Irish Immigration Essay
Running head: IRISH IMMIGRATION IN 1850’S 1
Irish Immigration in 1850’s
Dorothy Mathews
Eth/125
March 7, 2010
Henry Williams
IRISH IMMIGRATION IN 1850’S 2
Irish Immigration in 1850’s
The line of ancestry that I came from is the Irish and English and Dutch. I am not certain about the dates, but I am pretty sure that they emigrated around the years 1850 to 1870. The Irish left the island of Ireland because of the potato famine that overtook their country. Even though undefined, Irish emigrants faced persecution from other foreigners because they were under educated and some were Irish Catholics, and also from little knowledge of what industrialization was.
The greatest number of emigrants was from around 1850 through the late 1870’s. The Irish had learned to farm potatoes, because of the productivity and market prices. Towards the end of 1845 the potato crops caught a fungus which destroyed the crops in the ground and also in the storage bins. This turned them into a blackened putrid mass.(Immigration and Immigrants, 2000). By the year 1846 the entire crop was destroyed. In the interim, more than a million people died from famine and poverty. This began the greatest influx of emigrants from Ireland.
After reaching the United States by sea, the Irish stayed mostly in a city environment because the majority of them knew nothing but farming and the land. They did not have the
Irish Immigration in 1850’s
Dorothy Mathews
Eth/125
March 7, 2010
Henry Williams
IRISH IMMIGRATION IN 1850’S 2
Irish Immigration in 1850’s
The line of ancestry that I came from is the Irish and English and Dutch. I am not certain about the dates, but I am pretty sure that they emigrated around the years 1850 to 1870. The Irish left the island of Ireland because of the potato famine that overtook their country. Even though undefined, Irish emigrants faced persecution from other foreigners because they were under educated and some were Irish Catholics, and also from little knowledge of what industrialization was.
The greatest number of emigrants was from around 1850 through the late 1870’s. The Irish had learned to farm potatoes, because of the productivity and market prices. Towards the end of 1845 the potato crops caught a fungus which destroyed the crops in the ground and also in the storage bins. This turned them into a blackened putrid mass.(Immigration and Immigrants, 2000). By the year 1846 the entire crop was destroyed. In the interim, more than a million people died from famine and poverty. This began the greatest influx of emigrants from Ireland.
After reaching the United States by sea, the Irish stayed mostly in a city environment because the majority of them knew nothing but farming and the land. They did not have the
References: Immigration and Immigrants. (2000). In Encyclopedia of the United States in the Nineteenth Century. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/galeus/immigration_and_ immigrants. Voters and Voting. (2000). In Encyclopedia of the United States in the Nineteenth Century. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/galeus/voters_and_voting.