Catholic Textbook Project

08/31/2026

252 years ago this week, the First Continental Congress gathers.

If Parliament had been content to punish Boston alone, it may have been able to keep other colonies from joining the city in opposition to the British government. But among the Coercive Acts was one very objectionable one that removed the right of the Massachusetts people to elect many public offici...

08/24/2026

242 years ago this week, Fray Junípero Serra dies.

08/17/2026

203 years ago this week, Pope Pius VII dies.

08/10/2026

221 years ago this week, Meriwether Lewis becomes the first Anglo-American to ascend the Continental Divide.

In France, Louis XV’s mistress, Madame de Pompadour, was piqued. King Friedrich the Great of Prussia had written some verses about her that were not at all flattering. In retaliation, Pompadour exerted her influence over Louis in favor of Prussia’s enemy, the Austrians. The Austrian ambassador, ...

08/03/2026

534 years ago this week, Christopher Columbus sets sail on the Atlantic.

The modern history of Latin America began with Christopher Columbus’s discovery of the American continents in 1492. In Chapter 9, we saw how, after much trying, Columbus was able to convince King Fernando and Queen Isabel of Spain to pay for an expedition to reach the Indies by sailing west over t...

07/27/2026

81 years ago this week, the Allies issue an ultimatum for Japan's surrender.

While the German war power was crumbling in Europe, American forces were clearing the Pacific of Japanese resistance. From the island of Saipan, American bombing raids struck Japanese cities, destroying industrial targets and killing tens of thousands of Japanese civilians. The U.S. firebombing of T...

07/20/2026

267 years ago this week, the British open a bombardment on Québec.

In France, Louis XV’s mistress, Madame de Pompadour, was piqued. King Friedrich the Great of Prussia had written some verses about her that were not at all flattering. In retaliation, Pompadour exerted her influence over Louis in favor of Prussia’s enemy, the Austrians. The Austrian ambassador, ...

07/13/2026

239 years ago this week, the Connecticut Compromise is passed.

George Washington had wanted only one thing after the war—to spend the remainder of his life with his wife, Martha, on their Mount Vernon plantation. He wanted nothing more of war, and he certainly wanted nothing to do with politics. The life of a gentleman farmer was what Washington desired; but ...

07/06/2026

158 years ago this week, The 14th amendment receives the required number of states for ratification.

With Reconstruction placed firmly in its own hands, Congress disbanded all the southern state governments that had been established under Johnson. Instead, Congress divided the South into five military districts, each under a military general. The five generals answered to one supreme general, Ulyss...

06/29/2026

250 years ago this week, the Declaration of Independence is signed.

Despite Lexington and Concord, and despite Bunker Hill, most patriots believed that King George was on their side. It was Parliament, they believed, that was causing all the trouble. Thus, except for a few like Sam Adams and the Sons of Liberty, most colonial patriots wanted to remain part of the Br...