Discrimination of Irish Catholic Immigrants During the 1920’s

The Irish face all types of discrimination; for example, environmental justice issues, meaning they were placed in terrible environments, such as the shacks they lived in and the boats they were brought to America on. They faced redlining, meaning they were denied certain job position and were forced to pay a large amount of money for housing. They double jeopardy because they were Irish and catholic, the Americans saw this as two good reasons to treat the Irish poorly. The Irish faced institutional discrimination they were not given the same jobs and or opportunities that the average American was given because the American people felt as though the Irish were a terrible group of people. The Irish were given the worst jobs America had to offer and only because those jobs were the only ones offered to them. They faced class ceiling discrimination because the Irish were unable to move on to better positions at their place of work. The Irish were given the most terrible jobs and even though the American people thought the Irish were good workers they were still unable to move up in

Americans were unsettled by the overwhelming amount of new immigrants. The new immigrants came in such massive quantities that in 1900 immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe made up as much as 70 percent of all immigrants. This is a dramatic increase considering that in midcentury these immigrants only made up 1 percent of the immigrant population. This overhaul of new immigrants led to severe hostility, bias, and nativism. Nativism is the belief that native-born white Americans were superior to newcomers. Competition for jobs and housing had never been higher in the late 19th century. America was in an economic recession and most immigrants were willing to work for much lower wages than natural born citizens which as a result put them out of work and ultimately housing. This however was only one problem, religion was another. American Protestants were suspicious of Catholicism which was the religion of many new immigrants including the Irish, German, Italian, and Polish. The majority of white Protestants would not hire, vote for, or even work with Catholics or Jewish people. In severe cases Americans would even sign contracts agreeing not to

The Irish were considered White in 19th century America, but they were considered inferior to the native born Americans. In Document A. the cartoon showed the Irish being labeled as white, but were equal to blacks. So the Irish and blacks were distinguished as having an equal social status. So they were both victims of racism. Then in Document B. it was said “Things which Roman Catholics priests and all true Roman Catholics hate”. All Irish were Roman Catholics, and in the 19th century all Roman Catholics were white. Showing that once again the Irish were white but were discriminated because of their religion. Their religion was discriminated against because it wasn’t the same as the native born American’s. The native born Americans were Protestants.

The Irish were poor, working class immigrants, who were trying to improve their standard of living; therefore any threats to their jobs, were threats to their survival. The Emancipation Proclamation was the confirmation of their fears. Its enactment was the cap for two years of growing support from abolitionists, which created anxiety among the Democratic proslavery Irish. Subsequent to the Lincoln election in 1860, the conservative Democratic party warned the Irish to prepare for the freeing of southern slaves, and the labor competition they would ultimately have to face when they migrated North. Moreover, the Conscription Act enraged the Irish, forcing all men between the ages of 20 and 35 and all unmarried men between the ages of 35 and 45 to enlist in the draft. Drafted men who presented an “acceptable substitute” or paid $300 were exempt. Black men were exempt because they weren’t considered citizens, which left the Irish fearful of the upcoming influx of cheap black labor. The Conscription Act exacerbated the already substantial tension between the two parties to bloodshed. To a certain degree, the Irish were jealous of the African Americans; African-Americans were considered highly-valued property in the antebellum south, so they were not allowed to participate in dangerous or life-threatening work.

The book, “The Irish Way” by James R. Barrett is a masterpiece written to describe the life of Irish immigrants who went to start new lives in America after conditions at home became un-accommodative. Widespread insecurity, callous English colonizers and the ghost of great famine still lingering on and on in their lives, made this ethnic group be convinced that home was longer a home anymore. They descended in United States of America in large numbers. James R. Barrett in his book notes that these people were the first group of immigrants to settle in America. According to him, there were a number of several ethnic groups that have arrived in America. It was, however, the mass exodus of Irish people during and after the great

The United States saw an influx of Irish immigrants due to the Great Famine (potatoes) in Ireland.

