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Immigrant experience in the united states
Irish immigration in the 1920s
Introduction paragraph on irish immigration prior to 1860
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This report will be about the Irish in America that was discussed in the documentary and Text book. This will discuss the reasoning behind there mass exodus from Ireland. It will also discuss their trial along with their desire to succeed. In Ireland in 1845 there was a famine that crossed the whole country, which caused a mass exodus of Irish immigrants. Most of these people had never been more that fifteen miles from home. Over the next decade approxitmely 1,500,000 Irish men and woman left Ireland. These immigrants dispersed themselves throughout the world with most landing in America. Taking very little with them besides the clothing on their backs, they included their songs, stories and religion. Most parents would even leave their …show more content…
For those that made the journey, would be scared, starving and no money once they arrived in America. The Irish landed in America all along the Eastern sea board, they are considered the first refugee population in America.
Once they arrived they would migrate to where other Irish would be staying, to give themselves some familiarity. Living in what was called a Shanty, a home or building that would be divided up into multiple homes. Once divided the Shanty’s would house five to six times the amount of people they were originally designed for.
Once in America they would attempt to gather any job they could require, most becoming ditch diggers. The Irish worker was cheap labor, average pay of eight cents a day compared to the American worker average of a dollar twenty five a day. Slave owners would even hire the Irish to dangerous jobs, because they felt they were less valuable than the slaves they owned.
Because of this diversity in pay, free blacks even made more money than the Irish. By 1850 there was a war brewing between the Irish and the Blacks of America. The Irish gangs would go out, stone or beat the blacks, attempting to run them off from the jobs that where
Immigration to America from Europe was at an all time high in the mid-1800s. After the potato famine in Ireland in the 1840s, a large group of Irish immigrated to the United States. Since then, increasing numbers of Irish people have been moving to the United States, especially in Chicago. The Irish had come to realize that the United States really is the land of opportunity. With jobs being available to the immigrants, many more shipped in to start new lives for their families. However, for quite a while they did not live in the nicest of areas in Chicago. Many of the Irish resided in low-class areas such as overcrowded parts around the Loop, and out in the West Side. Not only did the West Side shelter the Irish, but many Germans and Jews lived in that area.
Starting in the 1830s, many immigrants came flooding into the United States of America due to hard times, famines, and economic opportunities. Everyday, thousands of underprivileged citizens would take on the task of being an American. To begin, many immigrants were Irish due to the Irish Famine in the late 1840s (Doc 2). According to Catherine Moran McNamara, “The Irish lived under awful stress. I’ve seen the family thrown out (Doc 2).” Meanwhile during the Irish Famine, many potato crops died, leaving families without a source of food or income(OI). However, the Irish were not the only culture going through tough times. In Greece, the pay was unbearable with only five dollars a day(Doc 3). Also, George Kokkas explains that Greece lacked education for the youth. He stated that “I was concerned for the education of my kids.
The Irish Travelers began arriving in the United States during the Great Famine in Ireland in the mid 19th century. It is believed they are descendants of landowners and laborers who were displaced by Oliver Cromwell’s military campaign in Ireland in the 1600’s. As they maintain no written records of their history, their true heritage is still of some debate. Arriving in this country they were known as the Irish Horse Traders for their dealings in the horse trading industry. It has been suggested that as far back as their arrival they were engaging in schemes to defraud potential customers.
Blacks were driven out of skilled trades and were excluded from many factories. Racist’s whites used high rents and there was enormous pressure to exclude blacks from areas inhabited by whites.... ... middle of paper ... ...
The Irish were refugees from disaster, fleeing the Irish potato famine. They filled many low-wage unskilled jobs in America. German immigrants included a considerably larger number of skilled craftsmen as compared to Irish immigrants. Many Germans established themselves in the West, including Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Milwaukee or the "German Triangle." The heterogeneity that had been a distinctive characteristic of American society since colonial times became more pronounced as some five million immigrants poured into the nation between 1830 and 1860. The Irish and Germans were numerically the two major immigrant groups during this period. These immigrants often faced the prejudice in American society. They were blamed for urban crime, political corruption, alcohol abuses, and undercutting wages. The growth of immigration caused the rise of nativism. The influx of Irish during the 1840s and 1850s led to violent anti-immigrant backlash in New York City and Philadelphia. Those who feared the impact of immigration on American political and social life were called "nativists."
