Immigration reshaped America economically, politically, and socially. Less than one fifth of American natives as a whole lived in big cities of 100,000 or more, though nearly two fifths of immigrants did. They contributed much of their own social customs when they created their nationality ghettos. Cities swelled with their arrival, and many towns even arose due to immigration, such as West Seneca, Hungary Hollow, Charleroi, Kensington, and Ford City. However, though they had to shed some of their old habits to adapt to American life, they retained much of their tradition. For example, many kept their religion, which increased the diversity of sects in America so that in the 1950’s, there were 235 distinct religious bodies in the country, and at least 60 were a direct result of immigrants. Roman Catholicism became very important, due particularly to the Irish, who were also responsible for the “puritanism” that came about and stuck around until recently. In their old countries, it was alright to drink and party on Sundays, but these acts were frowned upon in America, so they were forced to conform. In The Melting Pot in 1908, Israel Zangwill called America a Melting Pot, though others prefer to think of it as a salad bowl because the civilization has not been uniform.
