same priest who once tried to keep him out of the seminary, passed away in 1842(“ Most Rev. John J. Hughes, DD”).“ The Irish of New York had an Irish bishop now, and they wanted him to make the most of the opportunity”( Loughery 150). Indeed, Hughes seized the day. As bishop, Hughes quickly became involved in a fight with New York City
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