Why The Irish Potato Famine In Ireland

John’s ship finally arrived in New York and he was exhausted. He and his family traveled to America because of the potato famine that was happening back home in Ireland. The first task he needed to do was find a place to live at with his family; he realized that the decent houses and apartments were out of his budget. He only had money for the crowded and unhygienic apartments, if they could be called that. After John picked a “room” out, he went to search for jobs. While he was out looking for work, he noticed people eyeing him strangely and signs saying “No Irish Need Apply.” The only type of jobs he could work at were the low-paying ones. But he was desperate, so he took them. The workplace looked filthy and dangerous. John wondered if he
The Irish had been suffering for centuries, which was due to the British control over Ireland. As David Levinson and Melvin Ember point out, the British government took away the land from the Irish Catholics and gave it to the Scottish and English people that moved there. The British seized so much land that “by 1750, only 5 percent of all Irish land remained in Catholic hands, even though about 80 percent of the population was Catholic” (460). The minority had more power than the majority; it seemed as if their homeland was not truly their home. Masses of Irish immigrated to different countries because of this. But, according to Bronwen Walter, Irish emigration peaked “in the years of the Great Famine of 1845–1850 and its aftermath” (“Irish Diaspora”). This was because, according to the article “Irish,” the famine in Ireland was “so severe and relief efforts were so inadequate that, out of a population of fewer than nine million, more than one million Irish died of malnutrition, scurvy or fever” (Levinson and Ember 463). The Irish people had two choices: stay in their country and die, or relocate to another nation. Over ten percent of the population perished due to this catastrophe, which is a massive percentage. This proportion is not unreasonable, for “most Irish peasants had been living entirely on a diet of boiled potatoes, eating an average of ten or twelve
Levinson and Ember observe that the Irish were heavily involved with politics and usually voted for the Democrats. The immigrants voted for the party because the political machines, like Tammany Hall, attracted the immigrants by offering minor political ranking, work, and drinks. Likewise, the Democrats interested them because they highlight the rights of the “common man” (464). The Irish agree with the values of Americans, hence supporting the Democratic Party. Would the Democrats still be relevant if the Irish did not keep their allegiance with the party? Moreover, the Irish were also supporters of the labor movement. Dolan insists that “no other ethnic group would match [the Irish] for union activism in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The first labor organization, the Knights of Labor, was overwhelmingly Irish” (“Irish Americans”). Labor unions are a large part of American society. Unions were important during the twentieth century and contributed to various laws surrounding the workplace, such as child labor laws. Unions are still around today. As a result of the Irish’s involvement in politics, Irish Americans were able to achieve high-ranking government positions in America. The article “Irish Americans” gives examples like Alfred E. Smith and John F. Kennedy. Smith was elected governor of New York four times; he was also the presidential nominee for the Democratic party in 1928.