Irish Famine In America

The decades between 1860 and 1880, a small Irish gang emerged in the coal mines of Pennsylvania. Due to the prejudice and maltreatment of non-Anglo-Saxon immigrants in the United States, the Irish forced into working in horrible conditions for such little pay and barely any security or fair compensation when they were injured. The legacy the Mollies left behind was not only the gory truth about what happens when prejudices get in the way, but their battles were only the beginning in creating unions and labor strikes. The Molly Maguires serve as they martyr for the battered and abused workforce of the 19th century.

In Hasia R. Diner’s book Erin’s Daughters In America she discussed the history of the lives of Irish immigrants, specifically women, before the Famine and after they emigrated to the United States. After the Famine, Irish citizens had to make drastic changes in their lives in order to survive, such as having more variety in food and the crops that they grew, and changing their marriage patterns and how often they had children. Many people even decided to immigrate to America, the majority of which were women. When Irish women came to America their lives were greatly revolutionized when they were forced to adopt new economic opportunities by finding a job quickly and gaining economic stability, and they had to modify their marriage patterns by getting married later in life, if they got married at all.

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 Irish people would have freight, terror, death and eventually peace with these changes. The potato famine started with blight being discovered by European farmers. The Irish government started to export potatoes and grains to continental Europe to help the Europeans avoid a famine (Smith, 2011). By the end of August of 1845, Ireland was freighted to find out that blight had found its way to their produce (Smith, 2011). The blight in Ireland set off a chain of events that led to the Irish people dying in more ways to get out of Ireland. The government started trying to feed their people by importing corn and grains for food (Smith, 2011). This was not enough to help the young, old and sick. Many of theIrish people were led to complete financial ruin. By the end of 1851 more than a million Irish had died due to hunger and disease exacerbated by malnutrition(Smith, 2011).The only answer for many Irish families was to take a risk and get on a coffin boat and flee to another country. North America was a safe haven for many Irish people. They dreamed of the life they would live in the U.S.A. Nearly 1 million people arrived in many cities which include New York, and Boston (Smith, 2011). When the Irish people arrived, it was a sad reality they did not think they would face. The conditions were despicable. Many families were moved into small rooms with no sanitation, ventilation, day light or electricity (Smith, 2011). The families were charged about $1.50 per week to live in extreme poverty (Smith, 2011). This led to unsanitary conditions for the communities. Diseases were able to thrive in those conditions and one of the more common disease was cholera . The Irish people usually stayed in close proximity to each other and would make a small Irish community. The Irish community strived to make money. They were only hired for unskilled jobs

Many factors lead the Irish to emigrate from Ireland to America in the 1700s and 1800s; many left Ireland barely escaping with their lives as famine and disease struck the country, some left over political neglect from the country for its people especially by the British, others left for better economic opportunities, religious, and social freedoms. In many of the letters on the documentary, Out of Ireland, several people yearned for America and the idea of starting over on a new land full of freedom and opportunity. Many people, mostly poor peasants, had endured enough suffering and sought to leave these experiences behind by beginning life anew in the land of opportunity. Indeed, the arrival of Irish immigrants set about a massive transformation

The Irish Famine 1845-1849 “Is ar scáth a chiéle a maireann na daoine” “It is with each other’s protection that the people live” From the Fifteenth through to the Nineteenth centuries English Monarchies and Governments had consistently enacted laws which it seems were designed to oppress the Irish and suppress and destroy Irish Trade and manufacturing. In the Penal laws of 1695 which aimed to destroy Catholicism, Catholics were forbidden from practicing their religion, receiving education, entering a profession, or purchasing or leasing land; since Catholics formed eighty percent of the Irish population, this effectively deprived the Irish of any part in civil life in their own country.

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 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.

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.

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,

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

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

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

Putting them on a boat and sending them home would end crime in this country.”(para. 4). Although the Irish were put down by Americans they never gave up and continued to press on. They were discriminated against but stuck together which helped them survive in America.

    In the early twentieth century, Ireland, and more specifically Dublin, was a place defined by class distinctions. There were the wealthy, worldly upper-class who owned large, stately townhouses in the luxurious neighborhoods and the less fortunate, uneducated poor who lived in any shack they could afford in the middle of the city. For the most part, the affluent class was Protestant, while the struggling workers were overwhelmingly Catholic. These distinctions were the result of nearly a century of disparity in income, education, language, and occupation, and in turn were the fundamental bases for the internal struggle that many of Joyce's characters feel.