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Origins of the potato famine
Irish potato famine immigration
Irish potato famine immigration
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Recommended: Origins of the potato famine
In the 1840’s, millions of people were forced to leave Ireland as a means of survival. The already poor country was now being ravaged by The Great Potato Famine. The country’s main food source was being destroyed by the plant disease Blight and starvation and death was everywhere. When no help was received from their British government, desperate families realized the only way to survive was to leave. Many braved the 40 night trip across the Atlantic to America with merely the clothes on their back and little to no money. Starting a new life in a strange country would be hard, but it gave them the will to keep going and a hope for the future.
Millions of people in Ireland suffered a terrible hardship in the mid 1800’s. In the image, “The Irish
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.
Frank McCourt’s reputable memoir embodies the great famine occurring in the 1930s of Limerick. During the twentieth century of Ireland, mass starvation, disease and emigration were the causes of numerous deaths. Likewise, food is in high demand in the McCourt family; practically, in every chapter the family is lacking essential meals and nutritious food. However, the McCourt family isn’t th...
John Doyle wrote a short story about an Irish immigrant coming to America. The story is excellent because it showed the immigrants' perspective throughout the article. Before understanding my views on Immigration let me give a quick summary about the story written by John Doyle. The one thing the young Irish immigrant feared the most was touching American soil, with little money that would not be able to reach him ashore on fresh American soil. Praying to the sky above asking for his hard-working feet to touch the fresh American soil. Finally arriving on American soil, he gets greeted by new coming friends who are all glad to have him here and talking up on how better American is than the Old Country which referring Ireland. The Irish immigrant was just listening to their
Meagher, Timothy. “The Columbia Guide to Irish American History.” Columbia University Press- New York, 2005
The force that brought Irish immigrants can be described in two ways, both negative in the way of the Famine Years and the control of Protestant England. On the other hand, Irish immigrants were able to use the United States as a chance for economic opportunities as well as a chance to be free to practice their Catholic faith. The economic events that helped fulfill the need for Irish workers were thanks to the Industrial growth of the United States. The Transcontinental Railroad was completed by the continuous harsh labor that was done by Irish immigrants. The Eastern half was largely built by Irish men that were hired by the Union Pacific Railroad Company. The chance to make a life and put some money in their pockets was an attractive situation for struggling Irish immigrants. The inevitable factor for Irish immigrants to leave their homeland was the effects of famine that was occurring among the rural population of Ireland. Ireland depended heavily on potato crops, but as the crops failed they diminished the hopes of surviva...
The Irish began immigrating to North America in the 1820s, when the lack of jobs and poverty forced them to seek better opportunities elsewhere after the end of the major European wars. When the Europeans could finally stop depending on the Irish for food during war, the investment in Irish agricultural products reduced and the boom was over. After an economic boom, there comes a bust and unemployment was the result. Two-thirds of the people of Ireland depended on potato harvests as a main source of income and, more importantly, food. Then between the years of 1845 and 1847, a terrible disease struck the potato crops. The plague left acre after acre of Irish farmland covered with black rot. The failure of the potato yields caused the prices of food to rise rapidly. With no income coming from potato harvests, families dependent on potato crops could not afford to pay rent to their dominantly British and Protestant landlords and were evicted only to be crowded into disease-infested workhouses. Peasants who were desperate for food found themselves eating the rotten potatoes only to develop and spread horrible diseases. ¡§Entire villages were quickly homeless, starving, and diagnosed with either cholera or typhus.¡¨(Interpreting¡K,online) The lack of food and increased incidents of death forced incredible numbers of people to leave Ireland for some place which offered more suitable living conditions. Some landlords paid for the emigration of their tenants because it made more economic sense to rid farms of residents who were not paying their rent. Nevertheless, emigration did not prove to be an antidote for the Famine. The ships were overcrowded and by the time they reached their destination, approximately one third of its passengers had been lost to disease, hunger and other complications. However, many passengers did survive the journey and, as a result, approximately ¡§1.5 million Irish people immigrated to North America during the 1840¡¦s and 1850¡¦s.¡¨(Bladley, online) As a consequence of famine, disease (starvation and disease took as many as one million lives) and emigration, ¡§Ireland¡¦s population dropped from 8 million to 5 million over a matter of years.¡¨(Bladley, online) Although Britain came to the aid of the starving, many Irish blamed Britain for their delayed response and for centuries of political hardship as basi...
