Rhetoric as a Revolutionary Tool: Anti-Catholic Propaganda During the American Revolution
Steinert, Tamara L.
During the British-American colonial era (1'607'1'776) anti-Catholic
prejudice manifested itself in a political way, as Catholics were prevented
from holding office and voting in the colonies. However, during the
revolutionary period from 1763 to 1791, Catholics suddenly began receiving
unprecedented political privilege despite the long history of religious and
political conflict between Catholics and Protestants. This rapid change in the
American political order can be partiality explained by comparing prerevolutionary
era colonial documents with those that came afterwards'
keeping in mind all the while the different political circumstances which
motivated the documents.
Anti-Catholicism always held some political meaning for American
protestants of this period. However, the focus of anti-catholic political
rhetoric changed over time. until 1763 anti-catholic prejudice was based on
the tangible political threat posed by the French an Spanish colonies which
surrounded the British colonies. with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in
1763, the French and Spanish ceased to be an immediate threat, and anti-
Catholic rhetoric took on a new focus. From 1763 to 179'l' revolutionary
propagandists used Catholicism to symbolize British tyranny, hoping to
inspire popular support of the Revolution. In doing so, they appealed both to
the Protestant religious heritage and to contemporary concerns about colonial
autonomy.
Thus, anti-Catholic propaganda did not express fear of Catholic
political power, but fear of domination by any one political body, including
the British government. As such, Catholics per se were not a political threat,
and could be admitted to the political process. Furthermore, the anti-tyranny
message communicated in anti-catholic propaganda helped revolutionary
leaders formulate an understanding of religious liberty in which anything
short of freedom for all groups meant risking tyranny by one.
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