Irish Americans

1. Irish Americans Model of Assimilation or Extinct Ethnicity? By Jessica Endres

2. Reasons for British control over Ireland… England always wanted to control Ireland so it would not be used by its enemies since the proximity to England makes it a desirable location for British enemies. The fear that European Catholics would side with the Irish and attack England was one reason for specific religious prosecution of Irish Catholics. Robert Moore, a politician of Northern Ireland said… “Ireland was a British colony; dominated for England’s political and economic advantage.” (Lee and Casey, 2006)

3. Henry VIII- first English ruler to assume the title of “King of Ireland” (Fallows, 1979) Acts of Supremacy in 1534- gave King Henry VIII Royal Supremacy which meant he had control over the entire United Kingdom Irish Catholics were forced to serve as slaves or serfs in their own land

4. Persecution of Catholics in Ireland In 1695 Penal Laws denied Catholics… This was intended to break the Irish Catholic spirit and terminate Catholicism. The effort to wipe it out completely pushed it underground into secrecy. the right the vote the right to hold office were forbidden to trade or enter a profession were barred from teaching were forbiddento bear arms. the celebration of mass was illegal Religion bound Catholics together. They had mass in fields with lookouts. and secretly educated their children.

5. Even Protestants in Ulster Northern Ireland were sick of British rule so they immigrated to America 1815-1819- 2/3 of the Irish immigrants were from Ulster, Northern Ireland. 1827-1832- ½ were from Ulster These immigrants were referred to as Scotch-Irish. The Ulster immigrants agreed to side with US and fight in the War of Independence since they had longstanding issues with the British. They helped the US win the war. Other people in Ireland heard of the Americans breaking free from the British. They did it! Let’s go there!

6. The Potato Famine The Great Famine in Ireland lasted from 1845 to 1848 Irish farmers were restricted to small plots of land and had no room to grow wheat or corn so potatoes were their main crop. http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/courses/ed311/kafai/Team%204/immigration In 1845, the harvest yielded black, pulpy potatoes that disintegrated before they could even be picked After a 10 year starvation period, the population of Ireland was 6,500,000… Starving families sent over family to America. They explored new opportunities and sent money back to support their families. They also sent ‘passage money’ for more family members to come over. that is 2 ½ million short of what would have been normal growth… because of famine people emigrated, died or were never born.

7. Coming to America… • Reasons for leaving Ireland… • overpopulation • domination by a foreign power • political and religious persecution • economic dislocation • crop failure families were splitting and coexisting on either side of the Atlantic ocean Lived in poverty, lost most in famine They went from a rural life to an urban existence Catholic Irish immigrants adapted to Protestant dominated America http://www.victoriana.com/Irish/1850s.htm

8. http://www.victoriana.com/Irish/1850s.htm Irish immigrants had a reputation for being rowdy, drunk and prone to violence “a race which preferred to live in the filth of hovels… innately contentious and brawling and criminal and showed few signs of being able to respond to civilizing influences” (Ignatiev, 1995) “Paddy wagons” were used to transport drunken rowdy Irish (Padraic or Patrick) passengers (Ignatiev, 1995)

9. The Irish went from being rural farmers to urban workers Women worked as domestics, cleaning houses and taking care of children Irish men took jobs that people didn’t want. These jobs were often hard or dangerous. “were in a position to observe such gentle manners and social graces as their employers might display thus speeding their adaptation to American ways.” (Fallows, 1979) Men hauled concrete, dug canals, laid railroads and raised buildings http://www.victoriana.com/Irish/IrishPoliticalCartoons.htm

10. These Irish Americans wanted to get married… In 1884, when applying for a marriage license the State of Virginia, regarded these two people as "colored.”

11. Black and white laborers worked together in similar jobs… “To become white they had to learn to subordinate count, religious, or national animosities, not to mention any natural sympathies they may have felt for their fellow creatures, to a new solidarity based on color- a bond which, it must be remembered, was contradicted by their experience in Ireland.” (Ignatiev, 1995) “Catholic Irish underwent an emigration to the Unites States, from being victims and opponents of racial oppression to upholders of slavery and white supremacy.” (Ignatiev, 1995) http://chnm.gmu.edu/courses/omalley/120/alien/four.html The Irish went from being the oppressed to the oppressors.

12. How did the Irish become white? Today Irish Americans have the choice to share their heritage or assume a “white identity.” What did they have to trade in to get this white status? St. Patrick’s day may be the only time that they chose to acknowledge their Irish past. Did the Irish in America achieve total assimilation? Was trading in their Irish heritage for whiteness worth it?

13. The Irish had advantages over other immigrant groups The color of their skin was white which allowed them to more easily blend in with the White Anglo Saxon Protestants (WASP). Another advantage was that they already spoke English before reaching American shores. Though still Catholic, the Irish had an advantage over Italian Catholic immigrants and German Catholic immigrants that also had to learn English when they arrived.

