Carroll was born on Sept. 19, 1737, as the only son of Charles Carroll of Annapolis and Elizabeth Brooke. The young Carroll spent more than a decade and a half of his formative years in Europe, studying at prestigious Jesuit schools. He inherited a massive estate upon his return and he and his wife, Molly, married in 1768, stayed busy supporting and hosting figures such as George Washington at their home throughout the Revolutionary War.
McDermott, author of “Charles Carroll of Carrollton: Faithful Revolutionary,” noted that Catholics “really were a very oppressed minority group” in the original 13 colonies.
“In the early days of the American colonies, Catholics faced some pretty serious persecution, including not being able to vote, not being able to hold public office, not being able to worship publicly,” he said.
The colony, and eventually state, of Maryland had been founded in 1688 by Lord Baltimore, a Catholic, originally as a haven for Catholics arriving in North America. But later on, Protestants largely took over the government and Catholics were not permitted to worship openly. Carroll emerged as an outspoken proponent of religious freedom, and his ideas shaped the founding of the United States.
“Wealthy Catholics, like the Carrolls, were very important for the Catholic community because they were able to sponsor Masses in their homes. They had chaplains who were trying to keep the Catholic faith alive in America, but it was very difficult,” McDermott said.
Although the Carroll family was wealthy, the prejudice they faced made life difficult in many ways. Catholics were seen by the Protestant majority as a danger to the state, and thus many colonies passed laws restricting their freedoms.
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