United Irishmen, United States: Immigrant Radicals in the Early Republic - Hardcover

Wilson, David A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0801431751 ISBN 13: 9780801431753

Publisher: Cornell University Press, 1998

Synopsis

Among the thousands of political refugees who flooded into the United States during the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries, none had a greater impact on the early republic than the United Irishmen. They were, according to one Federalist, "the most God-provoking Democrats on this side of Hell." "Every United Irishman," insisted another, "ought to be hunted from the country, as much as a wolf or a tyger." David A. Wilson's lively book is the first to focus specifically on the experiences, attitudes, and ideas of the United Irishmen in the United States.

Wilson argues that America served a powerful symbolic and psychological function for the United Irishmen as a place of wish-fulfillment, where the broken dreams of the failed Irish revolution could be realized. The United Irishmen established themselves on the radical wing of the Republican Party, and contributed to Jefferson's "second American Revolution" of 1800; John Adams counted them among the "foreigners and degraded characters" whom he blamed for his defeat.

After Jefferson's victory, the United Irishmen set out to destroy the Federalists and democratize the Republicans. Some of them believed that their work was preparing the way for the millennium in America. Convinced that the example of America could ultimately inspire the movement for a democratic republic back home, they never lost sight of the struggle for Irish independence. It was the United Irishmen, writes Wilson, who originated the persistent and powerful tradition of Irish-American nationalism.

About this title

About the Author

David A. Wilson is Coordinator of the Celtic Studies Program and Professor of History at the University of Toronto. His most recent work is a two-volume biography of the Irish Canadian politician Thomas D’Arcy McGee.

Reviews

In this scholarly work, Wilson (Celtic studies, St. Michael's Coll., Univ. of Toronto) examines the role of the United Irishmen in American political history. The United Irishmen Wilson studied were the mostly Protestant Irish leaders fleeing the failed 1798 insurrection. Many came to America and found that the new republic offered unparalleled opportunities for political activism, particularly in making radical changes in political institutions. Their causes included greater freedom of religious belief, civil rights reforms at the state level, and more liberal immigration laws. Most backed Jefferson for president, and their activism is credited with helping the change from federalism to republicanism. As Wilson ably shows, their belief that political repression was to blame for most of society's ills motivated their revolt, their flight to America, and their continued activism. Wilson also explores the impact of United Irishmen on education and culture, noting that they were less influential here than in politics. This interesting and well-written study is best suited for academic collections either in Irish or American history, or in political history.ARobert C. Moore, Corp. Lib., Astra USA, Westboro, MA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cornell University Press
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0801431751
• ISBN 13: 9780801431753
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 236