The Impact Of The Irish Potato Famine On The United States

The United States is considered as a land of immigrants. One of the most significant and impactful waves of immigration to the United States occurred as a result of the Irish Potato Famine. The famine occurred due to failure of Ireland’s potato crop in 1945 through 1949 (Mokyr 1). Although the famine lasted four years, its effects can still be seen in the United States. The influx of Irish immigrants served as the backbone of the industrializing United States and forever changed the nation. Despite the Irish Potato Famine’s impact on the United States, it could have been avoided if other nations had the compassion to aid the starving Irish; modern governments must learn from the events of the famine to prevent future crises.
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“About one million people died from starvation or from typhus and other famine-related diseases” (Mokyr 3). When one realize the magnitude of the loss of life in Ireland, Great Britain’s actions seem genocidal. The British government allowed one million of its citizens to perish. Other nations in Europe and even the United States could have extended charity towards Ireland. The Crittenden bill was proposed in American Congress to provide Ireland with financial aid, yet it did not pass the House of Representatives and the bill was cited by Democrat President Polk as unconstitutional for spending American taxpayers money on a foreign nation (Sarbaugh 4-7). America’s refusal to aid the Irish did not mark their end of their involvement with the
The Irish had limited industrial skills and this limited job opportunities for the Irish. Many Irish immigrants took very low paying jobs and purchased whatever housing they could afford. “ Most [Irish immigrants] stayed in slum tenements near the ports [in cities like New York and Boston] where they arrived and lived in basements and attics with no water, sanitation, or daylight. Many children took to begging, and men often spent what little money they had on alcohol” (Eisenberg 3). Stereotypes of the Irish would soon develop. Irish men were viewed as dirty drunks, which did not aid their reputation when they applied for jobs. As a result, Irish men were denied jobs and were forced to live in poor conditions. This created a vicious cycle of poverty. Even so, the United States was industrializing and businesses needed cheap labor. Northern states, like New York, did not have access to slave labor. The Irish filled this role and provided cheap labor. “Many Irish women became servants or domestic workers, while many Irish men labored in coal mines and built railroads and canals. Railroad construction was so dangerous that it was said, "[there was] an Irishman buried under every tie” (Diller, Hagen, Paul, and Wesson 4). The Irish would not stay at the bottom of American society