The Anglo-Irish Treaty was an agreement signed in London on the 6th of December 1921 between the government of the of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and representatives of the Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of Independence. It provided for the establishment of the Irish Free State within a year as a self-governing dominion within the "community of nations known as the British Empire", a status "the same as that of the Dominion of Canada". It also provided Northern Ireland, which had been created by the Government of Ireland Act 1920, an option to opt out of the Irish Free State, which it exercised. The Irish plenipotentiaries were Arthur Griffith, Edmund Duggan, Michael Collins, Robert Barton, and George Gavin Duffy. Éamon de Valera called a cabinet meeting to discuss the treaty on 8 December, where he came out against the treaty. The Dail cabinet decided, by four votes to three, to recommend the treaty to the Dáil on 14 December. The contents of the treaty divided the Irish Republic's leadership, with the President of the Republic, Éamon de Valera, leading the anti-treaty minority. The main dispute was centered on the status as a dominion (as represented by the Oath of Allegiance and Fidelity) rather than as an independent republic, but partition was a significant matter for dissent. The Dáil voted to approve the treaty but the objectors refused to accept it.
All students will receive a PowerPoint presentation for each class.