1800-1850
Allie Hales & Corrie Haynes
Irish Most were potato
farmers Most were poor and
lacked a decent education
Roman-Catholicism was the main religion
German Uprooted farmers Political refugees Were not nearly as
poor as Irish, and lived in a stable environment
Not a very religious group of people
• They were under British rule• The food they grew was either contributed
to the soldiers, or their land was taken over due to war
• Potatoes became the main crop in order to restore the need for food, because they were not labor intensive and grew quickly
• In the 1840’s, not only were the farms taken over by the British, but also the potato crops began failing, and food became scarce
• Due to this lack of food and governmental issues, over one million people left Ireland
Germany was not a unified nation until 1871
Many people were also involved in politics, but had to leave the job due to the fail of democracy
They left due to crop failure, but were not dependent on it for life, unlike the Irish
IRISH They desired to earn
wages for their families back home
They wanted a change in their surroundings, and new opportunities such as factory labor versus farming
GERMAN Due to political
failure, they were looking for a safe haven, a democratic government, and new opportunities, and America fulfilled all the requirements
They mainly settled in Boston and New York As poor as they were, many were forced to
settle in the slums They desired more of an urban lifestyle, in
hope to get away of the farming lifestyle 2 million Irish arrived between 1830 and
1860 Most Irish stayed together and settled in
one main area
Most Germans settled in the west, particularly in Wisconsin and Texas, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Ohio
They didn’t need to work in the big factories in the large cities, because they had enough money to form farms of their own
The Germans typically spread out more than the Irish, impacting the voting system
The jobs were largely hated in the big cities, and some people refused to hire them (NINA). When they were hired, it was a low pay job in a factory
Some were also forced to work on railroads and canals, where many were killed due to “accidental” explosians
Many picked up farming again once they were settled in the Mid-West
Hardly any Germans took factory jobs because they were Amish, and did not believe in those advancements of technology
Conestoga Wagon Kindergarten Kentucky Rifle Christmas Tree Beer (also from
Irish)
Amish Germans Horse drawn
Carriages Farming without
technology No electricity,
except for at night Prayers during
meals No telephones
They were Catholics, so they were disliked by the Protestants already living in the big cities
They enjoyed alcohol too much
1. Thomas A. Bailey, Lizabeth Cohen, David M. Kennedy, The American Pageant (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006), 13.