The Fenian Movement

Unopened and Unread. The Fenian Movement is a sprightly account of one of the most unusual and most neglected chapters in the history of American international politics. Written by a specialist in this area of United States history, and heavily documented, especially from contemporary newspaper sources, nevertheless it is presented in a simple and readable style, with touches of quiet but charming wit. Mrs. Walker deals fairly and openly with this very tangled development of the period of 1848-1871, when the affairs of the United States, England, Ireland and Canada became wondrously complicated, as a consequence of the ramification of Irish politics. The efforts of Irish emigrants to America to launch an independence movement at home, and, when this failed, to seek to establish an independent revolutionary Irish state carved out of part of Canada, is the substance of this book. Woven into the story of the intensely involved question which aggravated the policy-makers of four countries for years is a thorough account relating the conflict between two separate factions within the Fenian membership. The quarrels over leadership, finances, and general strategy, and the personality conflicts which raged within the ranks of this spirited group of Irish revolutiona1ies, are described here in detail for the first time. Even more revealing is the substantial impact the Fenian activities had on domestic American politics, and particularly after the Civil War had additionally inflamed the temper of Americans toward England. The Fenian Movement is a useful addition to the sparse literature on an amazing episode. MABEL GREGORY WALKER earned the Doctor of Philosophy degree at the State University of Ohio at Columbus, after considerable study at the University of Illinois at Champaign, and worked with such formidable historians as Arthur C. Cole, Clarence W. Alvord and Evarts B. Greene. She now resides in Port Orange, Florida.…