We further stated, the organization will be constructed on a broad and liberal plan. It will be non-political, and no religious test will be required for admission to membership or the holding of office. Being an American organization in spirit and principle, the Society will welcome to its ranks Americans of whatever race descent who evince an interest in the special line of research for which the Society is organized.
Established on this broad and liberal basis, the accessions to its roll of membership have been most encouraging, as we have now more than one thousand members, representatives in the truest sense of the intelligence and character of the descendants of the Irish race in America, coming from all parts of this great country, a country which their forefathers, among the early colonists, took an active part in reclaiming from the wilderness and upbuilding into this great republic of the United States, of which we are no insignificant factor. A distinguished man, who wrote nearly a century ago, said that all history was a series of lies, which a few men agreed to consider facts. We all agree that much of the history that has been written in the past has been written by men who have preferred to see things through their prejudices rather than their eyes, and no people have suffered more from the ignorance and prejudice of writers—particularly English writers—than the Irish people.
Unfortunately, many New England writers inherited the prejudices of their English ancestors, and have either deliberately slurred the contributions of the Irish in our history, or have failed to record them. A discriminating and critical public demands that the searchlight shall be thrown upon the dark spots. We are now, in this scientific age, rewriting much of our history and revising our judgment of men. We cordially welcome this new era, confident that when all the facts are carefully scrutinized and critically examined, the Irish in the United States have nothing to fear, but, on the contrary, will gain immeasurably in the minds of all intelligent and impartial men.
In the first volume of the Journal of this Society, papers will be found treating of the early history of the Irish settlers in New England, by Messrs. Murray, Linehan, Smith, Brandon and Sheahan, members of our Society, thus preserving in permanent form facts useful to the future historian. The New England historian has never been noted for modesty in claiming a full share of the glory of our country for New Englanders, or, as he is prone to write it, descendants of the “Anglo-Saxon” race.
While honoring, as they deserve to be honored, the men of Boston and Massachusetts who initiated the War of the Revolution, we are not unmindful of what others have done to make our independence possible, and to establish this form of government of ours, founded upon the doctrine—not of the divine right of kings or of any other ruler, no matter what he may call himself—to rule people, but the divine right of the people to rule themselves, and lest we forget, in our hour of conquest, let us recall again the doctrine of the founders of this government: that all government ought to rest on the consent of the governed. In establishing this government, the Irish element was a very important factor. In the British House of Commons’ Report, fifth session, fourteenth Parliament, Vol. xiii, page 303, we find the report of an investigation of the causes of defeat in the war with the colonies—the investigation was held in 1779—Major-General Robertson, who had served twenty-four years in America, was asked: “How are the provincial corps composed, mostly from native Americans, or from emigrants from various nations of Europe?” He answered: “Some of the corps mostly of natives, others, I believe the greatest number, are enlisted from such people as can be got in the country, and many of them may be emigrants. I remember General Lee telling me that he believed half the rebel army were from Ireland.”
In Vol. xiii, British Commons’ Reports, page 431, Joseph Galloway, a native of Pennsylvania, speaker of the assembly of the colony for twelve years, and a delegate to the First Continental Congress, who became a violent Tory in 1773, was examined for several days by members of the House of Commons. Among the questions asked was: “That part of the rebel army that enlisted in the service of congress, were they chiefly composed of natives of America, or were the greater part of them English, Scotch, or Irish?” Galloway answered: “The names and places of their nativity being taken down, I can answer the question with precision. There were scarcely one fourth natives of America, one half Irish, the other fourth English and Scotch.”
The Irish contributed their full share in the War of 1812, in the war with Mexico, and in the war that kept the Union whole. All facts relating to the part borne by them should be carefully collected. In the late war with Spain we have a large field for investigation. From the state of Massachusetts, one fifth of her quota of soldiers were unmistakably of Irish ancestry; the Ninth regiment, Massachusetts volunteers, went into the field as an Irish-American regiment; of the four other regiments, and the large number of sailors, an impartial investigation would show a surprisingly large number of men of Irish ancestry, and what is true of Massachusetts is true of every state in the Union.
Gentlemen, while we are proud of our origin and our ancestry, we do not forget that, above all, we are Americans, that we earnestly desire that all the different elements that go to make up this nation shall be blended together.
This American republic is a mighty crucible into which are thrown many elements. We have been, and shall be, tested by severe fires; we must separate the dross and the alloy, and the refined product will come forth purified by the severest tests. In our process of amalgamation, we shall eliminate from the different nationalities and races what is gross and bad, avoiding the vices and emulating the good traits and virtues, evolving, as the product of our American civilization, the highest type of manhood or womanhood to be found on the habitable globe.
