Open Research Online The Open University’s repository of research publications and other research outputs Developments in the Political Thought of Theobald Wolfe Tone Thesis How to cite: Lucas, Katherine (2020). Developments in the Political Thought of Theobald Wolfe Tone. PhD thesis The Open University. For guidance on citations see FAQs. c 2019 The Author Version: Version of Record Link(s) to article on publisher’s website: http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21954/ou.ro.000116fd Copyright and Moral Rights for the articles on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. For more information on Open Research Online’s data policy on reuse of materials please consult the policies page. oro.open.ac.uk Developments in the Political Thought of Theobald Wolfe Tone Katherine Lucas School of History, The Open University A dissertation submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History October 2019 Table of Contents Declaration of Originality and Word Count 1 Dissertation Summary 2 Acknowledgements 3 Textual Conventions & Abbreviations 4 Introductory chapter 6 Chapter 1: Wolfe Tone, Britain and Parliamentary Reform 35 Chapter 2: Tone on Citizenship and the Nation 75 Chapter 3: Tone and American Political Thought 106 Chapter 4: Tone and France 131 Chapter 5: Tone’s final years (1796-98) 166 Conclusion 198 Appendix A: Collection of written works by Theobald Wolfe Tone 210 Works Cited 212 Declaration of Originality and Word Count I declare that this thesis is the result of my own work. I further declare that no part of this dissertation has already been or is being concurrently submitted for any other degree, diploma, or other qualification here or at any other University. I attest that the word count of this dissertation does not exceed the 100,000-limit set out by the guidelines of the Open University’s History Department. _____________________________ Katherine Lucas _____________________ Date Word Count: 96, 919 1 Dissertation Summary Theobald Wolfe Tone continues to occupy a hugely significant place in Irish history as the widely recognised founder of the modern republican movement. Yet his political ideas have largely been dismissed as inconsistent and ill-formed, insofar as they have been properly assessed at all. The aim of this thesis is to provide new insights into Tone’s ideas through textual analysis of his written works, both in published and in manuscript form. It begins by contextualising Tone’s early life, including his time studying in London, considering his early pamphlets and essays. Chapter Two argues that his understanding of Irish identity was based not on early romantic ideas about nations, but a more archetypal republican interpretation of citizen-state relations. Chapter Three offers the first full analysis of his engagement with Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic-Republicanism during his spell in the new American republic, while also addressing similarities between his arguments and those of the American colonists against the British government. Chapter Four then addresses one of the most common historiographical arguments, that Tone was a child of the French Revolution and radical Enlightenment. It argues that many of the ideas he ostensibly took from his time in France in fact corresponded closely with wider republican ideas about political virtue. Finally, Chapter Five tackles his relationship with the 1798 rebellion against British rule, the main reason for his enduring legacy. It details which elements of the rebellion strayed from his original intentions, such as its descent into violence. This thesis provides the most in-depth analysis to date of Tone’s political thought and argues that classical republicanism was one of the most significant influences on his political philosophy. 2 Acknowledgements The work undertaken in this thesis could not have been completed without funding and support from the Consortium of the Humanities and the Arts South-east England (CHASE) and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). I am also grateful for the assistance of the archives I have visited, particularly the manuscript department at Trinity College Dublin which was invaluable in my research. I owe a particular debt to my supervisors at the Open University, Dr Anna Plassart and Dr Suzanne Forbes for their advice, reading, and encouragement. Thanks also to the rest of the Department of History, and my fellow students who have been a big support; finally, to my family and friends who have persevered with me throughout. 3 Textual Conventions and AbBreviations Texts In my use of primary sources, I have used a combination of manuscript sources and published copies. The latter is especially regarding Tone’s pamphlets, such as An Argument on Behalf of the Catholics of Ireland, and Spanish War! An Enquiry How far Ireland is Bound, of Right, to Embark in the Impending Contest on the Side of Great Britain. Any differences between these versions are acknowledged in the dissertation. Where an original edition has not been accessible, I have used more recent editions. In these cases, I have provided the text’s original date of publication in brackets in the relevant footnote and in the bibliography. I have used the authoritative translations for most non- English language texts, such as those provided by Moody, McDowell and Woods for French-language manuscripts. Conventions I have retained the original spelling of texts, including errors, written by Tone. This is indicated with the use of [sic]. The date of publication has been provided in brackets upon the first mention. In later uses, the date has sometimes been reiterated for clarity. Referencing Chicago referencing has been used throughout the dissertation. Page numbers refer to the particular edition used. In the case of Tone’s Life collection, of which there are several versions, the original put together by his son William has mainly been used, except in cases where quotations were removed by the author and can only be found in later, unabridged versions. Attention is drawn to such exceptions when relevant in the text. Abbreviations Below are the abbreviations I have adopted throughout the dissertation for referencing certain primary texts: Edmund Burke: Reflections – Reflections on the Revolution in France 4 Thomas Paine: Rights of Man - The Rights of Man: Being an Answer to Mr Burke's Attack on the French Revolution Wolfe Tone: Argument – An Argument on Behalf of the Catholics of Ireland Review – A Review of the Conduct of Administration during the Seventh Session of Parliament- Addressed to the Constitutional Electors and Free People of Ireland, on the Approaching Dissolution Spanish War! - Spanish War! An Enquiry How far Ireland is Bound, of Right, to Embark in the Impending Contest on the Side of Great Britain 5 Introduction In the last two centuries, Theobald Wolfe Tone, a founder member of the Society of United Irishmen, has become a symbol of Irish national resistance to British rule. The United Irishmen began as a small radical circle who agitated for parliamentary reform, before gradually moving towards seeking full political independence from Britain. The culmination of these efforts, the 1798 rebellion, has been viewed as a starting point for modern republicanism – in the sense of physical-force nationalist separatism – in Ireland. Tone’s status as a national hero derives from the idea that he was, as Thomas Bartlett puts it, the “first Irish separatist”, or in the words of Marianne Elliott in her ground-breaking biography of Tone, a “prophet of independence”.1 Consequently, his life has been well-documented by historians, thanks largely to the plethora of pamphlets, memoirs, and letters he left behind. The manuscripts of his personal writings, together with copies of his published works, were kept by his wife Matilda (1769-1849) and later passed onto their son, William (1791-1828), who compiled them in an edited collection entitled The Life of Theobald Wolfe Tone in 1826.2 While previous scholars have tended to tackle his life biographically, such a wealth of resources also allows for a more comprehensive discussion of Tone’s ideas than has yet been attempted. Born in Dublin on 20 June 1763, Tone’s family were part of the middling, land owning, ranks of Irish society, without significant political influence. Educated at Trinity College Dublin and Middle Temple, London, like many contemporaries of his background he became involved in writing political pamphlets towards the end of his formal education. Back in Dublin by the end of 1788, he began to support growing parliamentary opposition to the Irish government’s willingness to facilitate British influence in Ireland. This was evident in his writings and attendance in the gallery in the House of Commons. After becoming frustrated with what he perceived as a lack of tangible progress in the area of parliamentary reform, Tone later played a key role in founding the United Irishmen in 1791 and campaigned initially for increased legislative independence for the Dublin parliament, before turning his attention to Catholic rights. By the mid-1790s, he had become convinced of the merits of total separation of the Kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain. Upon his return to Ireland at 1 Thomas Bartlett, “The Burden of the Present: Theobald Wolfe Tone, Republican and Separatist,” in The United Irishmen: Republicanism, Radicalism and Rebellion, ed. David Dickson, Daire Keogh, and Kevin Whelan (Lilliput, 1993), 13; Marianne Elliott, Wolfe Tone: Prophet of Irish Independence,