Illuminates the history of Boston, focussing on the life of people from the perspective of the social historian. The author explores a range of subjects - peasant society and the causes of European migration, population growth and industrial development, the ideology of progress and Catholic thought, urban politics and the dynamics of prejudice. One feature that stands out is the refutation of the popular notion that the American community, local or national, has been able to accept great contingencies of foreign population without experiencing significant and lasting modifications of its own cultural features.