The first thing that we will look at is the Irish demographics. The Irish population had fluctuated tremendously over the years. When looking at where they came from, the highest group seems to have been coming from Dublin and Nothern Ireland, along with Kerry County, Ireland as well. Previous to the the 1840's, there were two other waves of Irish immigration in the US. According to the Colombia Guide to Irish American History, the first of the Irish immigrants came in the 1500's due to Sir Walter Raleigh's expedition and the population has continued to grow even since. The third wave began in the 1840's. From census data from US during the Gilded Age, in the 1860's the total number of Irish born immigrants were 22,926. Throughout this time, until around 1910, that number decreased. The number of I...
The Irish American Scholar Program will significantly enhance my educational goals for school as well as my life experiences. The unique opportunity this program offers coincides with a family value of expanding one’s knowledge beyond the small bubble of the everyday and exploring the world. The value of embracing new opportunities started with my grandfather when he broke away from the norm of his family and expanded his boundaries. His family, traditionally, lived and moved together, but when his family moved to Michigan, my grandfather decided to remain in Arkansas and join the Air Force, allowing him to travel not only in the United States but abroad to England. Similarly, my father decided to go to college several hours away from his family at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. This decision led him to a career with the government where he was able to experience several different cultures in the workplace and abroad. Being surrounded by inspirational family members has inspired me to pursue my own unique experience.
...for the Irish Catholic immigrants as well as the others, “the old-stock drive for conformity and community represented attacks on their culture, religion and ethnicity. Repeatedly their stake in American society, their right to be American citizens, was denied” (Dumenil, 248). I agree that it was their right to become American citizens. Discriminating against Irish Catholic immigrants was unjust, especially for the reason that there is no rational or justifiable way to discriminate against which people are allowed to immigrate and which are not.
The life of Irish immigrants in Boston was one of poverty and discrimination. The religiously centered culture of the Irish has along with their importance on family has allowed the Irish to prosper and persevere through times of injustice. Boston's Irish immigrant population amounted to a tenth of its population. Many after arriving could not find suitable jobs and ended up living where earlier generations had resided. This attributed to the 'invisibility' of the Irish.
Migration to America first started in the 1800’s with large numbers in Irish, Italian and Jewish cultures. Before coming to America many of the immigrant children did not have much of an education and families did not see education as being as important as learning a trade or finding a husband. Jewish families sent boys for religious education, however were not as worried about sending the girls. For Italian girls education was an option, however the poor needed the kids to stay home and work. Most Italian families could not afford to send their child to school. Irish girls were sent to school if the family could pay. Many children did attend, however the great famine forced many families to the point of starvation and funding was not available for the children. Eventually many families in Ireland were forced to leave Ireland and many sought salvation in America.
Throughout the history of this nation there are thousands of upon thousands of immigrants coming to this country and achieving the American dream. The Irish immigrated to the United States in 1840 – 1850s in big numbers driven by hunger and by the oppression of the British. Many of them became successful politicians, police officers and businessmen. One of the brightest examples in the history of Irish immigration success is Henry Ford. His grandfather immigrated in the 1840s escaping the potato famine. Henry Ford himself was born in a poor family in Dearborn, Michigan went on to become the most successful car builder in the country (Hennigan). Between 1880 and 1920 the first wave of Italians mainly from South Italy immigrated in the United States (Hendin 13). Many escaped from the poor countryside in Southern Italy to seek better life in America. Shining ex...
Irish American Magazine, Aug.-Sept. 2009. Web. The Web. The Web. 06 May 2014.
Until the 1860s, the early immigrants not only wanted to come to America, but they also meticulously planned to come. These immigrants known as the “Old Immigrants” immigrated to America from many countries in Northern and Western Europe, known as, Sweden, Norway, Scandinavia, Wales and Ireland. Some of them traveled to Canada, but most of them came to the U.S. seeking freedom they didn’t get in their own countries. Ireland had also recently suffered through a potato famine, where the citizens were left poor and starving. Most settled in New York City and other large cities, where they worked in factories and other low-paying jobs. The immigrants caused a great increase in population in these areas. The “Old Immigrants” tried not to cluster themselves with others of their own nationality. They would mostly try to fit in with Americans as best as they could. Many of them had a plan to come to America, so they saved their money and resources before they arrived so they could have a chance at a better life. On the other hand, another group of immigrants began to arrive
McCann et al. Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies, 1994, 95-109).
The figures for emigration in Irish is alarming and dramatic and can often be taken for granted. By 1890 there were 3 million Irish people obtaining residences outside of Ireland. In the time frame in which Annie emigrated, she was among 4 million other Irish natives who went overseas to seek. The mass exodus and the staggering emigration levels along with the infrequent and late marriages produced a drastic decline in the Irish