The Easter Rising

A detailed Summary of The Easter Rising

I chose to read a book that was not on the list, but is a topic of interest for me in European History. The book called The Easter Rising: Revolution and Irish Nationalism by Alan J. Ward is an account of the Easter Rising of 1916 in what is now the Republic of Ireland. To read the book took just over a period of three hours.

One of many questions that came to my mind is why does violent, forceful revolution often take precedence over the diplomatic, peaceful route to resolve a conflict in a nation? From my reading of the Irish people's attempt to free their nation from the rule of England, I have come to a few conclusions.

The book provides the various perspectives of the parties involved the events that led up to and followed the Easter Rising of 1916. It seems that when a nation's cultural identity comes under threat of dilution or effacing the nation responds passionately. From this passion stems various ideas on just how to tackle this problem. On the one hand, a group will feel that continued political not physical pressure will solve the conflict. However, on the other hand a fanatical group who demands retribution or compensation immediately and by any

means necessary. In the case of the Irish in the events leading up to the Easter Rising, there were three movements, a "constitutional nationalist", "revolutionary nationalist" and a "romantic or idealistic nationalist" group. Alan J. Ward states that had the three groups worked together as a unit they would have not only accomplished their ultimate goal, but bypassed the martyrdom and bloodshed still occurring today. The question still stands though, why did the people favor going to war and revolution than trying to find some peaceful alternative.

The same could be said for the American Revolution in which the cooler heads did not prevail. The war lasted nearly a decade, which is more than enough time to make at least strong leaps towards freedom. During the revolution, you also had the factioning of the people in to different movements. Those who felt everything was fine as it was, others wanted a political way to freedom, and others still felt that war was the only way to freedom. My answer to this question is that there is always a peaceful way to either get out of or solve a problem. The trouble comes when that peaceful solution looks like it there isn't a peaceful solution and/or that solution will take more time than anyone is willing to spend. The only way to counteract that is to wait and be observant.

Why did the revolutionary and romantic groups take the spotlight away from the constitutional movement? The theory that I deduced from the reading and my general knowledge is that so often the violen

Some common words found in the essay are:
Alan Ward, American Revolution, Easter Rising, Republic Ireland, Western Civilization, Irish Nationalism, easter rising, European History, easter rising revolution, Revolution Irish, Rising Revolution, rising revolution irish, violent route, alan ward, peaceful alternative, american revolution, rising 1916, revolution irish nationalism, read book, easter rising 1916, falls victim, revolution irish, rising revolution,

Approximate Word count = 1032
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English