Revolutionary Nationalism Dbq Research Paper
"The failures outweighed the successes"
How far do you agree with this view of Revolutionary Nationalism 1798 - 1848?
Revolutionary Nationalism in Ireland was a huge movement as well as a firm belief shared by many at the time. This idea of a republic free from the chains of the England was shared aggressively by many Irishmen, and there it can be seen that the movement as a whole contained a number of mixed successes. Founding members of the United Irishmen, along with figures such as Wolfe Tone, included Thomas Russell and Samuel Neilson, and by 1798, the Society of United Irishmen had around 100,000 members. Crossing the religious divide in Ireland, it had a mixed membership of Catholics, Presbyterians, and Anglicans from the Protestant Ascendancy. From this perspective, the movement of revolutionary nationalism had a large amount of support, proving it to be a success in that aspect as it was causing a spread in these revolutionary ideas. However, a different view comes to light as the outcomes of the …show more content…
revolutionary uprisings are revealed.
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 began on 23rd of May.
French soldiers landed in Ireland on 22nd of August and participated in the fighting on the rebels' side in aid of Revolutionary Nationalism and Republicanism. The French were at the time going through a revolution of their own, and opted to aid Ireland in their endeavours to become a Republic to spread these ideas of Nationalism. Although the rebels had considerable success against British forces in areas such as County Wexford, their forces were eventually defeated, with key figures in the organisation were arrested and executed, proving the Irish Rebellion of 1798 to be a failure, the rising being described as "the most concentrated episode of violence in Irish history." It could also be argued that these key figures became martyrs following their execution, allowing the idea of a republic to live on the people, which it has been proved to have done as a sequence of many other risings followed this
one.
A second attempt at forming an independent Irish republic occurred under Robert Emmet in 1803. Emmet had previously been expelled from Trinity College, Dublin for his political views. Like those who had led the 1798 rebellion, Emmet was a member of the United Irishmen, as was his brother Thomas Addis Emmet, who had been imprisoned for membership in the organisation. Strong and well educated characters such as Emmett were seen to be exactly what the movement had needed, however, Emmet and his followers had planned to seize Dublin Castle by force, manufacturing weaponry and explosives at a number of locations in Dublin and had failed. In contrast to the rising of 1798, the preparations for the uprising were successfully hidden from the government and authorities, and the police remained unaware of the activities of the United Irishmen. However, failed communications and arrangements produced a considerably smaller force than had been anticipated. Nonetheless, the rebellion began in Dublin on the evening of the 23rd of July. Emmet's forces were unable to take Dublin Castle, and the rising broke down into rioting, which ensued sporadically throughout the night. Emmet escaped but was eventually captured on 25th of August and hanged on 20th of September 1803, at which point the United Irishmen was effectively disbanded. Like its predecessors, the 1803 rebellion was also a failure for the movement.
Although the rebellion improved in terms of its organisation, the force was simply too little to reap a significant outcome for the cause, and similarly to 1798, the uprising created a martyr, although in this case the martyr was more pronounced, with Emmett famously saying these powerful words before he was hanged:
"Let them and me repose in obscurity and peace, and my tomb remain uninscribed, until other times, and other men, can do justice to my character; when my country takes her place among the nations of the earth, then, and not till then, let my epitaph be written. I have done." In that respect, the uprising succeeded in keeping the dream of a republic alive for the people.
Another failure of Irish Nationalism can be seen in the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848. Ireland was incredibly damaged from the impact of the Great Famine. The British government's reaction had been too little and too late to prevent the Irish people from suffering great hardship. This delayed reaction was criticized by Irish officials to little avail. Since most of the continental revolutions were relatively bloodless, O'Brien believed he could attain similar results in Ireland. He hoped to unite Irish landlords and tenants in protest against British rule. The government, however, forced the leaders' hands on 22 July 1848 by announcing the suspension of habeas corpus. This meant they could imprison the Young Irelanders and other opponents on proclamation without trial. Following this failed rebellion at Widow McCormack's house, The Irish confederation was forced to abandon their initial plans to rise in other areas. The plan was that after a proclamation was issued, they were going to turn and concentrate on Dublin, however, they were forced to abandon this plan. They instead chose to rise from Tipperary and Kilkenny, which also failed. William Smith O’Brien, Thomas Frances Meagher and John Blake Dillon were arrested and sentenced to death. Again it can be seen that a pattern is beginning to form in terms of Irish Revolutionary Nationalism: A rising with very limited planning, numbers and arms fails and results in the death and creation of martyrs and the idea of a republic living on with only a small lasting effect of any significance.
