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Fact and Fiction of Irish Americans

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Fact and Fiction of Irish Americans
History of the Immigration
Beginning almost 300 years ago Irish immigrants were among the first large groups of people to migrate to the New World. With years of wars, famine, and religious persecution in Ireland, these people came to America to build a new life. Not afraid of hard work the Irish came and built a life they could be proud of; although the Irish American believes that they have been victim of discrimination. NINA ‘No Irish Need Apply’ and WASP ‘White Anglo Saxon Protestant’ is and ingrained belief that the Irish American’s “remember” (Jenson, 2004). Another current issue is the unjust treatment of the Irish seeking political asylum in the United States (McElrath, 1997).
The first Irish immigrants came in the 1580s to the Carolinas long before the founding of the United States of America. It is believed that possibly hundreds of thousands of Protestant Irish immigrated in these early years. This is contrary to the urban myth of the Irish Catholic American origins (Meagher, 2009). The next big migration of Irish to America was in the 1700s to 1820s. These immigrants assimilated easily into the American way of life as most prospered at a rate that could not have been conceived in Ireland. “Nearly half of General Washington’s continental arm, including 1492 officers and 22 generals, were of Irish descent” (American Immigration law Foundation, 2001, p. 1). Even with the influx of Irish throughout early history of America, the peck of Irish migration to America came in the mid-1800’s. This time in Ireland is known as ‘The Great Potato Famine’ when in 1845 a fungus decimated the potato crop; thus, forcing many poor farmers to leave their homes and venture out into the world and leading them to America. The Irish who came in the mid-1800’s were mostly Catholic, and when they landed, they had no money or jobs lined up; therefore, they would settle near the ports where they debarked from their ships. ‘Shantytowns’ sprang up over New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Illinois, Ohio, and New Jersey port towns; giving fear to established Americans causing the height of anti-Irish and anti-Catholic sentiment in the 1850s.
Dauntless in their conviction to overcome, the Irish were not afraid to work. The Irish laborers went to work; building roads, bridges, subways, railroads, canals, churches, and anything they thought would contribute to the place in which they lived. Not only did they men go to work, the women did too; becoming the domestic engineers of the 19th and early 20th centuries as the maids, nannies, and cooks of the elite class. With the history of the Irish work ethic in America, they have become known as the backbone to the American labor force.
NINA and WASP Remembered Signs: NINA – No Irish Need Apply and WASP – White Anglo-Saxon Protestant is the Irish American’s claim to blatant discrimination. There is no proof that they were ever displayed in America, no sign has ever been discovered. “Thus reports of sightings in the 1920s or 1930s suggest the myth had become so deeply rooted in Irish-American folk mythology that it was impervious to evidence” (Jensen, 2004, p. 2). It is a possibility that some businesses did post handwritten signs, but again none have ever been seen. The referred to WASP signs, which again cannot be proved, is believed to encourage English Protestant to apply for jobs, thus excluding the Irish. “Only Irish Catholics have reported seeing the sign in America” (Jensen, 2004 p.1). Even “Senator Ted Kennedy reported the most recent sighting, telling the Senate during a civil rights debate that he saw them when growing up” (Jenson, 2004, p.2).

Irish-Americans in Politics In the early 1900s the Irish American’s began to flourish making many inroads into American politics. The most notable names in Irish American politics would be Thomas Phillip (Tip) O’Neill Jr. and the Kennedys. Talk about Irish American politics and not talking about the Kennedy’s is not possible. Their political dynasty began with Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. who served in Boston politics and as an ambassador to England for the United States before World War II. Joseph Kennedy wanted more for his son’s and Irish Catholics. His endeavors were accumulated when is son John F. Kennedy was elected to the Presidency of the United States in 1960. This historic pushed the accomplishments of the Irish Americans into the public. Looking back over history it is believed that 22 presidents claim to be of Irish decent, including the sitting president Barack Obama.
Injustice for the Irish With other groups of people who have come to America searching for political asylum and found it, the Irish have not been able to find that. This happens because of the bigger political considerations involving the country in which they are seeking asylum from. In the case of the Irish, they are usually seeking asylum from England, but the United States has a long history and is very co-dependent on England; therefore, the United States tends to side with England. In the end the Irish are very rarely granted political asylum.
Irish Immigrant to Successful American From the 1500s to the mid-1800s the Irish had the largest numbers of people immigrate to the United States and these people assimilated without difficulty. It wasn’t until the Great Potato Famine in Ireland that started in 1845 and continued for years that drove the poor Irish farmers to the American shores without plans on how to make it in America. During the late 1800s Irish Americans became the backbone to the American labor force. Constructing the foundations of this country, buildings, bridges, canals, and railroads that allowed the United States to prosper and grow. By working hard, the Irish American also prospered into the elitist class and entered American politics. Orestes Brownson, author and celebrated convert to Catholicism, stated “Out of these narrow lanes, dirty streets, damp cellars, and suffocating garrets, will come forth some of the noblest sons of our country, whom she will delight to own and honor” (Personal quote). In little more than a century his prophecy rang true. Irish Americans had moved from the position of the despised into the oval office. “America’s diversity and ability to incorporate people of all socioeconomic levels and ethnicities is in large part a direct result of the Irish American experience of the 18th and 19th centuries” (American Immigration Law Foundation, 2001, p. 3).

References
American Immigration law Foundation (2001). “The Making of a Melting Pot: Irish
Immigration to America From 1700 to the early 1800s” Retrieved from www.ilw.com/articles/2001,0817-AILF.shtm
Jensen, R. (2002). "No Irish Need Apply": A Myth of Victimization. Journal Of Social History, 36(2), 405-429.
McElrath, K. (1997). "If You've Come a'Seeking Justice, No Irish Need Apply:" Irish Republicans, Political Asylum, and United States Foreign Policy. Critical Criminology, 8(1), 93-108.
Meagher, T. J. (2009). From the World to the Village and the Beginning to the End and After: Research Opportunities in Irish American History. Journal Of American Ethnic History, 28(4), 118.

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