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Running head: LIFE OF AN IRISH IMMIGRANT 1

Life of an Irish Immigrant

Crystal L. Fielder

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September 18, 2011

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Life of an Irish Immigrant

In the late eighteenth century The Great Hunger, also known as Irelands Great Famine,

caused the death of approximately 1.5 million Irish men, women, and children (Irish Potato

Famine, 2000). By 1855, more than two million fled Ireland to avoid starvation and deceases.

Many fled to American is search for a better life and the great opportunities the read about in the

letters of others. However, the journey to their new lives was not an easy one. They first had to

endure the crowded and horrible conditions of the ships on the voyage over the Atlantic Ocean.

Once on the shores of America, the Irish had to fight a daily battle for survival. Out of the many

immigrants in America, there was no other group considered lower than the Irishman (Irish

Immigrants in America in the 19th century, 1996-2011).

With no help from others, they had to remain in the port cities in which they landed, such

as Boston, Massachusetts or New York, or at least close to them. Proper Bostonians pointed and

laughed at them as they stepped of the boats in out of date clothing and watched as they settled

into enclaves that became exclusively Irish. Greedy landlords took advantage of them, charging

them $1.50 a week for a small, single room with no ventilation, water, daylight, or sanitation.

Many of the large houses once belonging to prosperous Yankee merchants were divided room by

room in order to house hundreds of Irish. Boarding houses were filled with confused arrivals

were hoarded into vermin infested hovels that were priced four times higher than they were

originally told. When the family could no longer afford to pay for shelter, their belongings were

then taken for back rent leaving them penniless, while they were forced out on the streets. These

stuffy and unsanitary conditions were the perfect breeding grounds for diseases. An adult Irish

person lived an average of six years after landing on the shores of America and sixty percent of

Irish children born during this time did not live to see their sixth birthday (Irish Potato Famine,

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2000). In New York, it was estimated that eighty percent of all Irish born infants died during

these dark times (Irish Immigrants in America in the 19th century, 1996-2011).

Those who survived the diseases and living conditions searched for any kinds of work

they could manage, usually as servants. Seventy percent of the servants in Boston at the time

were Irish immigrants (The Irish in America: 1840's-1930's). A majority of the Irish immigrants

coming to America were illiterate and unskilled, only knowing how to cook, clean, sew, farm

and perform manual labor. The native Americans felt that jobs such as a cook, nanny or

chamber maid were fit for only servants. The common sentiment was Let the Negroes be

servants, and if not the Negroes, let the Irish fill their place (Irish Immigrants in America in

the 19th century, 1996-2011). In Ireland, the average wage for an individual was eight cents a

day, while in America it was a dollar a day. Because of this and the limited number of unskilled

jobs, many native Americans feared being undercut by the Irish. Their resentment, along with

the growing anti-Irish and anti-Catholic sentiment amount Americans led to No Irish Need

Apply sings being post in the factory gate, workshop doors and shop windows (Irish Potato

Famine, 2000).

The many Irish men and women who were unemployed were driven to despair, many

taking to drinking and criminal activity. In Boston, crime increase at a staggering rate, up to four

hundred percent for such crimes as aggravated assault, and it was estimated that everyday fifteen

hundred children roamed the streets begging and causing trouble (Irish Potato Famine, 2000).

Although they were treated with reticule and abuse, the Irish had a fierce love for American and

never gave up their loyalty for Ireland.