You have a different understanding of the question than I do. Using your understanding, we could as well be talking about the role that the pagan Romans had on the founding of America. And come up with plenty of stuff. But actual Catholics were few enough on the ground at the founding of the United States. Not absent of course, there were plenty, but their influence was definitely not the major portion.
Don't make it personal; I'm not.
This is snarky:
“Thomas Aquinas was an American? Let’s see. He died in 1274. What year did columbus discover America. It’s been a while, but I remember the ditty from school, “In 1492, columbus sailed the ocean blue”, or something like that.”