Distinguishing between primary and secondary sources is an important first step in scholary research. As critical inquiry is essential to solid, accurate research, scholars need to know the difference. According to the Society of American Archivists, primary sources are defined as "material that contains firsthand accounts of events and that was created contemporaneous to those events or later recalled by an eyewitness."
The SAA also defines secondary resources as "works not based on direct observation of or evidence directly associated with the subject, but instead relying on sources of information", as well as "works commenting on another work (primary sources), such as reviews, criticism, and commentaries."
The American Library Association's Reference and User Services Association has a detailed guide discussing the use of primary sources in research. Princeton University also provides a comparative overview of primary and secondary resources to aid in distinguishing between the two.
Catholic Higher Education in Protestant America by
In 1893 Harvard University president Charles W. Eliot, the father of the modern university, helped implement a policy that, in effect, barred graduates of Jesuit colleges from regular admission to Harvard Law School. The resulting controversy-bitterly contentious and widely publicized-was a defining moment in the history of American Catholic education, illuminating on whose terms and on what basis Catholics and Catholic colleges would participate in higher education in the twentieth century. In Catholic Higher Education in Protestant America, Kathleen Mahoney considers the challenges faced by Catholics as the age of the university opened. She describes how liberal Protestant educators such as Eliot linked the modern university with the cause of a Protestant America and how Catholic students and educators variously resisted, accommodated, or embraced Protestant-inspired educational reforms. Drawing on social theories of cultural hegemony and insider-outsider roles, Mahoney traces the rise of the Law School controversy to the interplay of three powerful forces: the emergence of the liberal, nonsectarian research university; the development of a Catholic middle class whose aspirations included attendance at such institutions; and the Catholic church's increasingly strident campaign against modernism and, by extension, the intellectual foundations of modern academic life.
Catholicism and the Shaping of Nineteenth-Century America by
Offers a series of fresh perspectives on America's encounter with Catholicism in the nineteenth-century. While religious and immigration historians have construed this history in univocal terms, Jon Gjerde bridges sectarian divides by presenting Protestants and Catholics in conversation with each other. In so doing, Gjerde reveals the ways in which America's encounter with Catholicism was much more than a story about American nativism. Nineteenth-century religious debates raised questions about the fundamental underpinnings of the American state and society: the shape of the antebellum market economy, gender roles in the American family, and the place of slavery were only a few of the issues engaged by Protestants and Catholics in a lively and enduring dialectic. While the question of the place of Catholics in America was left unresolved, the very debates surrounding this question generated multiple conceptions of American pluralism and American national identity.
Dialogue on the Frontier by
A discussion of the expansion of Catholicism in the West Dialogue on the Frontier is a remarkable departure from previous scholarship, which emphasized the negative aspects of the relationship between Protestants and Catholics in the early American republic. Author Margaret C. DePalma argues that Catholic-Protestant relations took on a different tone and character in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. She focuses on the western frontier territory and explores the positive interaction of the two religions and the internal dynamics of Catholicism. When Father Stephen T. Badin arrived in the Kentucky frontier in 1793, intent on expanding Catholicism among the pioneers, he brought only his faith and courage, a capacity to work long hard hours, and an understanding of the need for meaningful interaction with his Protestant neighbors. He established the groundwork for the later arrivals of Edward D. Fenwick, the first bishop of Cincinnati, and Archbishop John B. Purcell. The interaction between these priests and the frontier Protestant community resulted in a dialogue of mutual necessity that allowed for the growth of the region, the nation, and the church. The ministries and stories of these three priests are representative of the problems the Catholic Church faced in overcoming anti-Catholic sentiment and the solutions it found in its efforts to lay a permanent foundation in the West. This book will be of great interest to scholars of the early republic and religious life and of the urban landscape of the Midwest.
Intestine enemies : Catholics in Protestant America, 1605 a documentary history by 
The Old Enemies: Catholic and Protestant in nineteenth-century English culture by
Even in the industrial nineteenth century, age-old theological disagreements were the cause of religious and cultural conflicts between Catholics and Protestants. This book asks why these ancient divisions were so deep and have prevailed and how novelists and poets, theologians and preachers, historians and essayists reinterpreted the religious debates. Michael Wheeler explains how each side misunderstood the other's deeply held beliefs about history, authority, doctrine and spirituality, and, conversely, how these theological conflicts inspired creativity in the arts.
