Louis Wirth Discrimination In The 19th Century

Louis Wirth defined minorities as "a group of people who, because of their physical or cultural characteristics, are singled out from the others in the society in which they live for differential and unequal treatment, and who therefore regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination." This writing will examine the plight of the first Irish-American immigrants as an example of a minority that experienced systemic discrimination( in their native England) which subsequently determined their social standing in the New World as well as the few organizations aimed to improve their conditions.
Like many immigrant groups in the United States, the Irish were characterized as racial others when they first arrived in the 19th century. The Irish had suffered horrible injustices in the U.K. at the hands of the British, even called “white negroes.” Formal discrimination against the Irish dates back to 1695 when the Penal Laws were put into place designed to punish Irish for supporting James the second in revolt. The laws stripped Irish Catholic’s of their rights. For example, the laws stated that the Irish couldn’t hold any government office, vote, buy land, practice law, attend school or serve an apprenticeship, and even banned the Irish Gaelic language. With 80 percent of Ireland being catholic, the Penal Laws were put into action to degrade the
The British government put Charles Edward Trevelyan in charge of the relief operations in Ireland. Trevelyan was a devout advocate of the Laissez-faire approach to dealing with the famine which advocated a hands-off policy in the belief that all the problems would eventually be solved on their own through natural means. He openly stated his desire was to make “Irish property support Irish poverty." This is where the Central Relief Committee of Society of Friends came into