Irish Immigration In The 20th Century

Although it occurred many years after the first wave of immigration, in the 20th century the Irish fully assimilated into American culture and enjoyed equal treatment from their Protestant counterparts. Many consider the presidential election of 1928 a turning point in the acceptance of Irish in the United States. That year, Al Smith became the first Irish Catholic to win the democratic nomination for president. Likewise, many see the election of 1961 as a triumph for Irish assimilation in America. This election saw John F. Kennedy become the first Irish Catholic to be president. These elections were so important because they show that by the mid-20th century Protestants were willing to elect Irish Catholics to one of the most important political
An important shift had to have occurred during the 20th century that allowed these men to gain great political notability. Historian Marta Deyrup posits that this period saw a shift from Irish being considered an immigrant population to an ethnic one. This proves that by the time of Kennedy’s election, Americans saw Irish culture as an established part of American heritage as opposed to a completely foreign set of societal values. This shift was most probably prompted by the drop in Irish immigration in the 20th century. The immigration quotas placed on Ireland by the US in the 1920s slowed immigration. Therefore, by the 1920s the Irish were no longer one of the largest immigrant groups in the country. This meant that many young people who identified as Irish in the United States were not immigrants. The new generation of Irish Catholics would have Irish ancestry, but were born and raised in American culture. Thus, most people identifying as Irish were shaped by American society. This would create a generation of Irish in America more culturally assimilated than their
My great-grandparents moved to New York City, because little economic opportunity was available to them in their small Irish towns. They became small business owners and domestic servants after they moved to America. However, my grandparents enjoyed enough social and economic status to gain PhDs and law degrees. Since the Irish were no longer stigmatized and ostracized by Americans, my grandparents could overcome the prejudices that held back the children of past immigrants. In addition, my mother and her siblings achieved cultural assimilation. In my family, the first two generations in America still held on tightly to their Irish culture. Both my great-grandparents and my grandparents were devout Catholics, had around eight children, and spoke some Gaelic. Their Irish identity was paramount to their American identity and they preferred to live in majority Irish communities. My mother strayed from this path. She only had one child, and the most any of her siblings have had is four, she also does not speak Gaelic. While my grandma still makes Sunday mass a priority, my mother married a Jewish man. My family’s story follows the larger trends seen among Irish immigrants. While it took one generation for economic assimilation in my family, the second generation born in the United States was the one to