Ireland Strikes Back

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Ireland Strikes Back

A movement was started in Ireland to regain home rule. This movement was started in 1858 by a secret revolutionary society known as the Fenian Brotherhood. This group was created to help solve the crises of the potato famine, the poor government, and the ongoing problems with the church. Between the years of 1856 and 1870, the Fenians organized an uprising in Ireland with invasions in British cities and outbreaks in Canada (de Nie). The goal of this society was to achieve independence from England by using force. This revolution would be successful if certain groups in the society were strong. The Fenian Brotherhood started a movement that influenced Britain’s and the United States’ foreign and domestic policies (Walker). Regarding the insight to the United States’ politics and society a major shift had taken place (Sewell 723).

The Irish were facing many problems. Irish people were going through a great starvation. The Great Potato Famine of the 1840’s was causing dissatisfaction with the people. The blight caused the famine to occur. A fungus was growing on the potatoes and killing the crop. There was not enough food to feed everyone in the land. Being the main crop in Ireland, the Irish relied on their potato crops for survival. Many people died of starvation or moved to the United States. Death and famine was affecting the people of Ireland. Many of the people were suffering from the flu, small pox, and starvation. Farmers were suffering because of the famine and the deaths. The estates and farms of Ireland were being cleared out rapidly (Walker). Emigration was increasing at an excessive rate, yet the British government did the minimum work to ease the t...

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... weren’t allowed to receive sacraments (Rafferty 269).

Works Cited

De Nie, Michael. “A Medley Mob of Irish-American Plotters and Irish Dupes.” The British Press and Transatlantic….Journal of British Studies, Apr 2001.

Garvin, Tom. “The Anatomy of a Nationalist Revolution: Ireland, 1858-1928.” Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 28, No 3. Jul 1986.

Jenkins, Brian. Fenians and Anglo-American Relations During Reconstruction. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1969.

Rafferty, Oliver. “Fenianism in North America in the 1860’s: The Problems for Church and State.” History, Apr 1999, Vol. 84, Issue 274.

Sewell, M.J.. Rebels or Revolutionaries? Irish American Nationalism and American Diplomacy, 1865-1885.” The Historical Journal, Vol. 29, No. 3 Sep. 1986.

Walker, Mabel Gregory. The Fenian Movement. Colorado Springs: R Myles, 1969.

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