The Creation of American Catholicism: From the Revolution to the Early Republic, 1773–1844

FAIN: FEL-273663-21

Jeffery Ryan Appelhans
Unaffiliated independent scholar

Research and writing leading to a book on the political and civic life of Catholics in Early America. 

“The Creation of American Catholicism: From the Revolution to the Early Republic, 1773–1844” narrates the untold story of how the Revolution and the early republic created American Catholics by unleashing the forces that established them as Americans. It analyzes Catholics’ ability to develop political, ideological, and cultural credibility to secure prominence in the public sphere and civil society. A confluence of unlikely opportunity, rising toleration, and savvy leadership helped early American Catholics become culture sculptors, drawing together ideology and expression to join immediately in the mutual construction of American political culture. As Catholics contributed to and mastered the American political and persuasive pose to secure their participation in civil life, their rising stature drew the ire of rivals. It unveils a forgotten world, one that over the course of the seventy-one years between 1773 and 1844 developed, flourished, and fell.