Irish Immigration Research Paper

1764 Words8 Pages
The Irish immigrants coming to America immediately faced hardships upon their arrival. Many of the immigrants coming off the boat did not have a proper education and were lucky if they could even read and write properly. Most were young, the median age in 1850 being under 30. Their accents made them standout and they had little money as a result of the place they came from. As a result of these factors most of the first immigrants stayed near the port cities especially in areas such as Boston, Philadelphia and New York City. Within these cities, the Irish formed slums which were basically poor areas that were predominantly Irish. The living areas were small, crowded and dirty. Irish immigrants immediately took on the role as hard working blue collar workers. Many of the first jobs came in the railroad industry. The Irish were responsible for building major rail systems such as the Western and Atlantic rail systems. They worked hard for long hours and little pay and were often looked down…show more content…
Despite being hated, the Irish still worked and pushed for a better life. The Civil War served as a turning point for Irish immigrants. The Civil War was highly controversial for Irish immigrants. On one side many new immigrants did not feel like they had a steak in the war. They didn’t see why they had to fight in a war for a country that didn’t even accept them. Furthermore, they thought they were being used as disposable soldiers to fight an unjust war. As a result of these people, the Civil War brought about violent riots such as the Draft Day Riots in 1863, which resulted in mayhem within New York City. The riots which stemmed from a mandatory draft, sparked outrage which led to thousands of immigrants storming police buildings and beating African Americans who they blamed for the war in the streets. The riots if anything showed that the Irish were a massive force which needed to be taken
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