Catholic Borderlands: Mapping Catholicism onto American Empire, 1905–1935 by Anne M. Martínez (review)

In Catholic Borderlands: Mapping Catholicism onto American Empire, 1905–1935, Anne M. Martínez examines the reasons why the Reverend Francis Clement Kelley and the Catholic Church Extension Society embraced the Spanish Catholic legacy of North America and the impact of their activities in the former Spanish territories. Feeling alienated as anti-Catholic sentiment increased in the United States, Kelley sought to formulate and incorporate Catholic identity into the Protestant-dominated American historical narrative. Martínez's work illustrates how Kelley intended to restrict the growing Protestant influence in historically Catholic regions by embracing the Spanish Catholic heritage. Furthermore, Martínez demonstrates how Kelley's work had both international and political components reflective of religious imperialism as he sought to bring Mexico under American religious influence as well as safeguard Catholicism in the recently acquired Philippines and Puerto Rico.

Martínez weaves a narrative that begins with Kelley's campaign in the American southwest and the ceded territories before transitioning to American Catholic diplomacy in Mexico. The Catholic culture of the southwest provided Kelley with a historical account that would justify activities in the west aimed at revitalizing Catholicism, particularly among the Mexican/Mexican-American communities. Through Extension Magazine, the Extension Society's publication, Kelley called on American Catholics to protect landmarks, such as Spanish missions, and to support Catholic schools in the face of Protestant inroads in these communities. Martínez examines Kelley's actions within the premise of two conflicting national narratives: one of American Manifest Destiny rooted in Protestantism in which Spain's influence was almost inconsequential, and another in which Spain's religious mission provided American Catholics with a claim to the religious history of the North American continent.

For Kelley and the Extension Society, the Catholic borderlands extended beyond the southwest. The imperialism of the period provided them with a new vision of protecting and expanding Catholicism outside the continental mainland. Once again faced with the Protestant threat, this time in Puerto Rico and the Philippines, Kelley designed a mission that not only emphasized protecting the Catholic legacy but also uplifting the conquered populations. While Catholic rhetoric and actions in Puerto Rico and the Philippines resembled those used in reference to the southwest, Martínez sets this section apart by delving deeper into racial views. Kelley, like the vast majority who justified imperialism as a humanitarian duty, generally considered the colonized populations inferior. Although Martínez does discuss race issues in her coverage of the southwest, she provides a richer exploration of racial perceptions in this section her work.

While Martínez's exploration of American Catholic activity in the southwest, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines is instructive, her examination of Kelley's activities as related to Mexico is what makes Catholic Borderlands invaluable. The turmoil of the Mexican Revolution and the anticlericalism/anti-Catholicism that threatened the Catholic Church in Mexico prompted action from Kelley and the Extension Society. Kelley's call for the American government's intervention in Mexico thrusted him into the political realm and in tangible ways politicized the Church and fostered an American Catholic agenda with an international scope. As Martínez notes, Kelley promoted discussion of U.S. involvement in Mexico and at times negotiated American endeavors in Mexico. Embracing an imperialist stance, Kelley and the Extension Society sought to rescue Mexico (i.e., a Catholic Mexico) from the chaos and effects of the revolution. Utilizing the concept of political and religious imperialism, Martinez places Kelley within a transnational historical interpretation.

Catholic Borderlands is an excellent book in which each chapter further develops subjects introduced in the previous chapter. Although the work revolves primarily around Kelley, Martínez does an extraordinary job of positioning his activities and rhetoric in broader historical themes.