President Joe Biden has proudly described himself as Irish a number of times, causing the ire of some Anglophiles in the U.S. and U.K. In response to his current visit to Ireland, members of the Democratic Unionist Party have gone as far to say that Biden has been consistently “anti-British” and is seeking the end to the Union by supporting Irish Republicanism. I believe this claim is based on some key misunderstandings of American identity relating to nationality.
It’s a unique part of American culture to have a sense of dual nationality, particularly when relating to Europe. It’s common to hear people describe themselves as Irish, Italian, or Polish, even though most people who identify as such have probably never been to the country they claim nationality. Claiming to be of a European nationality is related to ancestry above most else. However, this ancestry can go quite far back: anywhere from second-generation immigrants to anyone whose family immigrated to the British American colonies. Biden himself is a 4th generation Irish-American on his mother’s side, while his father is of English ancestry. But why, then, does Biden consider himself Irish rather than just American or English-American?
Being Irish-American has some unique connotations in regard to American nationality. Irish immigrants are largely thought of as America’s first and oldest major immigrant group. The historical narrative for most Irish-Americans is that they came over to the Americans as indentured servants before American Independence and again during the 1840s Potato Famine. While not everyone in America of Irish descent fits this narrative, the general cultural implications of the Irish being an “other” still existed in American society. Irish-Americans encountered discrimination, anti-Catholicism, and nativism throughout U.S. history, at some points even being targeted by the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). These same reasons for persecution were also applied to groups like Italians and Polish immigrants in the 1920s, hence why they are also a particularly prominent American subculture.
Identification based on “otherness” is also why you probably won’t find many people identifying as English-American. Because English was the “titular nationality” of the American colonies, the dominant ethnic group in social and political senses, there was and is little need to distinguish themselves as a unique culture or shared experience since they were comparatively more mobile in society. The systemic barriers based on religion, accent, or what your last name was, caused an “Irish-American” subculture to develop. Comparatively, an “English-American” subculture never developed because it never encountered the same barriers. So, does President Biden use his position and narrative as an Irish-American to get back at the British for historic persecution? Probably not.
I think Biden is probably very indifferent towards the U.K. and views the country as politically irrelevant. There is a sense of pride Biden has towards Ireland that may amplify his lack of interest in the U.K., but this is not an unprecedented view presidents hold. While the U.S. and the U.K. have been described as having a “special relationship” since World War II when it comes to diplomacy, this legacy largely has been massively embellished and is mostly based on an image of political leaders over policy.
Despite wants for a free trade agreement with the U.S. following Brexit, President Obama was lukewarm towards the idea and not on strong terms with Prime Minister David Cameron. Similarly, President Trump never prioritized any major free trade agreement but had better relations with PM Boris Johnson. While the politics were largely unchanging, the image of the presidents’ personal relationships towards the U.K. differed drastically. It’s this micro-diplomacy that has caused DUP to claim Biden is anti-British. The whole hoorah is just a whole bunch of hoopla.
U.S. policies towards the U.K. probably won’t change too much, and Biden’s pride in having Irish heritage will also not change. This behaviour is primarily based on ancestral that is normal for most Americans to have. At the end of the day, it’s a quirky American cultural value that has been taken too far out of context and will probably just impact political images while not straying into actual policy decisions.
Image: “Joe Biden” by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
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Does Biden actually hate the UK?
President Joe Biden has proudly described himself as Irish a number of times, causing the ire of some Anglophiles in the U.S. and U.K. In response to his current visit to Ireland, members of the Democratic Unionist Party have gone as far to say that Biden has been consistently “anti-British” and is seeking the end to the Union by supporting Irish Republicanism. I believe this claim is based on some key misunderstandings of American identity relating to nationality.
It’s a unique part of American culture to have a sense of dual nationality, particularly when relating to Europe. It’s common to hear people describe themselves as Irish, Italian, or Polish, even though most people who identify as such have probably never been to the country they claim nationality. Claiming to be of a European nationality is related to ancestry above most else. However, this ancestry can go quite far back: anywhere from second-generation immigrants to anyone whose family immigrated to the British American colonies. Biden himself is a 4th generation Irish-American on his mother’s side, while his father is of English ancestry. But why, then, does Biden consider himself Irish rather than just American or English-American?
Being Irish-American has some unique connotations in regard to American nationality. Irish immigrants are largely thought of as America’s first and oldest major immigrant group. The historical narrative for most Irish-Americans is that they came over to the Americans as indentured servants before American Independence and again during the 1840s Potato Famine. While not everyone in America of Irish descent fits this narrative, the general cultural implications of the Irish being an “other” still existed in American society. Irish-Americans encountered discrimination, anti-Catholicism, and nativism throughout U.S. history, at some points even being targeted by the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). These same reasons for persecution were also applied to groups like Italians and Polish immigrants in the 1920s, hence why they are also a particularly prominent American subculture.
Identification based on “otherness” is also why you probably won’t find many people identifying as English-American. Because English was the “titular nationality” of the American colonies, the dominant ethnic group in social and political senses, there was and is little need to distinguish themselves as a unique culture or shared experience since they were comparatively more mobile in society. The systemic barriers based on religion, accent, or what your last name was, caused an “Irish-American” subculture to develop. Comparatively, an “English-American” subculture never developed because it never encountered the same barriers. So, does President Biden use his position and narrative as an Irish-American to get back at the British for historic persecution? Probably not.
I think Biden is probably very indifferent towards the U.K. and views the country as politically irrelevant. There is a sense of pride Biden has towards Ireland that may amplify his lack of interest in the U.K., but this is not an unprecedented view presidents hold. While the U.S. and the U.K. have been described as having a “special relationship” since World War II when it comes to diplomacy, this legacy largely has been massively embellished and is mostly based on an image of political leaders over policy.
Despite wants for a free trade agreement with the U.S. following Brexit, President Obama was lukewarm towards the idea and not on strong terms with Prime Minister David Cameron. Similarly, President Trump never prioritized any major free trade agreement but had better relations with PM Boris Johnson. While the politics were largely unchanging, the image of the presidents’ personal relationships towards the U.K. differed drastically. It’s this micro-diplomacy that has caused DUP to claim Biden is anti-British. The whole hoorah is just a whole bunch of hoopla.
U.S. policies towards the U.K. probably won’t change too much, and Biden’s pride in having Irish heritage will also not change. This behaviour is primarily based on ancestral that is normal for most Americans to have. At the end of the day, it’s a quirky American cultural value that has been taken too far out of context and will probably just impact political images while not straying into actual policy decisions.
Image: “Joe Biden” by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
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