Patriotism, Classical Republicanism, and the Volunteers, 1780-1782
Patriotism, Classical Republicanism, and the Volunteers, 1780-1782
Flushed with the success of the free trade agitation, many Irish patriots turned their attentions to legislative independence between 1780 and 1782. This chapter analyses the nature of their thought in these years, examining the role of classical republicanism in patriot rhetoric and showing how a political language common to radicals, patriots, and opposition Whigs across the English-speaking world was especially resonant in Ireland. Particular attention is paid to the use of classical republicanism in the construction of the Volunteers as civic heroes. Other key classical republican themes are also analysed, including vigilance, fear of standing armies beyond parliamentary control, and historical models of cyclical decay. The fusion of classical and commercial arguments in patriot thought is discussed, along with the critiques of the Volunteers that began to emerge from a conservative patriot perspective.
Keywords: Ireland, patriotism, classical republicanism, Volunteers, radicalism, civic virtue, political languages, cyclical decay, vigilance
Oxford Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us .
