Scotch-Irish Identity and Attitudes to Home Rule

This chapter surveys the immigration and identity formation of the Scotch-Irish in America during the nineteenth century. Two ethnic organizations, the Scotch-Irish Society of America and the Loyal Orange Institution of the United States, are analysed as windows to Scotch-Irish ties back to Ireland the involvement in the unionist cause. The chapter explores the ways in which the Scotch-Irish responded to Irish-American calls for Home Rule and independence, attempted to support the unionists, and remained connected to Ireland. The Scotch-Irish were influenced by and remained interested in conditions in Ireland. In addition, the Ulster Scots themselves were affected by the actions and legacy of the Scotch-Irish. They used Scotch-Irish ethnic heritage to help form their own “Ulsterman” identity, which was in turn utilized to unify the unionist movement.

Introduction

This chapter provides a brief introduction to the two strands of history that intersect throughout Two Irelands beyond the Sea: the histories of Irish unionism and Irish-America. The chapter lays forth the book’s central argument, that the reciprocal relationship between Irish unionism and the United States must be understood as part of a wider appreciation of the unionist movement in the Home Rule era. Moreover, the United States greatly influenced the ways in which Irish unionists conceived of themselves and of their own movement, through both their conflicted attempts to gain American support and their use of the United States and Scotch-Irish identity symbolically in their fight against Home Rule. The chapter also argues that the links between Protestant Irish-America and Ireland are a key part of understanding the development of Scotch-Irish ethnic organizations in this time period.

The Idea of America

The United States played a significant role in unionist political thought and rhetoric throughout the Home Rule era. Ulster unionists used American examples to emphasize the need to maintain unity between Great Britain and Ireland, and to provide historical justification for unionist actions. This chapter examines the ways in which the American Revolutionary War, Civil War, and Constitution were utilized in unionist rhetoric. Unionists drew upon these American historical and constitutional examples to highlight ethnic connections to the United States, underscore the failed obligations of the British government to fight to save the Union, and legitimize Ulster militancy.

Transatlantic Religious Connections

By the Home Rule period, religion and politics were intertwined as essential components of Ulster’s relationship with the United States. This chapter illustrates the ways in which evangelical religion was utilized to help build a transatlantic religious community. Scotch-Irish and Ulster Scots connections were born out of religious associations. Ulster Protestants were inspired by the American Protestant religious example and critical of the roles of Catholics in American society. Irish Protestant churches called upon their American counterparts to support anti-Home Rule stances. As this chapter demonstrates, shared religious heritage was a defining feature of the Ulster unionist view of America throughout this era.

Unionist Visits to America

This chapter examines three transatlantic visits by unionist propagandists between 1886 and 1920. These visits emphasized the unionists’ concerns for the cultivation of Anglo-American friendship and Protestant unity, as well as their focus on countering Irish-American influence. They hoped to foster the development of a transatlantic unionist community with resultant moral and financial support against Home Rule, and to diminish Irish-American nationalist credibility. These three cases reveal how the unionists marketed themselves while overseas, their approaches to the opposition of nationalist influence in America, and their views of the United States. These visits also show the pitfalls in the unionists’ American tactics which help to explain the limited success of their movement.

The Third Home Rule Crisis, the First World War, and Partition

This chapter analyses the third Home Rule crisis at the beginning of the twentieth century, as Irish unionism evolved to focus on a distinctive Ulster identity separate from the rest of Ireland. Militancy was increasingly open, partially justified a violent image of Irish-America which the unionists themselves had created. Next, the chapter investigates the role of the United States in World War I-era Irish politics, which had the effect of increasing Ulster unionists’ sense that their loyalty to the British government had been betrayed. The unionist movement advanced during this period to become increasingly militant, focused in Ulster, and gradually accepting of partition. Unionists sought to discredit Irish-America and American government influence, and appeal to the American people to support their own movement.

Conclusion

Two Irelands beyond the Sea concludes with a brief examination of the continued relationship with Ulster unionists and the United States to the present day, determining that the inability of unionists to effectively deal with the United States has roots in the Home Rule era. The Ulster unionists’ efforts at the turn of the twenty-first century echoed the problems and precedents of the anti-Home Rule campaign between 1880 and 1920. The chapter draws together the separate themes of the preceding chapters within the context of Irish unionist and Irish-American history. The book concludes by reinforcing the importance of the United States to Irish unionists, while emphasizing the inconsistencies and contradictions which limited the effectiveness of their appeal.

Ulster Unionists and Irish-American Nationalism in the Late Nineteenth Century

Throughout the second half of the nineteenth century, Irish unionists increasingly associated Irish-America with violence and extremism. This chapter examines the relationship of Irish unionists and the United States in this era, as unionists denounced American funding of Irish nationalism, condemned Irish Parliamentary Party connections to violence and crime, and feared the threat of separatism. Unionists also emphasized the international appeal of their own movement as they attempted to draw support from the United States in their campaigns against Home Rule. This chapter concludes that the unionists’ approach to the United States was paradoxical and multifaceted, as they attempted to condemn Irish-American influence and extremism while at the same time seeking American aid for their own movement.