Southern Crucifix, Southern Cross: Catholic-Protestant relations in the old south by
"Southern Crucifix, Southern Cross" examines the complex and often overlooked relationships between Catholics and Protestants in the antebellum South. In sharp contrast to many long-standing presumptions about mistrust or animosity between these two groups, this study proposes that Catholic and Protestant interactions in the South were characterized more by cooperation than by conflict. aAndrew H. M. Stern argues that Catholics worked to integrate themselves into southern society without compromising their religious beliefs and that many Protestants accepted and supported them. Catholic leaders demonstrated the compatibility of Catholicism with American ideals and institutions, and Protestants recognized Catholics as useful citizens, true Americans, and loyal southerners, in particular citing their support for slavery and their hatred of abolitionism. aMutual assistance between the two groups proved most clear in shared public spaces, with Catholics and Protestants participating in each otherOCOs institutions and funding each otherOCOs enterprises. Catholics and Protestants worshipped in each otherOCOs churches, studied in each otherOCOs schools, and recovered or died in each otherOCOs hospitals. aIn many histories of southern religion, typically thought of as Protestant, Catholicism tends to be absent. Likewise, in studies of American Catholicism, Catholic relationships with Protestants, including southern Protestants, are rarely discussed. "Southern Crucifix, Southern Cross" is the first book to demonstrate in detail the ways in which many Protestants actively fostered the growth of American Catholicism. Stern complicates the dominant historical view of interreligious animosity and offers an unexpected model of religious pluralism that helped to shape southern culture as we know it today. aa
American Catholic Experience: a history from colonial times to the present by
The history of Catholicism in America focuses on the people belonging to America's largest religious denomination, from colonial times, through the immigration movements, to the contemporary Church.
The American Catholic Religious Life: selected historical essays by 
American Catholics: a History by
A sweeping history of American Catholicism from the arrival of the first Spanish missionaries to the present This comprehensive survey of Catholic history in what became the United States spans nearly five hundred years, from the arrival of the first Spanish missionaries to the present. Distinguished historian Leslie Tentler explores lay religious practice and the impact of clergy on Catholic life and culture as she seeks to answer the question, What did it mean to be a "good Catholic" at particular times and in particular places? In its focus on Catholics' participation in American politics and Catholic intellectual life, this book includes in‑depth discussions of Catholics, race, and the Civil War; Catholics and public life in the twentieth century; and Catholic education and intellectual life. Shedding light on topics of recent interest such as the role of Catholic women in parish and community life, Catholic reproductive ethics regarding birth control, and the Catholic church sex-abuse crisis, this engaging history provides an up-to-date account of the history of American Catholicism.
American Catholics: a History of the Roman Catholic Community in the United States by
Written by one of the foremost historians of American Catholicism, this book presents a comprehensive history of the Roman Catholic Church in America from colonial times to the present. Hennesey examines, in particular, minority Catholics and developments in the western part of the UnitedStates, a region often overlooked in religious histories.
American Catholics in Transition by
American Catholics in Transition reports on five surveys carried out at six year intervals over a period of 25 years, from 1987 to 2011. The surveys are national probability samples of American Catholics, age 18 and older, now including four generations of Catholics. Over these twenty five years, the authors have found significant changes in Catholics attitudes and behavior as well as many enduring trends in the explanation of Catholic identity. Generational change helps explain many of the differences. Many millennial Catholics continue to remain committed to and active in the Church, but there are some interesting patterns of difference within this generation. Hispanic Catholics are more likely than their non-Hispanic peers to emphasize social justice issues such as immigration reform and concern for the poor; and while Hispanic millennial women are the most committed to the Church, non-Hispanic millennial women are the least committed to Catholicism. In this fifth book in the series, the authors expand on the topics that were introduced in the first four editions. The authors are able to point to dramatic changes in and across generations and gender, especially regarding Catholic identity, commitment, parish life, and church authority. William V. D Antonio, Michele Dillon, and Mary L. Gautier provide timely information pertaining to Catholics views regarding current pressing issues in the Church, such as the priest shortage and alternative liturgical arrangements and same-sex marriage. The authors, also, provides the first full portrayal of how the growing numbers of Hispanic Catholics in the U.S. are changing the Church."
Black and Catholic: the challenge and gift of black folk : contributions of African American experience and thought to Catholic theology by
This text seeks to address the issue of education for African-American Catholics. The book argues for reform in Catholic higher education, suggesting that particular attention be paid to the inclusion and integration of the African-American experience in Catholic theology.
Catholic Identity after Vatican II by 
Catholic Identity and the Laity by
This work features original essays which explore the role of the laity within the Catholic Church and the nature of Catholic identity.
Catholicism and the Shaping of Nineteenth-Century America by
Offers a series of fresh perspectives on America's encounter with Catholicism in the nineteenth-century. While religious and immigration historians have construed this history in univocal terms, Jon Gjerde bridges sectarian divides by presenting Protestants and Catholics in conversation with each other. In so doing, Gjerde reveals the ways in which America's encounter with Catholicism was much more than a story about American nativism. Nineteenth-century religious debates raised questions about the fundamental underpinnings of the American state and society: the shape of the antebellum market economy, gender roles in the American family, and the place of slavery were only a few of the issues engaged by Protestants and Catholics in a lively and enduring dialectic. While the question of the place of Catholics in America was left unresolved, the very debates surrounding this question generated multiple conceptions of American pluralism and American national identity.
