| Irish American Ethnic Group and Discrimination | |

University of Phoenix ETH/125 Elizabeth McBryde |

In 1845, a fungus ruined Irish potato crops, which was the main source of food that kept peasants from starving in Ireland, and as disease and hunger spread throughout Ireland at least one million of Ireland’s people left in search of economic advancement, over half of which came to the United States (Peck, Ira). The Irish immigrants that came to the United States settled mainly in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia (Peck, Ira). Unfortunately, they were not greeted with welcome however, instead they, like many other immigrants to the United States, were met with discrimination, prejudice, and racism.
Assimilation did not come easy for Irish immigrants despite their white skin and English language. Often, the only jobs available to them were hard, dirty, and dangerous positions such as coal mining and railroad work. As more and more Irish immigrated to the United States, American workers feared that the Irish, because of their cheap labor, would put them out of work (Peck, Ira). The Irish were treated in close resemblance to slaves. Forced to live in unsanitary conditions in urban slums by segregation, many Irish fell victim to epidemics that swept through their living environments. It was not uncommon for the head of an Irish family to be dead by the age of 40, as they were often either injured performing dangerous duties in the work environment, or struck with an illness associated with the disease spreading epidemics in their living environments (Peck, Ira). In addition, Irish immigrants were subject to discrimination due to their religious holdings. Irish Catholics were believed to be part of a conspiracy to take over the United States. The United States was Protestant in majority at the time that the mass immigration by Irish took place.
The freeing of slaves caused a great concern for Irish Americans, as they feared that the release of slaves would result in loss of work for themselves. This type of reverse discrimination was brought about by the fact that many businesses would already not consider giving Irish positions, this institutional discrimination limited them to the jobs mentioned previously, jobs that the slaves would surely try to secure upon their release. Additionally, the Irish were in fear that the slaves would overwhelm their neighborhoods upon their emancipation (Gleeson, D.T. 2010). The slaves were thought to know their place in society, and were not as combative about the way that they were treated as the Irish (Racial and Ethnic Groups, 2006), and in addition, it was conceivable that the slaves were likely to accept even lower pay for doing the jobs, thus the threat that the Irish were concerned with.
The Irish Catholics did not take the discrimination and segregation that they were faced with lightly. Many Irish rebelled against the way that they were being treated, fighting for equality and acceptance amidst their fellow Americans. The Irish made themselves allies of the pro-immigrant Democratic Party and in return for votes the Democrats provided them with public jobs such as on the police force, occasionally even gaining political office positions on a local level (Gleeson, D.T. 2010). The role of the Irish in the war, along with the eventual election of several Irish American political figures such as John F. Kennedy’s election to presidency, aided in Irish assimilation.
Irish immigrants were not accepted with open, welcoming arms into the United States. The road to assimilation was long, tiring, and dreadful while the Irish fought against discrimination and segregation. Institutional discrimination made it easy for redlining to take place, keeping Irish immigrants from seeking housing in areas other than urban, unsanitary dwellings. In fear of losing what they were able to gain such as employment in less than satisfactory work environments and desperate living conditions, the Irish were forced into a role of reverse discrimination against the freeing of slaves. It is not difficult to identify with the tragedy that many Irish Americans faced if one were brought up in poverty. Poverty drove the Irish to seek economic gain in other areas, as many living in poverty do. Poverty is also the root of the experiences that many of the Irish immigrants faced. Poverty placed labels upon the Irish, as did their religious beliefs, and these types of factors remain as sources of discrimination today.

References:

Gleeson, D.T. (2010). Irish Americans. Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Retrieved September 17, 2010, from Grolier Online http://gme.grolier.com/article?assetid=0149927-0.

Language, The Irish. (2006). In Ireland and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/abciramrle/language_the_irish.

No Irish Need Apply. (2006). In Ireland and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/abciramrle/no_irish_need_apply.

Peck, Ira. How three groups overcame Prejudice. Scholastic update 6 May 1988: 12+.

(Ed.). (2006). Racial and ethnic groups. [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. :Prentice-Hall. Retrieved August 31, 2010, from ETH125.