Immigration in the News: "Second-Generation Americans: A Portrait of the Adult Children of Immigrants" (Pew Research Center)
The "Great Hunger:" Irish Potato Famine, 1840s
-30-40% of the crop is destroyed in 1845
-1846 - blight returns and destroys 80% of the crop
-More than 1 million people died of starvation and famine-related diseases
Famine Migration, 1846-1855
-1.5 million fled to the United States
-"America Wake": modified funeral wake to say farewell to immigrants and to express despair and loss over parting (Kerby Miller)
Irish Immigrants in America
-"Exile" migration (Kerby Miller)
-Poverty, crime, family conflict (Hasia Diner)
Anti-Catholic Nativism in 19th Century America
-"Nativism"- opposition to immigrants and immigration; privileges the "native-born" peoples of a nation
-Growth in immigration produced anxiety amongst native-born Americans because "new" Irish Catholic immigrants were not assimilating and they not desirable citizens
"Know Nothing" (American) Party
-formed 1849
-National platform including assimilating immigrants and modifying naturalization laws to require 21-years of residence
-Ideology (see Tyler Anbinder)
-"Irish Americans" Cartoons from Harper's Weekly
