How were the Irish immigrants treated in America from 1845-1855?

Answer 1

Not very well... America is historically Anti-Catholic so when thousands of Irish, who are traditionally Catholic, began pouring into cities like Boston and New York many nativists (well as of the past century or so) were worried and disgusted. There were many sterotypes made of the Irish such as they were drunks, swearing, pugnacious, and barbarous but above all because they were Catholic they were thought to be more devoted to the Pope than to America. They also worked for cheap on things such as the Erie Canal and construction which further made people think of them as peasants. The fear of imigration, especially that of the Irish, led to nativist politcal parties such as the Know Nothings. On the whole Catholics in general were treated badly and churches were often burned down or attacked but the Irish especially were looked down upon as sub-human and immoral.

Answer 2

The Irish were not warmly welcomed. They were lower than lower class. They worked in factories for less than minimum wage, and in very poor conditions. It wasn't until 1930's that the Irish made it into higher class, and society.

Answer 3

The answer to this question depends on the time. Early colonial Irish settlers were from the Belfast area and they arrived in the 1700's. Many of our political leaders in the American Revolution were from an Irish background. Andrew Jackson is a prime example of this. His families were Irish immigrants and his brothers fought in the revolution. By the end of the war his mother had died and so had his brother. This experience shows in his life. In the 1860's there was another wave of Irish and they were from the Ulster area. The Belfast Irish looked down on the Ulster Irish as uneducated and poor. Many of them fought in the civil war and built the railroads. Often they were paid low wages and they lived in crowded cities. Some railroad workers were paid in whisky because they were seen as drunkards. The Ulster Irish called the Belfast Irish "lace curtain" Irish and both groups looked down on each other. This created a system of discrimination from within the Irish community and outside the community. Then, the next wave of Irish came into NYC in the late 1800's at Ellis Island. These new immigrants faced discrimination and further low wages, poor housing and had to fight for the American dream. Of this group came men like Joe Kennedy of Boston who worked to make sure his family became part of the political scene of Boston and later the nation.

Answer 4

Because the Irish immigrants were Roman Catholics, they were not especially well liked by the predominately Protestant Americans. With little skills, most found work in factories in the cities of New York, Boston and Philadelphia.

Answer 5

The Irish were treated very badly. Many couldn't get work beyond working on the railroad or as house maids. Some were paid in whiskey rather than money. There were actually two different groups of Irish who immigrated to the United States. The first group of immigrants were in the 1700's and were fairly well off. The second group came in the 1800's and were less educated and poor. During the civil war as young Irish men got off the ships recruiters were waiting on the docks. About 60% of the men fighting the war were Irish immigrants.

Answer 6

The Irish were treated as outsiders when they showed up in Ellis Island, New York. They were only treated as drunks and theives!

Answer 7

Badly. See the Discrimination section of the Irish American site on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_American#Discrimination.

Answer 8

not well