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Papist Devils
Catholics in North American
British Colonies
9. Catholics and the Road to
Independence
© 2016 George E. Blanford Jr.
The Reshaped British America


The Treaty of Paris (1763) radically reshaped the landscape
 Canada and Florida were ceded to Great Britain
 Land area of British North American colonies doubled
 The Catholic population tripled
 Canada added 70,000 Catholics, 200 priests and 6
communities of religious women vs. 25 priests and
no communities of religious women previously
 Richard Challoner, Vicar Apostolic of London,
asked Rome to appoint a bishop for British North
America—Rome said it was already under
consideration (Quebec already had a bishop)
American Catholics opposed the appointment of a bishop
 The pope recognized Charles Edward Stuart as king of
England
 The Pretender’s brother, Cardinal York, disliked Jesuits
 It would rekindle anti-Catholicism
 All Americans also opposed the appointment of an
Anglican bishop because it was viewed as the first step
toward creating an established religion
Right Rev. Richard Challoner (1691-1781)
Vicar Apostolic of the London District (1741–1781)
Catholic Expansion
 Maryland
 In 1765, ~16,000 Catholic, ~8% of
population, ⅓ of the total lived in St. Mary’s
County
 Post-war period was very vital for Catholics
 Increase in percentage of population
 More priests
 Between 1766-1775, 7 new churches were
built
 1 in Baltimore
 A more open atmosphere for Catholics
 Jesuits could proselytize without fear of
arrest
St. Francis Xavier Church
Newtown Neck, MD, 1766
Catholic Expansion
 New York
 Immigrants, displaced victims of war, and imperial military forces
increased the number of Catholics
 They were institutionally unorganized and left to their own
devices to meet their spiritual needs
 Some at times traveled to Philadelphia to receive sacraments
 Many more drifted away from the Church, most becoming
Anglican
 By the 1770s, Ferdinand Steinmeyer SJ, alias F. Farmer, would say
Mass at a German immigrant’s home
 Pennsylvania
 Steady growth of Catholics from Irish and German immigrants
 New England and southern colonies
 Very few Catholics
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Charles Carroll of Carrollton (1737 – 1832)
 Returned from Europe Sept. 1764, age 27
 As ambitious as his father and grandfather
 His deft navigation of political seas enabled him
to lead the Catholic community back to the
center of public life
 When he returned, he could not attain the
highest social levels, practice law or participate
in politics
 He took over management of Carroll estates on
the Western Shore
 He was made a partner in the Baltimore Co.
which he improved in efficiency and
profitability
 Over time, he replaced his father in offices for
the Lord Proprietor
Aftermath of the Great Awakening
and the Seven Years’ War
 America
 A visceral bond was forged among Protestants epitomized by anti-Catholicism and
a desire for liberty
 There was a broadening of the term “popery” to denote any kind of oppression
 The diminution of Great Britain’s two leading rivals, France and Spain, imbued
Americans with optimism about geographic and economic growth
 Great Britain
 The debt from the war and the cost of administrating its North American colonies
skyrocketed
 British national debt expanded from £72 million to £123 million
 To maintain adequate troops to defend North American colonies against
Indians cost £400,000, twice as much as expected
 The cost of administering its North American colonies became 6% of
England’s budget
 It seemed reasonable to Britain to raise taxes coming from America
Taxes
 Sugar Act, 1764
 What was taxed
 Imported molasses and wine
 Certain materials such as iron and lumber had to come from England
 American objections
 Did not like the fact that commodity taxes which had been issued to
regulate trade were now issued to raise revenue
 Increased cost for goods to go from one colony to another by way of
England
 Transferring enforcement from colonial courts to vice-admiralty courts
 Reaction
 Smuggling and bribery
 Britain was forced to lower the tax until it was cheaper to pay the tax than
to pay a bribe
 Resulted in a mere fraction of the income that was expected
Taxes
 Stamp Act, 1765
 What was taxed
 Imported watermarked (stamped) paper had to be
used for newspapers, licenses and assorted legal
documents
 American objections
 Did not like the fact that it affected people almost
every day
 Reaction
 In Boston, dissenters formed of the “Sons of Liberty”
to organize protest
 In Maryland, there were protest rallies with tax
collectors hanged in effigy and the burning of their
supplies to instigate their resignations
 Formed the “Society for the Maintenance of
Order and Protection of American Liberty”
 Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in 1766
Proof sheet of “stamps” that were
pasted on paper without official watermarks
Restoration of the Catholics

