American
Immigration
The Fenian Movement consisted of revolutionary groups determined to overthrow British rule of Ireland and establish an independent Irish state. The movement was started in Ireland in 1850 when James Stephens and Thomas Clarke Luby created the Irish Republican Brotherhood; the nickname, "Fenians," came from the ancient Irish warriors called the Fianna. John O'Mahoney, Michael Doheny, and Stephens started the Fenian Movement in the United States in a ceremony in front of Tammany Hall in New York City in October of 1858. Their objective in starting an organization in the United States was to rally Irish-Americans politically behind a revolution in Ireland against Britain.
Fenianism was strongly supported by Irish emigrants in America. Many gained military experience in the American Civil War, and when this ended in April 1865 Stephens promised an Irish rising later in the year. However, the government had been alerted by its spies, and in September the Irish People was suppressed. Stephens and his closest associates were arrested, but he escaped from prison and reached America. The government quickly took the offensive, arresting suspects and confiscating arms. Some army units, thought to include Fenian sympathisers, were moved from Ireland.
In the end, the Fenians failed to achieve Irish independence, a goal which would have to wait until 1922 when the Irish free state was created. The Fenian movement remained active in the United States throughout the rest of the 19th century, but it never managed to export revolution from the United States to Ireland. The foundation and growth of the Fenians demonstrate how some immigrant groups tried to use the United States as a launching pad for stimulating political change in their home countries. Nevertheless, the Fenians were unique among immigrant political groups in their formation of armed militias and their invasion of a foreign country from American soil, two actions which arguably make them among the most militant immigrant groups in the history of American immigration.
The Fenian Movement showed America how we protect ourselves in the future and never be too careful in trusting others. This not only affected America ,but many other countries to keep their society safe.