Despite this, one could argue that these could be successes in some way: These risings forced the English to take the rebels and their ideas more seriously, shown by the drastic action of suspending habeas corpus. This could arguably be seen as the reason why the Irish's voices were heard, and this repetitive pattern of rebellion could be seen to raise the spirits of the people despite their own fears and reservations, which were especially high following the famine. In addition, these uprisings kept the idea of a Republic alive, still existing after many years of failure, which arguably paved the way for eventual success in the movement, serving as a reminder and an setting an example of what not to do.
In conclusion, although the various uprisings in duration of Revolutionary Nationalism did keep the dream of a Republic alive, evidence suggests that the failures greatly outweigh the successes of these movements, with the successes being mild and often short lasting in comparison to the effects of the failures, which included death, fear and little changing from its original state. It could even be argued that it was not even these rebellions that kept the ideas of a republic alive. These ideas would have been heavily accentuated and emphasised by that of the French, for example, who were going through a revolution and a newly created republic that would have given the Irish high expectations for change. Risings such as those of 1798, 1803 and the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848 did not have a lasting effect. In addition, the Act of Union of 1800 was a significant blow to the movement, with the opposite of what the Republicans wanted happening before their very eyes as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland' was created, abolishing Irish parliament and essentially the Irish voice. Therefore all in all, the failures of Revolutionary Nationalism greatly outweighed the successes, with the uprisings being generally failed and insignificant and their effect and the Act of Union undermining any changes to be made.
How far do you agree with this view of Revolutionary Nationalism 1798 - 1848?
Revolutionary Nationalism in Ireland was a huge movement as well as a firm belief shared by many at the time. This idea of a republic free from the chains of the England was shared aggressively by many Irishmen, and there it can be seen that the movement as a whole contained a number of mixed successes. Founding members of the United Irishmen, along with figures such as Wolfe Tone, included Thomas Russell and Samuel Neilson, and by 1798, the Society of United Irishmen had around 100,000 members. Crossing the religious divide in Ireland, it had a mixed membership of Catholics, Presbyterians, and Anglicans from the Protestant Ascendancy. From this perspective, the movement of revolutionary nationalism had a large amount of support, proving it to be a success in that aspect as it was causing a spread in these revolutionary ideas. However, a different view comes to light as the outcomes of the …show more content…
revolutionary uprisings are revealed.
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 began on 23rd of May.
French soldiers landed in Ireland on 22nd of August and participated in the fighting on the rebels' side in aid of Revolutionary Nationalism and Republicanism. The French were at the time going through a revolution of their own, and opted to aid Ireland in their endeavours to become a Republic to spread these ideas of Nationalism. Although the rebels had considerable success against British forces in areas such as County Wexford, their forces were eventually defeated, with key figures in the organisation were arrested and executed, proving the Irish Rebellion of 1798 to be a failure, the rising being described as "the most concentrated episode of violence in Irish history." It could also be argued that these key figures became martyrs following their execution, allowing the idea of a republic to live on the people, which it has been proved to have done as a sequence of many other risings followed this
one.