During the 18th century the Irish slowly began their migration to America. Centuries of oppression from Protestant English rule had forced them to live very poor lives under strict rules, in some cases having to renounce their Catholic beliefs and having to abandon their Gaelic

When many think of the times of immigration, they tend to recall the Irish Immigration and with it comes the potato famine of the 1840s' however, they forget that immigrants from the Emerald Isle also poured into America during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The assimilation and immigration of the Irish has been difficult for each group that has passed through the gates of Ellis Island or South Boston. Like every group that came to America, the Irish were looked down upon; yet, in the face of discrimination,

Some of the most important factors were that they had almost no skills for working in agriculture or urban society. This was because many only knew how to grow potatoes and Ireland was not industrialized by that time. Another factor was the fact that many people and companies became anti-Irish. The Irish did not know how to behave in the workplace and many joined unions so they were not reliable. Lastly, they worked in low-class jobs. They had to take the dangerous jobs no one else wanted because they were at the bottom of the social class and getting discriminated against by companies. Today some people are discriminated against because of how they look, speak or even sexual orientation. There are laws against it but it still happens. Some will not get chances to even show themselves because of those factors. Many people today are still racist and homophobic and will not give them the chances they deserve. For all they could know they could be great people. This relates to the Irish immigrants because they were sometimes not even given a chance and had to work very dangerous jobs because of their ethnicity. This caused them to be unsuccessful in American

When many think of the times of immigration, they tend to recall the Irish Immigration and with it comes the potato famine of the 1840s' however, they forget that immigrants from the Emerald Isle also poured into America during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The assimilation and immigration of the Irish has been difficult for each group that has passed through the gates of Ellis Island or South Boston. Like every group that came to America, the Irish were looked down upon; yet, in the face of discrimination, political, social and economic oppression, the Irish have been a testament to the American Dream as their influence in

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.

Many immigrants came to America seeking freedom, jobs, and land while others were running from famine and war. While immigrants ran from the problems of their native land, they were running into new problems in America. Americans feared the immigrants would take their jobs or have the right to vote. This fear caused discrimination against the immigrants due to their diverse backgrounds from Germany, Ireland, and China. Immigrants that came to America faced the hardship of discrimination because they did not only stand out with their culture but also because Americans didn’t necessarily want them in America.

The turmoil of the second decade of the twentieth century gave way to a greater sense of peace and stability in the third, with a peace treaty signed between Ireland and Britain in December of 1921 and Home Rule finally established for most of the Irish isle (Ferriter, n.d.). At the same time, this new society did not lead to instant prosperity, and indeed poverty remained a major and growing problem in Ireland during this decade (Ferriter, n.d.). Economic and social problems that persisted during this decade certainly could have been pushes to increased immigration.

The English were making the Irish poor to force them into the protestant church. Under the Penal Laws the Irish Catholics were deprived them of any right to be represented in local government, to vote, or to even own land. Under these harsh conditions it is no wonder woman and children of the time bumbled around town just to find some way to survive as a catholic while protestantism is being shoved down one 's thought.

Prior to the 1940’s mass migration, about 60,000 immigrants came to America each year. More important than the numbers of immigrants coming into the country was the change in ethnic composition. Previously, the vast majority of immigrants originated from England. Although, during these two decades, over one-and-a-half million Irish came and almost as many Germans followed (A. Thomas Bailey, The American Pageant: A History of the Republic. 3rd ed. Boston: D.C. Heath & Co., 1966. p324). The reaction of the English settlers to these newcomers was a perfect example of the hostile attitude that people display against outsiders. At that time when the first Irish settle in the new country they were looked as the bottom of the social scale, working as unskilled laborers and domestic servants, and some cases living in inhumane conditions. Furthermore, the Irish, like today's Hispanics, were accused of stealing American jobs and blamed in part for some of the economical problem the nation had at the time. This fear and resentment of the English-American towards the new comers especially the Iris led to a movement a racial profiling inspired by xenophobia.