Charles Carroll of Carrollton becomes a politician
 The Tobacco Fees Controversy (1771) erupted between the provincial
Maryland government and the Lord Proprietor
 Daniel Dulaney, who supported the government’s position,
published a long article summarizing the controversy
 Led to a letter and pamphlet feud between Dulaney and Carroll
 Dulaney resorted to an ad hominem attack on Carroll because he
was Catholic and thus a lower caste citizen
 The 1773 Maryland assembly election essentially became a
referendum on the controversy
 Improbably, the Popular Party won which had newly been
formed by hitherto non- or marginalized voters
 Charles Carroll became their spokesman even though he
could not be a candidate for the assembly
 Daniel Dulaney wrote an essay castigating the virtual
representation of colonists in Parliament
 Catholics were wary of public protest and favored essays and
boycotts
 Reaction to punitive acts passed by Parliament in 1774 against
Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party overtook interest in the Tobacco
Fees Controversy and it died away
Daniel Dulaney the Younger (1722 –1797)
A meeting of 80 “Patriots” (Popular Party members) resolved to form a
“nonimportation association” to promote and to enforce ending
commerce with Great Britain
 This meeting led to an election of delegates to a convention that by
1775 had become the de facto provincial government of Maryland
 Carroll could not be a member because he was Catholic
 Nevertheless, he was asked to be a non-voting member of the
First Continental Congress
 In November 1775, Maryland passed a bill allowing Catholics to
hold public office
 Carroll was elected as a representative from Anne Arundel
Co. to subsequent provincial conventions and was
appointed a voting delegate to future Continental
Congresses
Carroll led the way for the reentry of Catholic gentry into Maryland
government
 By 1777, 40% of Catholic gentry born between 1750-1775 were serving
the Maryland government
 Various factors at home and abroad led them to align themselves with
the Revolution


Charles Carroll of Carrollton (1737 – 1832)
by Michael Laty
Restoration of the Catholics
Suppression of the Society of Jesus
 The Jesuits were a thorn in the side of imperial Catholic
powers
 Under pressure from them, Pope Clement XIV suppressed
the society in June, 1773
 It affected every American priest and seminarian no
matter where he lived
 It affected every priest in Maryland and Pennsylvania
 Although devastated, most ex-Jesuits continued to
serve in their missions
 John Carroll, Charles Carroll’s cousin, returned to
Maryland and acted as chaplain for his large
family
 Although nominally under the jurisdiction of the Vicar
Apostolic of London, Bishop Richard Challoner, Jesuit
suppression left the American church virtually headless
Pope Clement XIV (r. 1769 – 1774)
Quebec Act of 1774



Its intent was to win acceptance of British rule by French
Canadians
 It recognized the Catholic Church as the established
religion of Canada
 Canadian Catholics were allowed to hold office
without taking an oath impugning their religion
 It extended the boundary of Quebec down to the
Ohio river
Protestant Americans feared it was the first step
 to make all of North America Canadian
 to impose popery on everyone
 to facilitate Canadians allying with Indians against British Americans
Anti-popery became an instrument of resistance to British rule, especially in New England
 Following the actions of many colonial assemblies, the First Continental Congress was formed
and it adopted a position opposing the Quebec Act based on principles that were misguided
and paranoid
 Congress also encouraged Canadians to side with them based on the “liberty of conscience”
instilled in them, implying that they would be better off siding with British Americans rather
than Britain herself
The Catholic Choice
 On the eve of the Revolution, would Catholics favor rebellion or loyalty?
 The Protestant majority had become culturally more Anglican and anti-Catholic
 Social links with Britain had weakened for all Americans; this was even stronger
for Catholics who were legal and political outcasts
 Colonial history gave little hope that Catholics would fare better under home
rule
 Maryland Catholics had the most difficult choice
 In spite of much contrary evidence, they believed the Revolution would
bring equality and freedom
 They had become alienated from the proprietor
 They had become alienated from the international Church as a result of the
suppression of the Jesuits
 They were as much against taxation without representation and legislation
without the consent of the governed as their Protestant neighbors
 One could argue that this situation had persisted ever since 1634
The Catholic Choice
 In the end, most Catholics favored revolution
 Former Jesuit, English-bred priests took loyalty oaths and encouraged their
congregations to do likewise
 There were Catholics who generally remained loyal to Britain
 Catholic Scotch Highlanders living in the Mohawk Valley
 German Catholics in upstate New York tended to be evenly divided
 German Catholic farmers in Pennsylvania were loyalists
 Catholics who joined in the revolution
 Irish Catholics in Pennsylvania
 Many became decorated officers in the Continental Army and Navy
 Most Maryland Catholics
 Catholics growing up after the Seven Years’ War were no longer
closely linked to the Calvert's
 Imperial policies and proprietary politics of the 1760s and 1770s
predisposed them to challenge the crown’s authority