A second attempt at forming an independent Irish republic occurred under Robert Emmet in 1803. Emmet had previously been expelled from Trinity College, Dublin for his political views. Like those who had led the 1798 rebellion, Emmet was a member of the United Irishmen, as was his brother Thomas Addis Emmet, who had been imprisoned for membership in the organisation. Strong and well educated characters such as Emmett were seen to be exactly what the movement had needed, however, Emmet and his followers had planned to seize Dublin Castle by force, manufacturing weaponry and explosives at a number of locations in Dublin and had failed. In contrast to the rising of 1798, the preparations for the uprising were successfully hidden from the government and authorities, and the police remained unaware of the activities of the United Irishmen. However, failed communications and arrangements produced a considerably smaller force than had been anticipated. Nonetheless, the rebellion began in Dublin on the evening of the 23rd of July. Emmet's forces were unable to take Dublin Castle, and the rising broke down into rioting, which ensued sporadically throughout the night. Emmet escaped but was eventually captured on 25th of August and hanged on 20th of September 1803, at which point the United Irishmen was effectively disbanded. Like its predecessors, the 1803 rebellion was also a failure for the movement.
Although the rebellion improved in terms of its organisation, the force was simply too little to reap a significant outcome for the cause, and similarly to 1798, the uprising created a martyr, although in this case the martyr was more pronounced, with Emmett famously saying these powerful words before he was hanged:
"Let them and me repose in obscurity and peace, and my tomb remain uninscribed, until other times, and other men, can do justice to my character; when my country takes her place among the nations of the earth, then, and not till then, let my epitaph be written. I have done." In that respect, the uprising succeeded in keeping the dream of a republic alive for the people.
Another failure of Irish Nationalism can be seen in the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848. Ireland was incredibly damaged from the impact of the Great Famine. The British government's reaction had been too little and too late to prevent the Irish people from suffering great hardship. This delayed reaction was criticized by Irish officials to little avail. Since most of the continental revolutions were relatively bloodless, O'Brien believed he could attain similar results in Ireland. He hoped to unite Irish landlords and tenants in protest against British rule. The government, however, forced the leaders' hands on 22 July 1848 by announcing the suspension of habeas corpus. This meant they could imprison the Young Irelanders and other opponents on proclamation without trial. Following this failed rebellion at Widow McCormack's house, The Irish confederation was forced to abandon their initial plans to rise in other areas. The plan was that after a proclamation was issued, they were going to turn and concentrate on Dublin, however, they were forced to abandon this plan. They instead chose to rise from Tipperary and Kilkenny, which also failed. William Smith O’Brien, Thomas Frances Meagher and John Blake Dillon were arrested and sentenced to death. Again it can be seen that a pattern is beginning to form in terms of Irish Revolutionary Nationalism: A rising with very limited planning, numbers and arms fails and results in the death and creation of martyrs and the idea of a republic living on with only a small lasting effect of any significance.
Despite this, one could argue that these could be successes in some way: These risings forced the English to take the rebels and their ideas more seriously, shown by the drastic action of suspending habeas corpus. This could arguably be seen as the reason why the Irish's voices were heard, and this repetitive pattern of rebellion could be seen to raise the spirits of the people despite their own fears and reservations, which were especially high following the famine. In addition, these uprisings kept the idea of a Republic alive, still existing after many years of failure, which arguably paved the way for eventual success in the movement, serving as a reminder and an setting an example of what not to do.
In conclusion, although the various uprisings in duration of Revolutionary Nationalism did keep the dream of a Republic alive, evidence suggests that the failures greatly outweigh the successes of these movements, with the successes being mild and often short lasting in comparison to the effects of the failures, which included death, fear and little changing from its original state. It could even be argued that it was not even these rebellions that kept the ideas of a republic alive. These ideas would have been heavily accentuated and emphasised by that of the French, for example, who were going through a revolution and a newly created republic that would have given the Irish high expectations for change. Risings such as those of 1798, 1803 and the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848 did not have a lasting effect. In addition, the Act of Union of 1800 was a significant blow to the movement, with the opposite of what the Republicans wanted happening before their very eyes as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland' was created, abolishing Irish parliament and essentially the Irish voice. Therefore all in all, the failures of Revolutionary Nationalism greatly outweighed the successes, with the uprisings being generally failed and insignificant and their effect and the Act of Union undermining any changes to be made.