Irish Immigration to America and the Slavery

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Table of Contents

Overview on Irish Immigration
Causes of Immigration
Course of Immigration
Consequences
Irish Slavery in America
Evidence
Conclusion
References

An important historical event that I have chosen to discuss is the immigration of Irish people to the United States between the years 1820 and 1930. During the period of Irish immigration, this study investigates the motivations that prompted Irish people to move to the United States. Despite the fact that the Irish encountered a great number of obstacles, the immigration of Irish people to the United States was advantageous not only to the immigrants but also to the United States.

Overview on Irish Immigration

Potatoes were an indispensable part of the diet of the least fortunate. Between 1846 and 1850, the potato crop in Ireland’s rural western and southern regions failed catastrophically (Maguire, 1867). Over 1.5 million Irish immigrants were embraced and welcomed by the United States between 1846 and 1855 (Kelly, 2018). The lifestyle they were forced to endure was incomprehensibly complex throughout the journey and after arriving in the United States. They could not compete for jobs in the industrial sector that predominated in the United States at that time due to their poor income and lack of education. As a result, they were susceptible to adversity and discrimination because of their nationality and what others perceived as their inferior status.

Causes of Immigration

The Irish Potato Famine, often known as “The Great Hunger,” was the immediate cause of the vast emigration of Irish people to the United States. The widespread famine was brought on by the recurring failure of the potato harvest (Collins & Zimran, 2019). In 1845, Ireland’s potato harvest failed catastrophically, contributing to the subsequent famine. Beginning in 1845, a fungus known as ‘phytophthora infestans’ was responsible for the destruction of the Irish potato crop. It led to a demographic catastrophe due to lack of food for families faced with financial constraints. In Ireland, potatoes formed a vital element of the diet of the less fortunate. The British government did almost nothing to aid the famine-and disease-stricken Irish during this time, with the notable exception of attempting to lift restrictions on the importation of foreign corn.

Course of Immigration

Initially, Great Britain made an effort to assist Ireland with relief efforts. However, when there was a change in leadership, the new chancellor, Sir Charles Wood, justified the withdrawal of relief by stating that the action would force the Irish into self-government. The British government, which viewed Ireland as a welfare state, did not consider the plight of the Irish to be of concern to them (Fouka et al., 2021). The Irish had a dismal outlook on their future at the time. A catastrophic event involving starvation, combined with a perceived lack of concern on the part of the British government that was governing at the time, led many Irish to believe that their only option was to emigrate to the United States.

The United States of America was attractive to the Irish not only because it offered the possibility of a better life but also because of the United States’ long-standing anti-British stance. There were approximately 1.5 million Irish people who settled in the United States between the years 1845 and 1850. Some of the most important cities in the northeast were entirely swamped by the massive migration of Irish Catholics (Murray, 2018). The 9,000 Irish who arrived in Liverpool on 1^st of January and then went to the United States without support from the parish was an extraordinary proportion for this time of year.

Consequences

The Irish immigrants were forced into the lower echelons of society, where they were to engage in a life-or-death struggle since they received no quick assistance. At the time, very few jobs were available that required unskilled labor. Competition for this employment stoked tensions between the recently immigrated Irish and the region’s local inhabitants. The Irish, accustomed to working for pennies a day, would jump at the chance to work for the going wage of up to a dollar a day in America, often undercutting the ordinary employee of the day (Maguire, 1867). In America, the going wage was up to a dollar a day. In addition to a growing anti-Irish and anti-Catholic sentiment across all classes of society, this contributed to the proliferation of “No Irish Need Apply” signs (Murray, 2018). which could be seen in storefront windows, factory gates, and workshop windows in major cities across the northeast.

Irish Slavery in America

In 1625, an official proclamation was made demanding the collection of Irish convicts for sale to English plantation owners as slaves. Irish women and their daughters were seen as more valuable domestic slaves than black slaves due to their lighter skin. Few people know that more Irish than Africans were sold into slavery between 1600 and 1699. A servant would sell a period in exchange for transportation, and in return, he would receive shelter, food, clothing, and, in most cases, a plot of land after his term of duty ended. In contrast, the Irish were frequently an exception to the rule. There were no servitude agreements, no protection, and no options available for the Irish. In the year 1839, a measure that forbade these practices was finally enacted in England, putting an end to the Irish Slave trade. The immigrants felt they were enslaved on basis of racial, religious and cultural discrimination.

Evidence

The American Civil War was a turning point for many Irish immigrants in the United States, with over 140,000 individuals enlisted in the Union army. Every Irish unit, including the 69th New York Regiment, participated in the gruesome battles at Bull Run, Antietam, and Gettysburg. These Irish-only units earned a well-deserved reputation for valor and dependability (Kelly, 2018). The Irish immigrants who became American soldiers fought with great pride because they believed they represented their new country and their Irish heritage (Maguire, 1867). Following the end of the American Civil War, the United States’ rapidly expanding industrial development was primarily supported by Irish immigrants.

Conclusion

In light of what I have learned about the Irish settlers, I have decided to focus on Irish immigration and the abolition of slavery as the subjects of my point. For some reason, I could not agree with the idea that Irish strangers would not be opposed to being enslaved. Therefore, I found this topic to be fascinating. During my research, I discovered that the Irish were not uniformly opposed to this treatment method; instead, they helped end servitude and cooperated against it. I acknowledge that this was the primary reason for my decision to focus on this aspect of the argument.

How the Research Topic Informed My Thinking

My perspective on the Irish experience has been affected in various ways due to my inquiry into the event. To begin with, I have a deeper appreciation and comprehension of the obstacles my forefathers surmounted to pursue a better life in the United States. Secondly, I greatly appreciate the Irish people’s contributions to the establishment and development of the United States. In conclusion, I greatly appreciate the obstacles the Irish had to overcome upon their arrival in the United States.

Topics Historians Need to Research

If a historian wished to continue investigating this topic, they would need to conduct additional research on the life of Irish immigrants before they arrived in the United States and the effects of their poverty on the society they encountered here. Additionally, they would need to study the expansion of industry in the United States and how it may have contributed to the challenges Irish immigrants faced during that period.

References

Collins, W. J., & Zimran, A. (2019). The economic assimilation of Irish famine migrants to the United States. Explorations in Economic History, 74, 101302.

Fouka, V., Mazumder, S., & Tabellini, M. (2021). From immigrants to Americans: Race and assimilation during the Great Migration. The Review of Economic Studies, 89(2), 811–842.

Kelly, B. (2018). Gathering Antipathy: Irish Immigrants and Race in America’s Age of Emancipation. In Rethinking the Irish Diaspora (pp. 157-185). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

Maguire, J. F. (1867). The Irish in America (4^th ed.). D. & J. Sadlier & Company.

Murray, D. (2018). Irish nationalists in Boston: Catholicism and conflict, 1900-1928. The Catholic University of America Press.

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