Speech of Robert Emmet, Esq.

Emmet, Robert · n.d.

Colored lithographic print commemorating the death of Robert Emmet, Irish Republican orator for leading an 1803 uprising in Dublin. The print was produced in Phiadelphia around the time of the American Civil War and would have appealed to the large Irish immigrant population who has previously been targeted by Nativists, but who were also forming military units in the Union Army. The Goddess of Liberty stands on a tomb holding the hearts of murdered patriots in her hand. To the right is the Figure of Death attacking Lord Norbury, the judge who sentenced Emmet for High Treason. The Scales of Justice lie broken by his side. To the left of the tomb is a representation of the Maid of Erin or Hibernia weeping over murdered Innocence (two children). Beneath the image is the text of Robert Emmet's speech delivered at his trial. He was hung for his part in the rebellian, September 20, 1804.