Irish Americans

Irish Immigration before 1845

Protestants dominated early Irish immigration to the colonies even though these Presbyterians from Ireland of Scotch descent accounted for only one of ten, at most one of seven, of the island of Ireland's residents in the 18th century. Motivating the early immigrants was the lure of free land in North America, a sharp contrast to Ireland where more and more tenants had to compete for land. Powerful Irish property owners took full advantage by squeezing more and more profits, making migration to colonial America attractive.

The Roman Catholics among the early immigrants were a diverse group. Some were extensions of the privileged classes seeking to prosper even more. Protestant settlers of all national backgrounds united in their hatred of Catholicism. In most of the colonies, Catholics could not practice their faith openly and either struggled inwardly or converted to Anglicanism. Other Roman Catholics, and some Protestants, came as an alternative to prison or after signing articles of indenture that bound them to labor for periods customarily of 3 to 5 but sometimes as long as 7 years.

The U.S. Revolution tem-porarily stopped the flow of immigration; soon, however, deteriorating economic conditions in Ireland spurred even greater movement to North [Page 759]America. British officials, by making passage to the newly formed republic of the United States expensive, diverted many immigrants to British North America (Canada). Yet a significant number continued to come to the United States, and although still primarily Protestant, they represented a broader spectrum of Ireland both economically and geographically.

Many mistakenly overlook this early immigration and see Irish immigration as beginning during the Great Famine. Yet, the Irish were the largest group after the English among immigrants during the colonial period. The historical emphasis on the famine immigrants is understandable given the role it played in Ireland and its impetus for the massive transfer of population from Ireland to the United States.

The Famine Years

In 1845, a fungus wiped out the potato crop of Ireland, as well as much of Western Europe and even the coastal United States. Potatoes were particularly central to the lives of the Irish, and the devastating starvation did not begin to recede until 1851. Mortality was high especially among the poor and in the more agricultural areas of the island. To escape catastrophe, some 2 million fled. Most went to England, but many continued on to the United States. From 1841 through 1890, more than 3.2 million Irish arrived in the United States.

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