Irish Immigrants

Scotch-Irish

Scots-Irish may refer to: Ulster Scots people, an ethnic group in Ulster, Ireland, who trace their roots to settlers from Scotland.

Scotch-Iriah Americans descendants of

Ulster Scots who first migrated to America in large numbers in the1700s.  They were given lands seized from the native Irish in 1603 and 1604.

-Skilled and better educated than the subsequent Irish immigrants

Religion (Irish)

Presbyterians and English Anglicans (form of Christianity that includes Protestantism and Roman Catholicism

Irish Immigration time period

1820-1030

reason for emigration

-1845 to 1852--Potato Famine—Infection of the potato crop

-Many Irish accused the famine as a direct outgrowth of British colonial policies rather than a natural disaster

-Population declined by 20-25%-death and emigration

Irish Financial Statues

Poor but not the poorest of those living in Ireland because they were able to afford the steerage passage to US; According to US standards, they were destitute

Irish Living conditions

Lived in close quarters in terrible living conditions with inadequate sewage and no running water; resulted in diseases of all types (including cholera, typhus, tuberculosis, and mental illness

The different Discrimination by previous immigrant groups

*  Religious differences—Catholic vs Protestants

*  Hostility--Irish immigrants confronted hostility and accusations of spreading disease.  They were blamed for the unsanitary conditions in which they were forced to live.

Irish occipations in Ireland

lived in rural areas so occupation was agriculturally-based (farming

Irish occipations in US

rish were unskilled laborers ill prepared for the industrialized nation; women worked as domestics; men worked in dangerous occupations—building railroads, coal mining

In W. Virginia, Union laborers in the coal mines were fired and replaced with Irish, Italian, and African-American laborers

Impediments to social mobility ( prevented them from moving up in the social class

·      Housing “choices”

·      Occupations entered

·      Financial support to families remaining in the homeland

·      Chain immigration bringing additional relatives to America

What is chain migration?

Chain migration is the social process by which immigrants from a particular area follow others from that area to a particular destination. The immigrant in the US communicates to family and friends in their country of origin encouraging further migration along kinship ties.

Anti-immigrant opposition

1840—nativist American Party opposed foreign influences and promoted “traditional American ideals.”  This party was nicknamed the “know-Nothings,” because when questioned about their procedures and activities they responded “I know nothing about it.”

1854—For admittance to the American Party, one had to promise to  "…elect to all offices of Honor, Profit, or Trust, no one but native born citizens of America, of this Country to the exclusion of all Foreigners, and to all Roman Catholics, whether they be of native or Foreign Birth, regardless of all party predilections whatever."

Second and Third Generation Irish-Americans

“Over time, many Irish Americans climbed occupational and social ladders through politically appointed positions such as policeman, fireman, and teacher. Second and third generation Irish Americans were on average better educated and more affluent than were their parents, and some, such as the Kennedy family, entered the circles of power

the first Kenndy who arrived in the united states

The first Kennedy who arrived in the United States in 1848 was a laborer. His son had modest success in this country, but his grandson, college educated Joseph P. Kennedy, made a fortune that enabled the great grandsons (one of whom became President John F. Kennedy) to achieve great political success.”