In this Book

summary
Between the years 1778 and 1784, groups that had previously been excluded from the Irish political sphere—women, Catholics, lower-class Protestants, farmers, shopkeepers, and other members of the laboring and agrarian classes—began to imagine themselves as civil subjects with a stake in matters of the state. This politicization of non-elites was largely driven by the Volunteers, a local militia force that emerged in Ireland as British troops were called away to the American War of Independence. With remarkable speed, the Volunteers challenged central features of British imperial rule over Ireland and helped citizens express a new Irish national identity.
    In A Nation of Politicians, Padhraig Higgins argues that the development of Volunteer-initiated activities—associating, petitioning, subscribing, shopping, and attending celebrations—expanded the scope of political participation. Using a wide range of literary, archival, and visual sources, Higgins examines how ubiquitous forms of communication—sermons, songs and ballads, handbills, toasts, graffiti, theater, rumors, and gossip—encouraged ordinary Irish citizens to engage in the politics of a more inclusive society and consider the broader questions of civil liberties and the British Empire. A Nation of Politicians presents a fascinating tale of the beginnings of Ireland’s richly vocal political tradition at this important intersection of cultural, intellectual, social, and public history.
 
 
Winner of the Donald Murphy Prize for Distinguished First Book, American Conference for Irish Studies

Table of Contents

restricted access Download Full Book
  1. Cover
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Frontmatter
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Contents
  2. pp. v-
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. List of Illustrations
  2. pp. vii-viii
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Acknowledgments
  2. pp. ix-x
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Introduction
  2. pp. 3-27
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 1 “Alehouse Politicians”: The Culture of Print and the Political Nation
  2. pp. 28-55
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 2 “Paddy Shall Rise”: Celebration, Commemoration, and National Identity
  2. pp. 56-81
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 3 Shopping for Ireland: Consumption, Gender, and the Politics of Free Trade
  2. pp. 82-105
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 4 The New Magna Carta: Voluntary Association, the Crowd, and the Uses of Official Political Culture
  2. pp. 106-127
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 5 A Rage Militaire: The Volunteers
  2. pp. 128-150
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 6 “Playing the Man”: Invasion, Masculinity, and the Citizen-Soldier
  2. pp. 151-177
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 7 Petticoat Government: Women and Patriotism
  2. pp. 178-201
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 8 “A Democratical Spirit”: Reform, Protectionism, and Popular Politics
  2. pp. 202-233
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Conclusion
  2. pp. 234-242
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Notes
  2. pp. 243-296
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Bibliography
  2. pp. 297-322
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Index
  2. pp. 323-333
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
Back To Top

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Without cookies your experience may not be seamless.