Ireland, from Being a Burden on Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Publick. N.d. TS. Swift, "" Web. 30 Nov. 2013. .
During the mid 1840’s, blight in the potato crops in Ireland caused widespread starvation and migration of Irish citizens to the United States. Yet, the massive loss of life and massive exodus could have been avoided if British taxation upon the working class of Ireland was nullified. Though the struggle for liberation was already taking place, the potato famine furthered the cause and helped spread awareness. Furthermore, the potato famine made the average Irish family more reliant upon the government for subsidies and supports to get by.
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
John Doyle wrote of the struggles that the Irish immigrants have to face in America for their first six months in the new world. Little did he know that in a couple of decades, the Irish population of America would increase almost fivefold. The story that he would tell of his immigration would be strikingly different than the stories of the nearly 700,000 refugees that would make the voyage across the Atlantic thirty years after he did. The conditions for the Irish Catholics in America would all but get better.
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 United States of America has been considered as a place of hope, freedom and prosperity ever since its independence from the British Union to the present day. So is to say, that from its early settlements, this country became the dream of many foreigners in order to live a new life full of opportunities. Particularly, the famous Statue of Liberty inspired numerous newcomers to settle down in America due to its symbolism of freedom, welcoming immigrants from abroad. A group in particular had an important participation in the immigration to the United States during the period of the industrial revolution, the Irish. Although this group’s emigration intensified during that period, their presence in the United States dates from the 17th century and earlier. Several conditions drove the Irish to leave their homes with the interest of pursuing a better life. The Irish began to leave their country after the Great Potato Famine, which caused massive starvation and diseases among the people in Ireland (Quigley). Consequently, the Irish population decreased about 20-25% due to mortality from hunger and immigration. These people accused the Great British Union for all the disgrace and abandonment, creating big resentment against them and their political influence over them. Since then, more than 4 million Irishmen have arrived to the American cities such as Boston, Chicago, New York and Philadelphia. Taking into account the vast amount of Irish incomers, it is important to note the influence held by them. Hence, how did the Irish immigrants affect the American culture during the 19th century? The Irish emigrants impacted the American society in sociocultural, political, and economical aspects over the time after their arrival. At firs...
This report will be about the Irish in America that was discussed in the documentary and Text book. This will discuss the reasoning behind there mass exodus from Ireland. It will also discuss their trial along with their desire to succeed.
It was not uncommon for a beggar in Ireland to mention that he was in fact the descendant of an ancient Irish king. MacManus, Seamus, 1922. Over 1.5 million died and another 1 million sought Refuge by attempting to Immigrate to foreign lands that promised brighter futures. Canada, America and Australia were the most popular. Those that travelled to England were met with; little or no welcome at all, local authorities demanding what little they had or threatening to send them right back. The near death of a nation through ignorance and greed was later said to be of British intent. The Irish Holocaust had taken so many, when so many just sat back and watched. Penal laws and the great potato famine of 1845 drove millions to their deaths. Others affected by what some have called genocide, boarded ships to new lands. These ships were to be known later as the coffin
In the same year A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man was published, between 1000 and 1500 Irish patriots tried to capture the town of Dublin on Easter Day. The Easter Rising, as it was called, led to the death of approximately 1000 Irishmen and 500 Britons. Of the 1000 Irishmen, many were women and children, while of the 500 Britons; all were either soldiers or policemen. The Easter Rising was not a spontaneous ev...