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Recommended: Great irish famine
Analysis
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 famine that saw the use of the word “immigrant” being used to refer to them. Irish people descended to America fully loaded with their culture and religious beliefs that according to the writer of this book enabled them to assimilate faster into the American society more than any other group. Phrases and words like, Irish-American policemen, Irish-American teachers, Irish –American politicians were coined in social cultural set up of America. This wave shaped the process of assimilating other immigrants that came after them.
The writer classified this group of Irish people according to their characteristics. This group was highly ferocious and exhibited an alacrity and lust of land that originated from the Northern part of Ireland. This group was comprised of individuals who were conservative Christians who loved living in their own cliché of clans. They were also very cruel and intolerant towards Indians. Because of their characteristics, they were referred to as settlers. Their characteristics ma...
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... segregation and making human rights applicable to all citizens. The government also needed to put a humanly mechanism of assimilating immigrants. Fair distribution of public resources and availing equal opportunities to all citizens were a thing that required government effort.
In curing racism and other discriminations, a responsible citizen is required to manifest empathy towards one other and to have a heart of helping each other.
Faced with this problem of racism that had a magnitude strong enough to blow out peaceful co-existence and security in the country, I would have formed a lobby group that would fight for the rights of minority groups and champion equal treatment to all ethnic groups. Another thing I would advocate if for various laws to be instituted in regulating immigrants since immigrants have an influence on our social economic and political orie
Starting in the 1830s, many immigrants came flooding into the United States of America due to hard times, famines, and economic opportunities. Everyday, thousands of underprivileged citizens would take on the task of being an American. To begin, many immigrants were Irish due to the Irish Famine in the late 1840s (Doc 2). According to Catherine Moran McNamara, “The Irish lived under awful stress. I’ve seen the family thrown out (Doc 2).” Meanwhile during the Irish Famine, many potato crops died, leaving families without a source of food or income(OI). However, the Irish were not the only culture going through tough times. In Greece, the pay was unbearable with only five dollars a day(Doc 3). Also, George Kokkas explains that Greece lacked education for the youth. He stated that “I was concerned for the education of my kids.
Throughout the history of America people have been immigrating to America from multiple countries. People have arrived from all over Eastern and Western Europe, Asia and many other places. One country that people had immigrated from was Ireland. The Irish settled into America because of the Anti-Catholic Penal Laws in 1790. Most of the Irish were Catholic so they fled to America. The Irish also came to America because of a summer with constant rain and little sun that in turn destroyed their popular crops. Pushing this further, the Irish came to America because of the Potato Famine. Lastly, the Irish came back to America because of Hart-Cellar Act. This Act
The United States is a nation of immigrants but also a nation of Americans, when exactly does it happen that an immigrant becomes an American? Most of the people in the United States came from Europe or their ancestors came from Europe. Many immigrants were poor, day laborers who chose to live in the city. They came to America in hope of a better economic life. Many lived in sections of the city that suffered from severe poverty. They often lived in run down tenement houses that were unsafe. All the while, they clung to the cultures of the “old world” they just left. It was not until the 1880s that things began to change. Jane Addams, a middle class woman, decided to help the impoverished immigrants. She opened a settlement house and she called it Hull House. It was the first settlement house in the United States. She focused on Chicago’s most poverty-stricken area. The Hull House became the social center for immigrants. It offered night school for adults, kindergarten classes, clubs, a public kitchen, an art gallery, a coffeehouse, a gym, a bathhouse and so much more. Hull House helped immigrants become part of the social world in America. It also tried to Americanize the immigrants and encouraged them to assimilate into the American culture. In short, when Jane Addams founded the Hull House she wanted to help immigrants become part of the American culture and she persuaded them to leave the customs of the “old world” in their past.
Immigration to America from Europe was at an all time high in the mid-1800s. After the potato famine in Ireland in the 1840s, a large group of Irish immigrated to the United States. Since then, increasing numbers of Irish people have been moving to the United States, especially in Chicago. The Irish had come to realize that the United States really is the land of opportunity. With jobs being available to the immigrants, many more shipped in to start new lives for their families. However, for quite a while they did not live in the nicest of areas in Chicago. Many of the Irish resided in low-class areas such as overcrowded parts around the Loop, and out in the West Side. Not only did the West Side shelter the Irish, but many Germans and Jews lived in that area.
The first thing that we will look at is the Irish demographics. The Irish population had fluctuated tremendously over the years. When looking at where they came from, the highest group seems to have been coming from Dublin and Nothern Ireland, along with Kerry County, Ireland as well. Previous to the the 1840's, there were two other waves of Irish immigration in the US. According to the Colombia Guide to Irish American History, the first of the Irish immigrants came in the 1500's due to Sir Walter Raleigh's expedition and the population has continued to grow even since. The third wave began in the 1840's. From census data from US during the Gilded Age, in the 1860's the total number of Irish born immigrants were 22,926. Throughout this time, until around 1910, that number decreased. The number of I...
