Irish Immigrants In The 19th Century

In the 19th century, the Irish population experienced a major boom in population rate, as people began to give birth to more children, due to the catholic believes. During the years of the Potato Famine in 1845 to 1851, almost 1.5 million Irish died, due to hunger, as they mainly lived of the potatoes. This created a great boom of Irish fleeing to America, almost 1.7 million from the mid 1840’s to the 1860’s, in the hope of getting a brighter future. The majority of these migrated to the Northeast centers. The majority of those who fled the country, were often the unskilled peasant workers, who saw an opportunity in a new life, in America (Rapple)

The Irish migrants, who made the trip to America, often chose to stay in the Northwestern cities, and New York City quickly became a popular place; at that time, New York City had more Irishmen than Dublin, Ireland. In New York, they were placed in small-subdivided homes that were made for single families, due to the reason they often couldn’t afford better housing. (Library of Congress)The bad conditions the Irish lived under, often led to diseases of all kind, and early deaths. It was estimated that in New York City, approx. 80% of all Irish immigrant born infants, died. (Kinsella )
Please see appendix 1 and 2 for “5 Cents a Spot” and “Letter from an Irish