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Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2019 January 9

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January 9

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1798 United Irishmen rebellion

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Did any of the American founding fathers have specific views on the 1798 United Irishmen rebellion in Ireland?

I know the Democratic-Republicans generally leaned toward France, so I wonder whether they supported the French aligned rebellion, or whether any of the Federalists said anything to oppose it.

By the way, please don't delete the reference desks.

I don't think I would be able to answer questions like this on my own.

Benjamin (talk) 22:25, 9 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Have you commented at the page where it's being discussed?[1]Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots23:03, 9 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
American Revolution#Inspiring all colonies mentions the influence it had on the Irish Rebellion of 1798 with two sources which might have more information. If someone has more information on how the US reacted, it probably should be added there. Regards SoWhy 11:02, 10 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
A quick Google search found this at the Monticello site. John Adams blamed Irish support ("foreigners and degraded characters") for his defeat by Jefferson -- see "United Irishmen, United States. --jpgordon𝄢𝄆 𝄐𝄇 16:00, 10 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Adams had a lot of good qualities, but unfortunately his rampant xenophobia (especially anti-Irish) and led to his championing the Alien and Sedition Acts during his presidency. It was opposition to those acts particularly (rather than the "Irish" as Irish) that led to his defeat, but as all Xenophobes do, they deflect blame for their own shortcomings on the foreigner-du-jour. Irish isn't specifically mentioned in that article, but they were definitely a target. See here for example, to wit "The two laws against aliens were motivated by fears of a growing Irish radical presence in Philadelphia." --Jayron32 13:24, 11 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
That premise sounds all too familiar. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots18:50, 11 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]