Kindred Spirits and Sacred Bonds: Irish Catholics, Native Americans, and the Battle Against Anglo-Protestant Imperialism, 1840–1930

Abstract

Between 1840 and 1930, the United States engaged in Westward expansion, displacing Native Americans in the name of imperialism, capitalism, and Anglo-Saxonism. Simultaneously, Anglo colonization in Ireland helped prompt millions of Irish to immigrate to the United States. They became the unwitting foot soldiers for expansion, engaging in bloody assaults on Indigenous North Americans. Despite this, some Irish Catholics and Indigenous peoples found common ground in shared colonial experiences. They expressed political solidarity, used anti-Anglo language, and cooperated to undermine Anglo-Saxonism and promote their own values. Because the British and Anglo-Americans viewed Catholicism as backward and savage, religion was central in linking Indigenous and Irish struggles. The Irish living in the U.S. hoped to create a spiritual empire that weakened Anglo-Protestantism, an effort that gained support from Native Americans. These Irish-Indigenous interactions provide valuable insights into alternatives to Anglo-Protestant hegemony, imperial expansion, and capitalism.