Blog #9

 

 

      The Irish were the first major wave of immigrants to arrive in the United States. One of the primary reasons they were seen as a bad influence to American culture was for their preference of religion. Unlike the dominant Protestant hegemony, the Irish were Catholics and were discriminated in all parts of life. There was a strong anti-Catholic sentiment because the large growth of immigrant power gave birth to the rapid growth of the Catholic Church. Additionally, the large numbers of immigrants overcrowded certain cities like New York City. Many of the Irish were very poor, and often arrived from the impoverished countryside and were rooted in traditional folkways. Most lacked formal education, and were deemed reluctant and lost in following American ways. The large influx of people increased crime rates and the demand for public aid. Thus, many cities became overcrowded and dirty causing sickness and disease. The Irish were labeled as heathens, criminals, and disease-infected further propagating Nativism. Although American schools “were culturally intolerant” (pg. 95), education played a pivotal role in the assimilation of the Irish to become part of American mainstream. The early school textbooks portrayed the Irish as a plague and mocked their religious beliefs. Bishop John Hughes, “an ardent champion of Catholic and Irish causes” (pg. 95), claimed “fairness demanded that Catholics be allowed to run their own public institutions” (pg. 95). Thus, development of Irish-run institutions such as Catholic schools helped them gain social mobility. The Irish felt less discriminated in an accepting learning environment that allowed them to acquire necessary skills for specific trades. The first generations of immigrants were unskilled and impoverished, but the second generation was able to move on to skilled trades such as carpentry, plumbers, and factory workers. Eventually, the third generation of Irish Americans “began to achieve a degree of occupational parity with the general population” (pg.99). Irish Americans were employed in in civil service and even as Board of Education employees. Although the Irish symbolize the first example of well-intended people seeking the “American Dream,” they were not at a total disadvantage in their arrival to the United States. For example, they were able to speak English which allowed them to integrate into the social and political system. The command of the language was crucial to the establishment of their own schools, hospitals, and other institutions that allowed them to assimilate into American ways. Furthermore, even though discrimination against European immigrants was explained in terms of race, “the fact that they were White served to ease their assimilation” (pg. 129). They “became White” (pg. 129) by “identifying with the shared set of physical and cultural characteristics” (pg. 129) of the dominant hegemony. Hence, the adoption of American ideologies helped European immigrants become economically successful and allowed them to gain full command of the language to “intermingle with the larger White populace” (pg. 129) and become part of American culture themselves.