Petticoat Revolutionaries: Gender, Ethnic Nationalism, and the Irish Ladies' Land League in the United States

ELY M. JANIS

THOUSANDS OF IRISH AMERICAN women created and participated in a vibrant Ladies' Land League in the united states in the early 1880s. These women embraced Irish nationalism and, through their activism, asserted a public role in their communities. most historians have neglected the involvement of Irish american women in Irish nationalism in the united states. The few that have mentioned their participation in nationalist movements have largely dismissed their contributions. Instead, historians have focused primarily on their impact as economic contributors, particularly their roles as domestic servants and teachers. A close look at the historical record, however, indicates that large numbers of women were active in Irish nationalism and that their participation provided them with an opportunity to declare their desire for a public voice and inclusion within the male-dominated realm of Irish American nationalist activity and public life.