In pre-WWII USA, Irish, Italians, Poles, etc. were not considered part of the dominant "white" "American" group. Likewise Jews. (Not to mention Latinos, Chinese

In pre-WWII USA, Irish, Italians, Poles, etc. were not considered part of the dominant "white" "American" group. Likewise Jews. (Not to mention Latinos, Chinese, Blacks, ...) A very significant proportion of the US military in WWII (maybe a third? I don't know the precise numbers) came from socially marginalized minority groups. The war substantially changed the society: Common experience in the armed forces, people moving around the country after being uprooted by the war, subsidized college via the GI bill, etc. But even so, many people were scandalized at the idea of a Catholic president even in the 1960s.