Irish Racism

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 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

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.

     Irish-American. To some, this term merely designates one of the many ethnic groups which can be found in the United States; but to those who are Irish-American, it represents a people who faced a disaster of mammoth proportions and who managed to survive at great cost. The Great Hunger of 1845 changed, or more often, destroyed the lives of millions of Irish, causing them to seek refuge from poverty and starvation in other, more prosperous countries. However, not all countries would accept these victims of the Potato Famine. After an immense burst of Irish immigration to Great Britain, the British Parliament began to

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.

After the arriving of Chinese immigrants during the gold rush in California, the sate required every foreign miner to pay tax.

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

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.

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,

After the Civil War, with the economy in shambles and increased openings for jobs, attitudes toward the Irish shifted slightly. Unlike earlier times, when the Irish first came to America, store windows no longer flashed "Irish Need Not Apply" signs. The Irish had won their place amongst the natives, having heartily participated in the war: thirty nine Union Regiments contained a majority of Irishmen, and the famous 69th regiment "Fighting 69" was comprised almost totally of Irishmen. But, don't let the Confederates be forgotten either, over forty thousand Irishmen fought for the grays. The Irish Americans gained some respectability for their involvement in the Civil War and were now more accepted by American society. The Irish Americans in post-Civil War era were more economically successful. Several of the Irishmen that had been manual laborers now held managerial positions in the railroad, iron and construction industries, their hard work has allowed them to rise through the ranks. Irish Americans also became educated and trained professionals. Fortunately Irish women, although held back by the restrictions placed on all American women around the turn of the century, achieved higher positions in society as teachers, nurses and secretaries.

So the Irish tended to be in favor of slavery and against abolition. This was just another reason why many of the people around them did not get along with them, this in turn probably making their lives harder and less enjoyable. However, at the outbreak of the Civil War an estimated 170,000 men born in Ireland joined the Union Army, but only about 40,000 were in the Confederate Army. This occurred because the issue for the Irish was not so much slavery as it was preserving the Union. The church in Boston agreed with Archbishop Hughes that ?It is one country and shall be one?.

Irish had often lived in unhealthy and unclean tenements. Then when they arrived in America they too had faced discrimination. They had many organizations conspired against them to ensure the immigrants could not vote, or hold office (Baker 262). “In 1844 controversy arose in Philadelphia over whether Catholic children in public schools could be allowed to read from the Catholic version of the Bible rather than the King James version and other issues”(Baker 262). This caused a violent reaction of the people who were against the Irish and Catholics (Baker 262). “Catholic churches and priests were the most frequent nativist targets” (Baker 262). The Americans had thought that the Irish Catholics had used the U.S voting system to elect followers of the pope so the pope could have some power in the United States. The nativist did not just have conspiracies about the Irish but many other immigrants too (Baker 262).

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.

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