By 1820, it is estimated that 500,000 Irish had immigrated to the United States. These immigrants were mainly Presbyterians who had originally moved to Ireland from Scotland. They referred to themselves as Scots-Irish to distinguish themselves from the Irish Catholics who made up most of the remaining immigrants.
The Presbyterians fit in well with mainstream Americans, unlike the later waves of Catholic Irish, who were more likely to maintain their own cultural heritage.
Approximately five million Irish immigrated to the United States after 1820. About three-fourths of these were Roman Catholics. Many were impoverished families from rural Ireland, seeking a better life in the United States.
Most Irish in America fall into one of two groups -- the Presbyterian Scots-Irish or the Irish-Americans, who are mainly Catholic.
In the mid to late 1840s, Ireland was stricken by a "Great Famine", the second such in Irish History. Caused by potato blight and the political and economic climate of the period, it led to widespread starvation. Emigration was preferable to slow death, so many individuals and families left their beloved Ireland to travel to America.
Although many viewed America as a land of opportunity, upon arrival, it became quickly obvious that opportunity might actually be limited and would require an uphill struggle.
Often, the first people the Irish immigrants encountered were owners of nearby tenements, or their representatives. These greedy men would all but force the immigrants into high-rent slums. Almost invariably poor, the newly-arrived Irish had little means to move on, and so were forced to settle in whatever port they arrived.
The Irish were not well thought of in America during that period. One immigrant wrote home that, "My master is a great tyrant. He treats me as badly as if I were a common Irishman." During the 1850s, no class of people in America was more maligned and mistreated than Irish immigrants.
Help wanted ads very often included the phrase, "NINA" or "No Irish Need Apply". The scarcity of jobs for Irish led to rampant poverty. Additionally, the Irish were considered illiterate, uncouth, unsanitary, and generally bad for the neighborhood. As a result, they were forced to live in the shacks and cellars of the cities' slums, leading to a high mortality rate. One estimate suggested that about 80% of all infants born to Irish immigrants in New York City died.
Irish immigrants were blamed for high crime rates. The Chicago Post wrote, "The Irish fill our prisons... Putting them on a boat and sending them home would end crime in this country."
Still, the Irish refused to give up. Instead, they banded together for strength. They prayed, ate, and drank together. They also worked together.
Instead of yielding themselves to degradation and hopelessness, the Irish new to America held to their ethics, and in time proved themselves to be honest and hardworking.