Irish History in America

Over the past few centuries, many countries have changed. Not only have countries changed, but the people within each country have changed as well. Some people have had to work harder and have struggled more than other people. During a time of famine and war, Irish immigrants came to America to build a better life, but they were greeted with hostility and hatred, sometimes based on religion, but yet they continued to come and build a life. Irish immigrants in America have had both good and bad events throughout time. However, those struggles did not stop Irish immigrants from coming to America in an attempt to create a better life for themselves and their family.

During the eighteenth century, many people of Irish heritage emigrated from Ireland to America in hopes of receiving the same liberty and tolerance that Americans had. Most of them were Protestant and were viewed as being comfortable financially and were able to smoothly integrate into American society. In fact, by the time of the American Revolution, nearly a quarter of a million Irishmen had immigrated to America. When industrialism took place during the nineteenth century, people abandoned farm work in search of work in the cities. Cities began to grow and finding ways to connect one city to the next became the priority. Irishmen were able to find sufficient work opportunities working in the city or along canals and railroads. Irish communities were starting to form across America, especially on the Easter Seaboard in New England, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York. It seemed as though all was going well for the Protestant Irish who had immigrated. However, it did not work out as well for the Catholic Irish who tried to immigrate to America.

In the 1840s, the Gre...

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...etter and no more inferior than the American people that had residence in America. But due to the hatred and hostility that people already had within them, they were viewed as being inferior. Irish immigrants were a group of people who deserved just as much respect as anyone else. While they did not receive it right from the start, they fought for it and did not stop until they got it. This proved to be a good method as they did receive it and they even started to dominate in some parts of American culture. They created a new identity for themselves and were able to live just like everyone else. Hopefully the beauty of how Irish history changed in America will convince people that change is always possible and to never stop fighting for what it is they truly want to achieve.

Works Cited

http://www.irishamericanjourney.com/2011/09/irish-immigration-to-america.html