USS Jamestown Helps Ireland (1847)

This Day in Esoteric Political History

Jody Avirgan & Radiotopia

History

4.6 • 982 Ratings

🗓️ 2 May 2023

⏱️ 14 minutes

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Summary

It’s May 2nd. In 1847, a US military ship, the USS Jamestown, was loaded up with food and other relief to sail to Ireland and help with the famine in that country.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how disparate communities in the US rallied around the cause, and how the Jamestown represented one of the first moments of international camaraderie for a new country.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to this day in esoteric political history from Radiotopia.
0:07.0	My name is Jody Avergan.
0:11.0	This day 1847, the U Jamestown arrives in Ireland.
0:16.8	The Jamestown was an American sailing ship, a sloop of war, a key part of the U.S. Navy, but in this moment it was sailing to Ireland as an aid ship.
0:26.6	It was full of food and supplies to help the people of Ireland who were suffering greatly
0:31.1	during the potato famine of the era.
0:33.4	One person wrote about it at the time in this way.
0:36.2	They said, quote, a ship of war changed into an angel of mercy, departing on no errand of death, but with the bread of life to an unfortunate and
0:44.7	perishing people.
0:46.5	Many years later, the Boston Globe would put this mission into bigger context, saying,
0:50.7	never before had the people of one nation offered assistance to those of another on such a grand scale
0:56.2	a gesture that would serve as a model for America's future humanitarian efforts.
1:01.5	So let's talk about the Jamestown's voyage to Ireland, how the effort helped Ireland and
1:06.5	also united many factions over there and over here in the United States in this humanitarian
1:11.2	effort.
1:12.2	So here, as always are Nicole Hammer of Vanderbilt and
1:14.8	Kelly Carter Jackson of Welsley. Hello there. Hi Jody. Hey there.
1:18.4	What's on this ship? Food? What do we know?
1:23.0	Lots and lots of food for lots and lots of hungry people.
1:27.0	Lots of food.
1:29.0	Aid, everything you can possibly imagine.
1:31.0	Bread, everything you we need to restore to
	...

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