Event Description
In 1845, a famine caused by potato blight propelled the massive migration of Ireland’s individuals to America. By the 1850s, the population of Ireland spiked, reaching over eight million, while the country suffered from poverty. When the Great Famine began, Ireland was highly dependent on potato food supply from its agricultural sector. Witnesses reported that the weather conditions were arid in the year of the famine, and potato plains suffered from a fungus, resulting in a significant shortage of potato production. Consequently, substantial numbers of Irish people died from starvation, while another significant proportion of the population decided to leave their home country in search of a better future. This was the primary reason for the profound immigration of the Irish to America.
The importance of this event appeared from the fact that the Irish migration was one of the most significant contributors to the American immigrants’ inflow. Therefore, it created a profound impact on the creation of the American nation. In addition, the considerable flow of Irish immigrants greatly influenced the social and economic environment of the U.S. during the 19th century. Moreover, Irish-Americans affected the labor forces and even contributed during the Civil War.
Secondary Sources
While searching for appropriate secondary sources, I looked for various materials that might be relevant to the Irish migration of the 19th to the United States. I started with general information on the Irish migration, including the reasons and consequences of the historical event. This was how I discovered my first source: Causes and consequences of global migration by Ruist (2021). Ruist, in his book, highlighted the significance of global migration and provided valuable insights about the events that preceded and caused the rapid migration of Ireland population to America. I considered the material from this book helpful since it contained relevant information about the importance of global migration in general while sharing specific data about the Irish migration as well.
On the other hand, my second source for the research focused solely on Irish American history, paying close attention to the Irish migration. After the general overview of the global migration, including the data about Irish immigrants in the period of the Potato Blight, I wanted to find more specific information about Irish Americans. Even though Dolan’s (2010) book The Irish Americans: A History was published more than ten years ago, it was considered a highly reliable reference on the Irish American heritage. Just as the first source, the book covered the reasons for the Irish migration. However, it took a more personal perspective, referring to valuable pieces of evidence from the primary sources, and included much more particular material about the Irish Americans. It described the challenges and threats faced by the immigrants and covered the process of the migrants’ economic, social and cultural assimilation.
Finally, The economic assimilation of Irish Famine migrants to the United States by Collins and Zimran (2019) was chosen as the third source for the research. The reason for its inclusion was that the paper investigated the crucial question of economic assimilation of Irish immigrants who arrived in America fleeing from the famine of 1845. This research provided relatively new data on the famine-era migrants’ assimilation in the American labor market. It also compared the economic performance of the Irish Americans with other migrants and the native population.
Primary Sources
After the initial research, I looked for the primary sources to support the material from the secondary ones. Firstly, I investigated the primary references from my chosen sources. As a result, I found an autobiography of an Irish individual who lived in Ireland during the times of the potato famine. The memoir was called Rossa’s recollections, written by Rossa (1898). It depicted the period of the Great Irish Migration from the personal perspective, providing excessive information about life in Ireland during the 19th century. It helped me to elaborate the investigation of the living conditions and social events that propelled millions of Irish people to escape their home country. The second primary resource was a letter from William Dunne (1846) to his nephew John Curtis. It provided additional perspective on the dramatic events in Ireland that sparked the emigration.
Research Question
Based on the review of the chosen sources, I consider the following questions to cover the most interesting aspects of the Irish Famine migration: What caused Irish people to migrate to America in the 19th century, and what characterized the process of Irish American cultural and economic assimilation in the United States?
Thesis
Thesis statement: In the 19th century, the Irish were driven by the Great Famine and overpopulation to immigrate to America, where they faced social discrimination but managed to assimilate to the new environment.
As a result of the potato blight in the middle of the 19th century, Ireland suffered a devastating famine that cost more than a million lives (Dolan, 2010; Ruist, 2021; Rossa, 1898). The inadequate food supply and dramatic labor market conditions propelled about 19% of the Ireland population to emigrate in the 1850s, mainly moving to America (Dolan, 2010). Substantial numbers of Irish immigrants without proper education decreased the U.S. labor market opportunities for natives, which resulted in social hatred and discrimination (Dolan, 2010; Collins & Zinran, 2019). However, during the last half of the 19th century, the next generations of migrant families managed to shorten the educational and economic gap compared to the natives and adapt to the alternative cultural environment (Dolan, 2010; Collins & Zinran, 2019).
References
Collins, W. J., & Zimran, A. (2019). The economic assimilation of Irish Famine migrants to the United States. Explorations in Economic History, vol. 74, no. 1, pp. 1-22.
Dolan, J. P. (2010). The Irish Americans: A History. Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Dunne, W. (1846). William Dunne to his nephew John Curtis, April 25, 1846 [Letter]. Web.
Rossa, J. D. (1898). Rossa’s recollections, 1838 to 1898.The Project Gutenberg. Web.
Ruist, J. (2021). Causes and consequences of global migration. Anthem Press.