The Church and the Land by
The Church and the Land is the first scholarly history of the Catholic rural life movement in the United States from its beginning in the 1920s to the present day. It tells the story of the men and women of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference (NCRLC) who labored to bring Catholic principles into effect to benefit the farm families, agricultural laborers, and others who lived in the American countrysid
The De-Romanization of the American Catholic Church by
This collaboration between a priest-sociologist and a journalist-author trained in sociology is a natural history of the Roman Catholic Church in America. The view of American Catholicism is all-inclusive--from classroom to church pew, from dinner table to ballot box, from civil rights picket line to chancery office.
From the Heart of the American Church: Catholic higher education and American culture by 
A Guide to American Catholic History by 
A History of the Churches in the United States and Canada by
The religious histories of both the USA and Canada contain many dramatic themes. This study of the way the churches faced the movement of peoples into and across a vast continent tells much about their present size and characteristics in both Canada and the United States.
In Search of an American Catholicism by
For more than two hundred years, writes eminent Catholic historian Jay P. Dolan, Catholics have struggled to reconcile two sets of values, as Americans and as Catholics. In this incisive, elegantly written account, Dolan explores how Catholics have met the challenges they have faced as New World followers of an Old World faith. The ideals of democracy--and American culture in general--have deeply shaped Catholicism in the United States, Dolan argues, even as far back as 1789, when the nation's first bishop was elected by the clergy (and the pope accepted their choice). Dolan follows the tension between American democratic values and Catholic doctrine, from the conservative reaction after the fall of Napoleon, to the modernist movement of the late nineteenth century, to the impact of the Second Vatican Council. Dolan explores grassroots devotional life; the struggle against successive waves of nativism, from nineteenth-century Know-Nothings to the Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s; the impact--and often, collision--of different immigrant groups and their traditions; and the disputed issue of gender. He shows throughout that influences have flowed in both directions; belief and church traditions have shaped Catholics' sense of citizenship, community, and public advocacy. Today, the author writes, the tensions remain, as we see signs of both a resurgent traditionalism in the church in response to the liberalizing trend launched by John XXIII, and a resistance to the conservatism of John Paul II. In this lucidly written account, the unfinished story of Catholicism in America emerges clearly and compellingly, illuminating the inner life of the church and of the nation.
An Invitation to American Catholic History by 
Let It Shine!: the emergence of African American Catholic worship by
Let It Shine! probes the distinctive contribution of black Catholics to the life of the American church, and to the unfolding of lived Christianity in the United States. This important book explores the powerful spiritual renaissance that has marked African American life and selfunderstanding over the last several decades by examining one critical dimension: the forging of new expressions of Catholic worship rooted in the larger Catholic tradition, yet shaped in unique ways by African American religious culture.Starting with the 1960s, the book traces the dynamic interplay of social change, cultural awakening, and charismatic leadership that have sparked the emergence of distinctive styles of black Catholic worship. In their historical overview, McGann and Eva Marie Lumas chronicle the liturgical and pastoral issues of a black Catholic liturgical movement that has transformed the larger American church. McGann then examines the foundational vision of Rev. Clarence R. J. Rivers, who promoted forms of black worship, music, preaching, and prayer that have enabled African American Catholics to reclaim the fullness of their religious identity.Finally, Harbor constructs a black Catholic aesthetic based on the theological, ethical, and liturgical insights of four African American scholars, expressed through twenty-three performative values. This liturgical aesthetic illuminates the distinctive gift of black Catholics to the multicultural tapestry of lived faith in the American church and can also serve as a pastoral model for other cultural communities.Blending history, theology, and liturgy, Let It Shine! is a valuable resource for scholars, teachers, and students and a practical pastoral guide to bringing African American spirituality more firmly into the sacramental life of American parishes.
Living Stones: the history and structure of Catholic spiritual life in the United States by 
Roman Catholicism in the United States: a Thematic History by
Roman Catholicism in the United States: A Thematic History takes the reader beyond the traditional ways scholars have viewed and recounted the story of the Catholic Church in America. The collection covers unfamiliar topics such as anti-Catholicism, rural Catholicism, Latino Catholics, and issues related to the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Vatican and the U.S. government. The book continues with fascinating discussions on popular culture (film and literature), women religious, and the work of U.S. missionaries in other countries. The final section of the books is devoted to Catholic social teaching, tackling challenging and sometimes controversial subjects such as the relationship between African American Catholics and the Communist Party, Catholics in the civil rights movement, the abortion debate, issues of war and peace, and Vatican II and the American Catholic Church. Roman Catholicism in the United States examines the history of U.S. Catholicism from a variety of perspectives that transcend the familiar account of the immigrant, urban parish, which served as the focus for so many American Catholics during the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries.
Shaping American Catholicism: Maryland and New York, 1805-1915 by
Distinguished historian Robert Emmett Curran presents an informed and balanced study of the American Catholic Church's experience in its two most important regions in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries