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Great catholics were crucial to America's founding, they were downgraded by most historians who never spoke their names.End of problem ― thanks to an independent historian, Dan LeRoy, who gets right to the point. "The primary goal of this book: to gather together, in one place and for the first time, the significant contributions of Catholics to the American Revolution." The veteran writer-researcher does this in twelve chapters that flow like a screenplay and make his electrifying case: Catholics did something more remarkable than just support the patriot cause they helped lead it.LeRoy skillfully depicts the risks taken by each man, whom he calls a "group of Catholics who were among the greatest statesmen, thinkers, and military leaders of the day." He also answers two fundamental questions unaddressed by other historians: (1) What would the Revolution have been like without these Catholics? and (2) Why did they do it? Here, at last, is a full chronicle of the Founding that does justice to the heroic "papists" whose lives were on the line, alongside the descendants of Puritans and other refugees. In some cases, George Washington himself knew them, admired them, advanced their careers, and ultimately thanked them ― on behalf of a grateful nation. Among hundreds of insights, you'll learn about:The Jesuit torn between his priestly duties and support for his countrymen The two Catholic Carrolls ― one a courageous cleric, the other a signer of the ConstitutionThe pivotal role of American Catholics in the first slave revoltThe endless suffering of Catholics living in early AmericaThe saintly heroism of Lafayette ― his wife, the Marquise de Lafayette, that isThe patriots from Poland who finally get their dueWhat Ben Franklin, John Adams, George Washington, and other Founders thought of Catholicism
I saw an interview with the author on "Bookmark" on EWTN, and thought I would get this book as a gift for my brother-in-law who likes history. The author proved lively and engaging in the interview, but I wondered if that would transfer to the book, as too many authors of history books seem content with plodding writing and less than stellar style.I need not have worried. The author styles each chapter as a vignette about a little-known person or event, and these anecdotal tales and stories are spun with style and compellingly told. Tin order to not break the flow, there are extensive endnotes which delve deeper, and give sources for citations and quotes in the book. The author is not simply fictionalizing well-known history. In many cases, this history is not known at all, and runs counter to popular myths which are still circulating today.