Irish Immigration In The 1800's

The Irish emigrated from Ireland to America at two separate times, during the 1700’s and again in the 1800’s. During the 1700’s the Irish that emigrated were the Ulster Irish, these were mostly Protestant and mostly from the northern part of Ireland. This group of Irish was originally from Scotland which was under English rule. In 1533 when Henry VIII separated from the Catholic Church, he enacted penal laws - laws directed against Catholics. Catholic owned land was seized and given to the English aristocracy. The penal laws made life very harsh for the Irish by denying them property, education, ability to practice their religion and prohibited them from participating in politics. (Thomas, 2011a). The Scots, being Protestant, but not belonging
This group of Irish was mostly from the southern and western part of Ireland and they were mostly Catholic. The impetus for their emigration from Ireland was primarily economic (but as a result of discrimination and the lack of the British government to response) and resulted from the famine that struck Ireland. They emigrated for shear survival. The great potato famine occurred in 1845, 1846 and 1847 and caused nearly a million Irish to perish. The Irish peasant was dependent on the potato crop for their survival. It was an ideal crop to grow on the limited space they had because it yielded enough food to live on. When the potato crops were destroyed by the potato blight, the peasants had literally nothing to eat. The British government did very little to help. The government reluctantly set up some work houses and public work programs but the money earned was barely enough to live on and people still starved. The Irish were desperate to leave for their ultimate survival. This is exemplified in a letter a woman wrote to her son in America, “Never I thought it would come my turn to beg no more” (Thomas, 2011d). This poor woman felt she was that close to death that she would die and not have to beg anymore. The potato famine led to “the greatest wave of emigration the world has ever known” (Thomas, 2011d). Two million Irish emigrated from Ireland between the years 1845 and 1855 as compared to 200,000 between the years 1839 and 1845. They flocked to America where they had likely heard it was the land of opportunity and the land of freedom. However, the America they encountered was not like the America previous Irishmen encountered. These new immigrants were very poor and were mostly Catholic. They were met with discrimination and scorn. America was mostly Protestant and this group of Irish was seen as foreign and dangerous. This