Takaki Chapter 6

I found its interesting how to hear how the Irish came to America. It wasn’t because they dreamed of a brighter future or land of opportunities it was because they were forced to leave. And it was just a small amount of Irish who were forced to leave it was five and a half million between 1815 and 1920. Ironically, they were being pushed out of their country in masses, “by strangers from England”. Previously the Irish had lost a vast majority of their land to English land lords and were forced to convert to the Christian religion but later found themselves defending Catholicism. Due to the push to increase exports the Irish were pushed even further into poverty. Between 1750 and 1810 Irish exports increased from 2 million to 6 million pounds. To try and overcome poverty around the 1840’s many Irish became migratory workers and were able to make enough to feed their families potatoes for a year.

In July of 1845 the potato crop was attacked with a disease. By 1855 over one million people had died from hunger and sickness. During this time many Irish fled to America in an attempt to escape the fever, disease and hunger. Over one million people had died from the Great Potato Famine.

Like many other immigrants that came to America the Irish became laborers. While many of them became laborers some Irish didn’t even make it to America. Due to the horrible conditions on their voyage over an estimated twenty percent of the emigrants dies during or because of the passage.

Conditions in Ireland failed to improve and between the years of 1855 and 1920, three million Irish moved to America. Even though they came to America looking for the land of promises they quickly realized that it wasn’t what they thought it was going to be. After an Irish labor strike, Chinese workers were brought in to fill the gaps in unemployment. The Chinese were able to increase production compared to the Irish. When contrasted with the Chinese they were often compared to blacks. According to an English traveler, “To be called an ‘Irishman’ is almost as great an insult as to be stigmatized as a ‘nigger feeler’” (pg. 150).

Even though the English viewed Blacks and Irish in the same social class standing Irish people did not treat Blacks as equals. Once again it comes back to the same issues of equality. No ethnicity or race can expect to be treated as equals when they don’t show the same equal treatment to others. As soon as the Irish began receiving jobs that were perhaps worse than those given to the slaves they began to promote their whiteness.