14. New immigrants kept arriving which allowed the ones who were already here, show them the American ways. “They were in the classic position of being helped up socially by those pushing from below.” (Fallows, 1979) Irish immigrants began to assert leadership among new Catholic immigrants (Italians, Poles and Slovaks)

15. Irish Americans in Politics: Strength in Numbers The influx of Irish immigrants gave them the advantage of numbers New York by 1855 Irish born made up 28% of city population 34% of its votes Irish Americans voted themselves into political power in large cities like New York and Boston Irish Americans made up so much of the labor force that they easily gained control of labor unions and organizations

16. “To survive, men must combine a strenuous effort to raise themselves up by their bootstraps with a responsibility to help their fellow man if they have also tried hard but have been less successful.” (Fallows, 1979) Politics “The old-line Irish Catholic acceptance of a world in which life is harsh, problems are normal, man is sinful and struggle and hard work are necessary to obtain a foothold in this world and to improve one’s status in society.”(Fallows, 1979) “The Irish political view of social justice was pragmatic and communal rather than ideological and individualistic.” (Fallows, 1979) Anglo American Catholic Irish American viewed man as imperfect beings, do not adopt the laissez-faire approach, help the needy valued the perfectibility of man and social progress Politics influenced by Catholic values

17. Irish identity and Catholicism are so intertwined Irish immigrants saw education as a form of social mobility They wanted and alternative to Protestants influenced public schools “The Catholic Church did develop and maintain the most extensive, non governmentally funded denominational school system found in any modern country.” (Fallows, 1979) “About 50% of American Catholic children have been able to receive at least some part of their education in church-supported schools.” (Fallows, 1979)

18. Catholicism was the common bond that kept them together through oppression Other ethnic groups preserve their culture through schooling… Chinese school, Armenian school, Hebrew school… there is not Irish school? Catholic school is similar to ‘Irish school’ Catholic schools preserved their culture Did it preserve Irish culture or erase it? “effectively stripped the Irish of their peasant heritage in the process of teaching them the skills needed for survival in America, and that while they concentrated on what it meant to be a good Catholic they largely ignored any specific transmission of the Irish heritage.” (Fallows, 1979)

19. The Era of two Johns 1960-1970 Pope John XXIII John F. Kennedy

20. 1928- Alfred Smith was the first Irish American Democratic Presidential nominee though he did not win John F. Kennedy Elected in 1960 1960- JFK elected first Catholic Irish American President of the United States Some Americans still feared that the Pope would have control through him He emphasized that he was the president not the Catholic president Robert Frost’s inaugural admonition urged him to “be more Irish than Harvard” “smashed the green ceiling” (Lee and Casey, 2006) Legitimized Irishness

21. Pope John XXIII Vatican II resulted in a more relaxed less strict Catholic church. This made Catholics less separated by religionvand helped them to assimilate Vatican II 1962-1965 Decline of the Catholic Church after Vatican II Fewer people going to mass regularly Catholics going to non-Catholic colleges Fewer people becoming priests or nuns Also a decline after Sex Scandals (look up year) The one remaining thing that identified Irish as different was slowly fading away…

22. 1827-1832 immigrants from Northern Ireland to US 1534 Acts of Supremacy 1960-1970 Era of the Two Johns 1962 Vatican II 1695 Penal Laws 1845-1848 The Potato Famine- influx of Irish Catholic immigrants to US 1960 John F. Kennedy is the first elected Irish Catholic President

23. Have the Irish reached total assimilation? Boston by 1850 31% of the population was of Irish decent. Because of redlining white skin color gave them an advantage over other immigrants. Post WWII, the G.I. Bill resulted in ‘white flight’ to the suburbs. Most Irish fled to the South Shore. There is still a big concentration of Irish in South Boston. They have lived in slum-like conditions and couldn’t spread out because of the physical layout of the city South Boston, Charlestown and Brighton contain largely separate Irish populations that have not assimilated Boston area survey- median income Irish immigrant was $5,000. Less well off than any other group except Puerto Ricans.

24. We cannot ignore the systematic racism that prevents some ethnic groups from assimilating and limits their social mobility. A warning when reading about the oppression of Irish Americans.. Some people argue “Well, the Irish were oppressed and they pulled themselves up by their bootstraps. Why can’t black people do that? The “success” of their assimilation cannot be used as a ruler for other ethnic groups.

25. Because of the high rate of intermarriage among Irish Americas, is the question still about becoming white? Or are Irish Americans becoming increasingly more brown? How theIrish became white? How the Irish became brown?

26. Lingering questions… I am interested in how 3rd and 4th generation Irish Americans are attempting to reclaim their Irish Heritage… …getting shamrock tattoos, flying Irish flags, wearing Celtic crosses, and frequenting Irish pubs… how authentic are all of these things?

27. As a 4th generation Irish American I was originally made aware of my ethnicity in Racial and Cultural Identities during sophomore year of undergrad. I was frustrated when I was unable to pinpoint exactly what about me made me Irish. Because of my whiteness I am able to blend into the dominant white population and I have the privilege of not having to disclose my ethnicity. My ancestors who first immigrated to this country did not have that privilege. This project has allowed me to explore the assimilation of Irish Americans and sparked more questions about my Irish heritage. I recently began looking into where in Ireland my family is from. As a teacher I am wondering how I can help other Irish American students appreciate their often hidden ethnicity.

28. “Is the history of Irish-America an ethnic success story or a warning to other groups that they should be wary of surrendering ethnicity for the sake of assimilation?” (Fallows, 1979) You decide…

29. Sources: Fallows, M (1979). Irish Americas: Identity and Assimilation. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall Inc.. (Fallows, 1979) Ignatiev, N (1995). Irish Americas: Identity and Assimilation. New York, NY: Routledge. (Ignatiev, 1995) Lee, J, & Casey, M (2006). Making the Irish American.New York, NY: New York University Press. McCaffrey, L (1992). Textures of Irish America. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. (Lee and Casey, 2006) Shannon, W (1963). The American Irish. New York, NY: The MacMillan Company. http://www.victoriana.com/Irish/1850s.htm (retrieved July 14, 2009) http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/courses/ed311/kafai/Team%204/immigration (retrieved July 14, 2009) http://www.victoriana.com/Irish/1850s.htm (retrieved July 8, 2009)