Urban Zones Of The Nineteenth Century

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.

It is hard to imagine in the twenty first century the level of filth that was experienced in the 1830’s on a daily basis. Sanitation, public health and sewer systems were problems that gripped the nation throughout the ninetieth century (1830-1860s), encouraging popular debate and proposal of changes. The growth of population and increase in the industry

In American industrial cities, late 1800s, Poor neighborhood were not the best place to live. With poor living conditions, poor sanitation and crowded housing, many epidemics of infectious disease spread into the poor population and touched even the wealthy class. Cities such as New York were crowded and workers were living in tenements, which were often cramped, poorly lit and poorly aerated. Moreover, these tenements lacked of adequate plumbing, therefore waste was flooding in the public streets. Streets was crowded of waste and garbage. Population was poorly nourished and has a poor life hygiene like water pollution and poisoned food and milk. Accordingly, infectious disease was the common death reason. Big cities had known outbreaks of

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 United States’ population surged between 1870 and 1924. Immigrants were flooding into the country from Ireland, Germany, Italy, Poland, Hungary, and other countries. They saw America as a great land of opportunity that fulfilled their necessities. The majority of the immigrants settled in the major cities, as their was an abundance of job opportunities, and easy access to transportation. John Radzitowksi’s essay describes the Polish agricultural colonies in Minnesota. It also depicts how immigrants adapted to American life. The first document shows how some immigrants found it difficult to adapt and settle in a new land, and it shows that this was true for Irish immigrant Sam Gray. The second document is a story of Rocco Corresca, a poor

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

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 had come from a hostile Boston in search of a place in the job market. They found an equality they had been unable to find in New England (Potter 670; Howard 225). Although they found jobs, few were very successful. A majority still lived in shantytowns and poverty even in California.

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

As big cities began to form in the nineteenth century, all ethnicities were close in contact. The workers in the big cities had no other option, but to live in the overcrowded apartments. In Manhattan, 42,700 apartments housed 1.6 million people (Tindall 622). The large amount of people led to health problems and the problems in the streets. The tenement housing was so poorly designed, so there were communal toilets. The toilets were held outside in the alley. The families were so tightly compacted, that the children had no place to play, so they filled the streets. Raw sewage was dumped in the streets and contaminated water was a major problem. The poor living conditions created a hostile environment for the immigrant workers and the American workers as well. The immigrants came to America because they heard that it was a great place to be that would provide them with all the essentials to help their families. Instead, they arrived in America and had to live and work in a harsh

In the middle to late decades of the 19th century, new immigrant arrivals from Germany and Scandinavia were pivotal in establishing and settling the western frontier of the United States. You would find in the large cities that Irish immigrants where considered a major source of labor in the railroads, roads, construction and transportation arenas

In Margaret Lynch-Brennan’s work The Irish Bridget, Lynch-Brennan reveals how the socially marginalized Irish immigrant women of this era made their living in domestic service. In contrast to immigrant men, who might have lived in a community with their fellow Irish, these women lived and worked in close contact with American families. Lynch-Brennan explains the essential role this unique relationship played in shaping the place of the Irish in America today. Such women were instrumental in making the Irish presence more acceptable to earlier established American groups. At the same time, it was through the experience of domestic service that many Irish were acculturated, as these women absorbed the middle-class values of their patrons and

In the late nineteenth century, the city was both a symbol of hope and uncertainty. The frontier was at an end, which meant many did not have the option of leaving the city in order to begin a new life as settlers in the West. Instead, the city became the new frontier with many flocking to the urban center with the hope of achieving wealth and success. However, like the Goodenoughs and the Marches, country-born people did not quite understand the environment of the city, and they believed that they would be able to live somewhat similarly to their country life. Cities were overrun with crime, overcrowding, and deception, and instead of working to solve these issues, many either ignored or became part of the problem.

Immigrants who came to America after the 1880s “spoke strange languages and worshiped strange gods.” Daniels does not provide much detail about the xenophobia experienced in America during this time and how the immigrants felt alienated due to their native languages and beliefs. Many of the immigrants during this period were forced into urban areas, where they were expected to work and utilized for American economic gain. Readers have to assume that this was not the ideal condition that immigrants wanted, but Daniels does not provide a deep analysis of this evidence. The alienation that immigrants felt during the 1800s carried more emotion that Daniels neglected to

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