The Immigration of the Irish

September,1820

The dominant industry of Ireland was agriculture on the beginning of the 19th century. The laborers from Ireland were paid about one fifth only of what could be obtained in the Unites States and the ones that did not have land were considering to move to "The New World". There were also many religious prejudice of Protestant Masters to the Catholic Irish and many political subordination, that's why many other Irish had no alternative but to move to the U.S. for some relief.


[These were the steam boats used to transport immigrants from Ireland to the U.S.]

In 1845, the great potato rot made more people to migrate to the U.S. This potato rot that
occurred in Ireland lasted for about five years and the survivors wished only to get away and have a better life. Many Irish migrated to the U.S., taking an affordable trip to Canada, where they could buy cheap tickets to the U.S., or even walk across the border. The starving families that could not afford to pay landlords were other ones that moved looking for a better future. Almost 3.5 million Irish men entered the U.S. between 1820 and 1880.
Moving to the U.S. was difficult yet, many peasants arrived without anything, including resources to start farms or businesses. Many of the Irish that moved to the U.S. worked in building the great canals, which were the national transportation system in that time. Many of the Irish laborers were the ones that did the grueling work. In towns near their works, the Irish formed their small communities. Many Irish became policemen and firemen and even became some of the fist drivers and conductors! The first Irish did not have many job opportunities because they were unskilled, but as the years passed by, they worked as plumbers, boilermakers and more. Some Irish laborers even had the opportunity to become bosses. The Irish became rich in cultural resources and were able to face hardships on their own. The cultural events such as "St. Patrick's Day" helped hold the Irish culture together. Besides the church, which was important to the Irish, the most important things of their culture were the "press" and "stage".
This history of immigration from the Irish makes me understand how desperate people were to have such a good life. Based on all of these facts, it was not easy to move over to the U.S. People, such as the Irish, passed through many hardships for able to be successful. Things in Ireland must have been very bad for the Irish to move to a different country where they have to start all over. According to their history, the Irish became very successful and had a better life than the one they had in Ireland.