Irish Americans: Cultural Assimilation Of American Culture

Assimilation is achieving wealth or economic status, allowing African Americans to immerse in American culture. Some examples of assimilation include having professional success, being in an affluent family, and living in a wealthy neighborhood. The problem is the majority of African Americans struggle overcoming numerous hurdles involving money, class, etc. African Americans need to deny their heritage to fully assimilate because it consumes time and energy to economically and socially progress.

There are many ways for people from other countries to adjust to living in the United States. There are also things that immigrants think they have to do to fit in. In this essay I will include the best ways for immigrants to adjust to American culture. I will also include challenges immigrants face to fit in in America. Finally, I will include what immigrants do to adapt to America.

Language is not the only factor affecting the assimilation of people into American society, but one?s traditions also have an effect on the willingness and on the degree to which one assimilates. Some people have found that certain customs they have are not accepted in American culture and might

While America was known at the time as a place for accepting immigrants, this was not the case for most Irish immigrants. Irish Catholics were targeted on the grounds that Catholics could not be trusted to remain loyal to anyone but the Pope, if another war were to arise. However, the Irish remained strong willed and assimilated into American society by working as farmers and building machines.

The Irish experience in the U.S. was harsh. They fled Ireland due to the Potato Famine, and arrived here for opportunity, and even more importantly, a better life. They were also exceedingly poor, so that being

It is expected that ultimately there will be a loss of ethnic distinctiveness for immigrants in the U.S., meaning the lack of attachment to the country of origin. (Golash-Boza, 2006) It is argued that all ethnic distinctiveness will no longer exist by the seventh or eighth generations. Before exploring the influence of foreign born vs. U.S. born parents on their children’s cultural assimilation; the different theories of assimilation will be explored. The idea of Assimilation came about in the early 20th century. (Golash-Boza, 2006) Assimilation is surrounded by two theories, the first that all immigrants will assimilate sooner or later and that the generational status of the individual is one of the main factors in determining the

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

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,

The Irish Immigrants lacked many skills that were needed for different jobs throughout America. Many had few or no urban or rural skills, except growing potatoes. Many had only a grade school education and very few had a high school education. This lack of education brought

Of course there was a method to the way the Irish gained their likeness and overcame the difficulties that came with absorbing into the American culture. They did this by

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.

On this occasion, I found that my American culture and Ruth’s Irish culture were actually quite different from our cultures as a while, but nonetheless comparable. We both share a “strong (or high) uncertainty avoidance… [preferring] clear procedures and conflict-avoidance behaviors” (Ting-Toomey & Chung, p. 50). , which is something the United States culture is not known for. However, upon reflecting on the conversation that Ruth and I shared with our friend, neither of us openly demonstrated how uncomfortable we were with our friends bragging. We preferred instead to preform face-saving motions, like congratulating them and acting interested. I think that sometimes our own personality and experiences can cause us to act in ways that may go against the mainstream culture. So when it comes to Ruth and I, maybe we simply have a stronger personality to avoid conflict than the cultures we may have been socialized in.

The next set of questions asked the survey participants if they thought the following recordings sounded Irish or America. I included video clips of Emmet Cahill singing “My Irish Molly O,” Willie Brady singing “There’s a Typical Tipperary Over Here,” and Mick Moloney singing “Regular Army O.” A large portion of participants (56.3%) thought that “My Irish Molly O” sounded more American than Irish. Emmet Cahill sang this song with the technical skill of a classically trained vocalist. He took musical liberties, sustaining notes and using a copious amount of vibrato. The piano accompaniment is jazzy and syncopated. It is possible that people felt that these musical nuances are not traditionally Irish. The next example, “There’s a Typical Tipperary Over Here,” is sung by the Irish ballad and country singer, Willie Brady. 51% felt that this sounded more Irish than American. The last audio clip is “Regular Army O,” sung by Mick Moloney. 76.8% of participants felt this song sounded Irish than American. I think the reason people thought the last two example sounded Irish was because of the singers with recognizably Irish

Over time the Irish and Germans were finally accepted and considered part of the “American society”. By the time the next big wave of immigration occurred, the Irish and Germans were considered the old guard as opposed to the newcomers. The changing ethnic composition was critical and the Irish as well as the