Theodore Roosevelt was elected to his third term in November of 1940. In order to accomplish this feat he had to secure the Irish vote in the United States, which was largely Democratic. This became a bit complicated because of Roosevelt’s desire to follow Great Britain into war. Many Irishmen in the United States wanted not only a neutral America; they also resisted and infringement upon Irish neutrality; which could be put in jeopardy following American and British action.(Nowlan)

Though Southern Ireland maintained their neutrality throughout World War II the North openly assisted the American and British cause. In December 1941 American troops entered Northern Ireland, this was after about a year of American engineers constructing some Naval and military bases. In January 1942 Northern Ire

The American, once they were in the war, wanted everyone flying the same flag. America applied more pressure on Ireland to join the war. In fact in 1941 Frank Aiken the Minister for co-ordination of defense appealed to Roosevelt for arms, ships and food. It was until 1942 that the war hit Ireland, and it was mostly an economic affect. Britain and the United States agreed on this type of pressure though, they did not push too far. America was obviously unsympathetic to de Valera’s policy of neutrality and did not give Ireland economic relief from their troubles. Roosevelt could never pressure Ireland too much though. He was held in check by his relative David Gray, who was the American Minister to Dublin, the Irish Democrats and the Irish hierarchy in the United States.(Nowlan)

When America entered the war, Churchill sent a personal telegram to de Valera where he said “it was now or never for Orange and Green to unite”. His purpose was not only to get Ireland into the war but to achieve a basis for Irish Unification as well. This would make his plan for Home Rule and Ireland being within he United Kingdom come to life. Churchill attempted to set up a meeting with de Valera but Churchill was turned down.(Nowlan)

Pivotal in shaping and executing Clinton's Northern Ireland policy was Jean Kennedy Smith, who was nominated by Clinton as American Ambassador to Ireland on St. Patrick's Day 1993. Criticized for being too 'pro-Green,' Smith set out to prove otherwise. During a 1993 visit to Dublin, she arranged to meet with a representative group of Northern Protestants and devoted much time to formulating this relationship in subsequent months. By setting up bipartisan contacts and ties to both sides, a third party--in the form of American mediators, was able to ease the standoff. Before Clinton's presidency, little progress had been made between the two factions, as neither was willing to stand audience to the other. It was only through the use of outside semi-neutral parties that concessions and agreements seemed possible. (McGarry)

The IRA renewed its cease-fire in July, and the British government dropped its demands that the IRA completely disarm before allowing Sinn Fein to participate in the talks. Sinn Fein then joined the negotiations, but progress was limited. The talks were chaired by former United States senator George Mitchell, who set April 9, 1998, as the deadline for an agreement. Although many feared the process would fall apart once again, Mitchell kept the talks on track. (McGarry)

In May 1997 Sinn Fein had its best showing ever in British elections. Both Sinn Fein party leader Gerry Adams and his deputy, Martin McGuinness, were elected to represent Northern Ireland in the British Parliament. Their quest for office was primarily a symbolic one; both men declined to take their seats as they refused to take an oath of allegiance to the British queen. Across the United Kingdom, voters gave a landslide victory to Tony Blair and the Labour Party, bringing a new government to power in London and revitalizing the peace negotiations. After taking office, Blair declared the talks a top priority, and in June he announced that new negotiations would begin in September 1997. (McGarry)

In 1981 a group of representatives and senators who shared the O’Neil philosophy became the “Friends and Ireland”. They had significant influence over London on Irish matters. They sent a telegram to Margaret Thatcher during the hunger strikes urging her to change the policy towards Ireland. They heavily criticized Thatcher and her inflexibility with Ireland. (Coogan)

Some topics in this essay:
Sinn Fein, Northern Ireland, American British, Patrick's Day, Gerry Adams, Northern Protestants, De Valera, , George Mitchell, United Kingdom, northern ireland, sinn fein, tip o’neil, st patrick's day, patrick's day, john hume, american british, st patrick's, gerry adams, foreign policy, american politicians, coup clinton shaking, giving powerful propaganda, powerful propaganda coup, propaganda coup clinton,