The Importance Of Migration To The New World

Through the span of multiple centuries, a large number of individuals left their homes and all that they knew to bet with their odds of another life in the New World. Many people considered the United States a “land of opportunities,” giving them hope into finding a better life that was more suitable for them. As a result, millions of immigrants came to America trying to start over their life, or even better, begin their life. America gave people the opportunity to live on more land, have a more abundant amount of food, and search for better education for their children. Of the millions of immigrants who migrated to the United States over the course of years, my great grandmother, age sixteen at the time, Esther Flynn, embarked on a journey in 1926 across the Atlantic Ocean from Ireland, in hope of finding “a new life.”
My grandmother spent most of her

In the early 20th century, Ireland faced major economic problems. As agricultural exports dropped, a large amount of Irishmen fled the country, heading towards America for the same reasons my great grandmother did. In the 1920s, over 60% of Irish urban population lived in inadequate overcrowded housing, making it more difficult for families to survive. Facing little opportunity on the farms and horrible weather in the cities, the Irish continued their mass expedition to other lands of opportunity. It was called the American wake, because so often those left behind would be saying their final goodbyes.
Without my great grandmother’s courage and ability to live her life on her own, I wouldn’t be here today. Her amazing journey to America gave me a better perspective of how people used to live back then. I was only two months old when she passed away, so I don’t remember her, but from all of the stories I have heard about her I wish she could’ve lived