An Irish Policy Born in the U.S.A.: Clinton's Break with the Past

Joseph O'Grady

From Foreign Affairs, May/June 1996

Article preview: first 500 of 2,730 words total.

Summary:  Bill Clinton is the first U.S. president since Andrew Johnson to support the Irish strongly against Great Britain--in this case, over Northern Ireland. Born of competition for Irish-American votes, the policy has some declaring the end of the Anglo-American "special relationship."

Joseph O'Grady is Professor of American history at La Salle University.

Rarely in the history of Anglo-American relations has the White House overtly supported Irish demands against Great Britain on the Irish Question. The one clear instance--until recently--was President Andrew Johnson’s courting of New York City’s Irish-Americans, who were considered a swing vote in the 1866 midterm congressional elections. Battered by a hostile Congress, Johnson attempted to win the votes he desperately needed by allowing the United States to be used as a fundraising center and staging ground for an Irish-American invasion of Canada. His move had the added benefit of pandering to lingering American resentment over Britain’s aid to the Confederacy during the Civil War. The far-fetched invasion scheme, a bid to make Irish independence the ransom for the return of Canada, failed (as did Johnson’s presidency). In its aftermath, U.S.-British differences remaining from the Civil War were resolved by the Washington Treaty of 1871.

In the 130 years between Presidents Johnson and Clinton, the Irish in America were unable to duplicate such influence over the White House. Anglo-Irish clashes were frequent and often violent, but even when anti-British agitation in Ireland was most intense, Irish-Americans could do no more than pressure the U.S. Congress to pass resolutions in support of Irish aspirations and on occasion prevent ratification of Anglo-American agreements. Those congressional successes, however, had no significant impact on the decisions of the executive branch--that is, until Bill Clinton entered the White House.

GETTING THE IRISH VOTE

The Arkansas politician’s involvement in the Irish Question began, like many other Clinton initiatives, during the 1992 presidential primary campaign. In March of that year, President George Bush talked to Irish leaders at the annual Saint Patrick’s Day ceremonies in Washington about the ‘troubles’ in Northern Ireland. However, he only expressed a personal concern for the problems there. He said he was willing to help find a solution but neither he nor the United States could dictate one. Those involved would have to reach an accord among themselves.

Bush’s position had long been the American policy, but by 1992 a new spirit had emerged in the Irish-American community. Both Representative Joseph Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Boston Mayor Ray Flynn condemned Bush for not taking a more active role in the Irish struggle and tried to make his policy an issue in the presidential primaries. While Bush was sidestepping any discussion of direct U.S. involvement in the Irish troubles, Clinton was campaigning for the Connecticut and New York primaries. In the midst of those campaigns, John Dearie, an assemblyman from the Bronx, was organizing a forum sponsored by Irish-Americans at which the Democratic presidential candidates would discuss Irish issues. Clinton, even after the forum was rescheduled to accommodate his schedule, said he would be unable to attend.

Neither Clinton nor his leading opponent, former California governor Jerry Brown, had shown much interest in or knowledge of Irish issues before the Connecticut primary, but its results changed that. Brown narrowly beat Clinton, 37 percent to 36 percent, and carried 40 percent of white Catholic ...

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