The chapter begins with an introduction of the attitudes towards Irish Catholic people throughout history. Although technically white these people are often compared to Negro people in terms of the treatment they receive from their society. Throughout history there has also been an ongoing conflict between Protestantism and Catholicism.
The early part of the chapter discusses the what situation was for Irish people in Europe and what caused so many of them to immigrate to the US during the mid 1840’s. “The history of the poor is the history of Ireland” (pg 134). This is a general trend for the Irish people. In Europe they faced oppression from British rule and were viewed as inferior. What made this worse was the political and economic unrest that Europe was facing during this time period. Ireland was hit especially hard. Most of them were peasants and relied heavily on agriculture. When faced with failed harvests they had no choice but to move. This is what caused that huge influx of immigration to the US. In addition to Irish immigrants there were a great deal of Germans who came.
By the Mid 1850’s there were huge concentrations of Celts in the US, especially in the cities (specifically NY). Once arriving in America the Irish immigrants faced further struggle. Since they were poor peasants their place in American society was limited. They concentrated in slums and were viewed negatively by natives. This is when stereotyping emerges. Cartoon played a big role in the emergence of the Paddy stereotype. Irish people were often depicted as ape like figures. The author includes some images of cartoons from the time. Many of these cartoons featured Negros and Irish people as similar figures.
Nativism became relevant in the politics of this time. American felt threatened by this influx of people from Europe. This effected the political environment of the country as well. The development of the Know Nothing Party is a prime example of the nativist sentiment of the time. There was generally a lot of political tension regarding immigration and the Irish became the focus of discrimination. Coupled with the religious tensions this was an especially hard time for that group of people.
