Ethnic Groups & Discrimination

The majority of my ethnicity comes from an Irish decent. The Irish first began immigrating to the United States by choice in 1798. Protestants were the first to arrive in the U.S. leaving discrimination immediately for Roman Catholic Irish settlers. Many Irish came to the United States during the 1800's. New York was the main location that the Irish decided to settle during this time era. They were forced out of their home land by the English. The Irish encountered prejudice, segregation, and racism from the very beginning of their immigration to United States.

The Irish faced prejudice not only in their homeland but when they arrived to the U.S. as well due to their religion. Many people in the U.S. hated the Irish. Many did not agree with their religion or the mannerisms that came with their religion. The prejudice grew as the Irish continued to pour into the United States. Many were automatically judged in the wrong manor by their ethnicity as being poor, dirty, criminals, and thieves.

The segregation that they encountered the most besides their ethnicity and religion was because most of them did come here poor and uneducated. Many of them lived in almshouses. These homes consisted of terrible living conditions. They were only aloud to reside with other Irish. The shacks that they called homes were very close to one another. This made it very easy to spread diseases. Finding a job was extremely hard to do. Many people would simply not hire Irish. They were denied access to particular businesses and jobs. Americans would post signs that would say "No Irish Need Apply" or "No Irish Allowed (Gavin, 2000 par 10).

The Irish were definitely subject to racism. The American people were not accepting or welcoming to the incoming or already residing Irish. The Irish started to become the minority. As the Irish did they became hated, some believing that an Irish man was worse than a black man. Many Americans felt this way because the black...