Brandon Ackerman
10/31/11
U.S. history
Irish immigrants came to America because of what was going on in
Ireland. One reason was because of the Great Potato Rot. Potatoes were one
of Ireland’s main crops. With out it there were little food to eat and not very
much money being made off of the crop. Families didn’t have enough
money to pay land lords. The solution was to go to America and start all
over and be relived of this famine. The famine in Ireland lasted for five
years.
They came to America for jobs and religious freedom. One of their
main jobs was working on digging canals. There were not any bulldozers.
There was only shovels to dig with. It was long grueling work. Just like most
immigrants they came for religious freedom. Some Irish people had people
in the United States pay for their trip over here. When they got here they
were used as slaves until they paid it off.
They lived on the Northeastern seaboard. They lived in ghettos within
the city. The Irish were limited by a language barrier. They had a lack of
literacy and skills. So they found refuge by staying with their own kind. This
way they can keep the same culture and be able to practice their own
religion.
The Irish undertook any job available.The Irish were going to do
anything to stay out of unemployment and poverty. They worked on railroad
expansion, digging canals, and even in factories. They also brought the
Catholic religion with them. New Catholic churches were put up where the
Irish settled.