Beginning in the late 1740s, when "Papa" (Charles Carroll of Annapolis) sent "Charley" (Charles Carroll of Carrollton) away from his native Maryland to be educated in Europe, the letters present a new perspective on colonial and Revolutionary America as the lived experience of Roman Catholics, whose defiant adherence to their faith denied them the civil rights and guarantees--including the right to hold office and to vote--that their Protestant counterparts enjoyed. Charles Carroll of Carrollton was the only Roman Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence, delegate to the Continental Congress, and U.S. Senator from Maryland. The NHPRC also funded a microfilm edition of the Charles Carroll of Carrollton Papers, supported by the Maryland Historical Society, in 3 reels, with an 85-page guide.