We see this most notably socially, but also politically. Very often, Irish describe the a form of abuse they endure at the hands of the “native” Americans. This is unfortunate, but the reality of immigrant live for the Irish in the 1800’s. At the core of “natives” concerns was a shift from political power in the hands of “natives” to political power in the hands of the Irish immigrants, who could be loyal to the pope in Europe. Despite this, the Irish still enjoyed the benefits of the United States nation state and celebrated in the benefits, far superior to those of Ireland at the time.vi As was seen in the movie Gangs of New York, many corrupt politicians persuaded immigrants for support in elections and often employed illegal and manipulative tactics on election day to cast multiple votes.vii There were even political cartoons included in immigration reading excerpts depicting the irish as barbaric monkeys and blaming them for election day violence as well as showing them tear apart the democratic system established by “native” Americans.viii These were likely intended for distribution amongst “native” Americans,
This gentleman is six foot two, short black hair, black eyes, and with no real distinguishing marks. He is heterosexual, African American, and is An Atheist. His name is David, and he is walking home while wearing sweat pants with a ripped up t-shirt that was from home. Some people would consider this gentleman to be poor and have a horrible education with nothing good on his mind. However David is a part-time firefighter, with a part-time job, and also being part time college student. There is a difference between people hardcore supporting their culture or beliefs, compared to individuals who get stereotyped like David for example. In the article, “Sticks and Stones: The Irish Identity”, by Robert McLaim Wilson and published by Grand Street.
The life of Irish immigrants in Boston was one of poverty and discrimination. The religiously centered culture of the Irish has along with their importance on family has allowed the Irish to prosper and persevere through times of injustice. Boston's Irish immigrant population amounted to a tenth of its population. Many after arriving could not find suitable jobs and ended up living where earlier generations had resided. This attributed to the 'invisibility' of the Irish.
In order to legitimise a regime or cause, traditions may be constructed around historical or mythological events, people or symbols that reinforce the image required to focus people’s conception of the past. People can be encouraged to invent a cohesive view of their shared ‘traditions’ by what could be called cherry picking bits of history.
The "melting pot" that was created in the United States did not grow and mold itself as smoothly as possible. It dealt with many hindrances from the "old" immigrants or nativists. Later on in the early 20th century, many other laws were passed such as the Immigration Acts of 1924, 1957, and 1965 which all helped restrict immigration.
INTRODUCTION The history of Ireland "that most distressful nation" is full of drama and tragedy, but one of the most interesting stories is about what happened to the Irish during the mid-nineteenth century and how millions of Irish came to live in America (Purcell 31). Although the high point of the story was the years of the devastating potato famine from 1845 to 1848, historians have pointed out that immigrating from Ireland was becoming more popular before the famine and continued until the turn of the twentieth century. In the one hundred years between the first recording of immigrants in
...m, or escape racism. Many want racism to end but are asking the wrong questions to make that happen. The question is not who is still racist or who is most discriminated against or even how to stop racism but rather what is the cause of racism. Is it because our forefathers all agreed that those with darker skin tones were inferior and society decided as a whole to continue with that ignorance or is it because society needs a “pick me up” every now and then and chose to fulfill that need that by putting others down or maybe it’s because for them, racists, the thought of having to admit that the way they treat others of different racists is erroneous and immoral, is too much to handle. Whatever the reason may be before anything can be done to end racism in its entirety one must find the base, the root, the simple yet convoluted cause of the idea of racism itself.
Until the 1860s, the early immigrants not only wanted to come to America, but they also meticulously planned to come. These immigrants known as the “Old Immigrants” immigrated to America from many countries in Northern and Western Europe, known as, Sweden, Norway, Scandinavia, Wales and Ireland. Some of them traveled to Canada, but most of them came to the U.S. seeking freedom they didn’t get in their own countries. Ireland had also recently suffered through a potato famine, where the citizens were left poor and starving. Most settled in New York City and other large cities, where they worked in factories and other low-paying jobs. The immigrants caused a great increase in population in these areas. The “Old Immigrants” tried not to cluster themselves with others of their own nationality. They would mostly try to fit in with Americans as best as they could. Many of them had a plan to come to America, so they saved their money and resources before they arrived so they could have a chance at a better life. On the other hand, another group of immigrants began to arrive
The majority of Irish people living in immigrant populations are of mixed populations and most of the people are mixed with other immigrants. Ethnic tension seems to exist between the indigenous and the exotic populace. It should be noted that ethnicity occurs in the form of political action.... ... middle of paper ...
Systemic racism’s deep roots in today’s society and government have planted the seeds necessary to marginalize certain groups. Institutions such as the criminal justice system and law enforcement have left many groups disenfranchised. Housing discrimination and the wealth gap has resulted in many without proper housing and underpaid. As time progresses, these problems perpetuate and gradually worsen, leaving a wake of obstacles for all people of color. In order for there to be change in this system, we must realize there is a problem and work in unison to remedy this oppression.