How Did Irish Immigration Affect The American Economy

During the 1840s, life in Ireland was becoming increasingly difficult. Agriculture was becoming market-oriented while the population continued to increase, leading to a decline in opportunity for farmers and leaseholders. Soon after, the potato blight devastated Ireland, where approximately one million perished and a million more emigrated to the United States. This caused Ireland’s population to decline by 20%. Meanwhile, the United States was in the midst of its Industrial Revolution. Poor economic conditions in Ireland and strong economic conditions in the U.S heavily influenced emigration. New immigrants and industrial growth transformed American society. The Irish “began at the lowest levels of the American workforce. Men dug canals; laid railroad track; mined coal, copper, gold, and silver; cleaned stables; drove horses; and laid building
As American infrastructure advanced, westward expansion became a reality. Therefore, thousands of workers, many of which were Irish immigrants, were required to connect and expand the Nation from the East to the West.
The completion of the Transcontinental Railroad played a large role in Westward Expansion and positively impacted the American economy. Irish Immigrants were not only integral to the construction of the railroads that facilitated western expansion, but they later used the railroad to migrate west and to form new immigrant settlements in western states and new territories. The Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroad companies comprised the Transcontinental Railroad and became the biggest businesses in America at the time. In 1848, approximately 226,000 foreigners, mainly Irish, German, and English, had moved to the United States seeking work, while fleeing political unrest and famine in Europe. Completion of the project required massive amounts of labor with approximately 140,000 employees. In