Ballots and BiblesBy the mid nineteenth century, Providence, Rhode Island, an early industrial center, became a magnet for Catholic immigrants seeking jobs. The city created as a haven for Protestant dissenters was transformed by the arrival of Italian, Irish, and French Canadian workers. By 1905, more than half of its population was CatholicRhode Island was the first state in the nation to have a Catholic majority. Civic leaders, for whom Protestantism was an