The Irish in America

How the Irish Saved Civilization (Hinges of History)

Beginning in 1845, a terrible blight destroyed the Irish potato crop, the main food of a poor nation.  Starvation was widespread, and those who could scrape together money for passage left for America in search of a better life.

The first Irish had immigrated to the Carolinas as early as the 1680s, but it was not until the nineteenth century that they came in large numbers.   The main flow of immigrants came between 1820 and 1860 reaching an all-time peak after the potato famine.

Arriving all but penniless, most families went to northern cities.  The men worked on construction gangs that built the nation’s new canals and railroads, and in coalfields.  Some Americans resented the Irish immigrants because they were Roman Catholics and because they were willing to work for very low wages.  Gradually, however, the Irish settled comfortably into American society.  They have made many important contributions to American life, and have made many important contributions to American life.  And have been particularly prominent in politics and the labor movements

A proud moment for all Irish-Americans was the inauguration in 1961 of President John F. Kennedy whose ancestors had emigrated from Ireland in 1848.

In 1851 alone, more than 220,000 Irish men and women came to the United States.