Annotated Bibliography Assignment
Impact of Irish Catholicism in Early America
HIUS 530: American Christian Heritage
Spring 2024
2
Project Overview
The Early Irish immigrants and their descendants left an enduring legacy. The arrival of
Irish immigrants to the United States from the sixteenth to twentieth centuries had a profound
and lasting impact on American culture, shaping various aspects of society. The Irish diaspora,
driven by factors such as famine, political unrest, and economic hardship, led to a significant
influx of Irish immigrants to the United States. These newcomers faced challenges but also
brought with them resilience, adaptability, and a rich cultural heritage. Their influence extended
far beyond their own communities, leaving an indelible mark on American society. Their
contributions spanned politics, industry, organized labor, religion, literature, music, and art. This
thesis explores the transformative role of Irish immigrants and their descendants in shaping the
fabric of America.
Anticipated Thesis Statement
How the early Irish Catholic influence in the United States helped shape the nation's
religious, socio-cultural, and political landscape during the 19th and early 20th centuries, and the
key factors that contributed to their integration and growth within American society.
3
Bibliography
Coleman, Philip, James Byrne, and Jason King. 2008. Ireland and the Americas [3
Volumes]. Bloomsbury Publishing U.S.A.
This multidisciplinary encyclopedia was published in 2008, covering the historical,
political, cultural, and social connections between Ireland and the Americas from the earliest
encounters to the present day. Edited by Philip Coleman, James Byrne, and Jason King, it
comprises three volumes and features contributions from numerous scholars. It is a definitive
resource on the complex and multifaceted relationship between Ireland and the Americas,
offering a broader perspective than the traditional "Irish American" focus. The work covers
diverse topics like Irish history, politics, economics, literature, music, religion, and folklore. The
volumes explore interactions from early Irish explorations to contemporary times. The author
encompasses the Irish immigration and societal impact on the United States, Canada, Latin
America, and the Caribbean. Also discussed are entries on significant figures, events, symbols,
and concepts like the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Grosse Ile, and the Kennedy family.
In summary, the book "Ireland and the Americas" is a comprehensive study of the close and
enduring links between Ireland and the United States and how these links have influenced both
countries' historical and contemporary experiences. It examines these links from various
perspectives, including the economic, the social, the historical, and the cultural. The work
presents a series of essays with a thematic approach. This thematic approach encompasses a
variety of topics, from the contributions of Irish immigrants to the United States to the current
rise in popularity of Irish dance in America and the global success of Riverdance shows. It also
looks at the research into the popularity of the Compass Players, a group of highly staple Irish
traditional musicians who have received prominent interest from fans of Irish music worldwide.
There are further essays in the book that assess the ever—increasing variety of Irish influence on
4
various aspects of American society. These areas include politics, business, culture, and the
economy, and indeed, one of the essays examines the reaction of Ireland as a nation-state to the
terrorist outrage of September 11, 2001.
Bercovitch, Sacvan. 1967. "Typology in Puritan New England: The Williams-Cotton
Controversy Reassessed." American Quarterly 19, no. 2: 166.
https://doi.org/10.2307/2710784.
In this article, the author discusses the Williams-Cotton Controversy. How it pertains to
the early Irish Catholics is that watching this controversy from a distance taught the Irish what to
do and not to do in the case of business and religion in the new world.
During the Williams-Cotton Controversy, these two New England Puritans went head-to-
head over matters of conscience. The controversy began in 1636, and lasted several years as
both sides propagated their views in print and explicitly stated their beliefs. At the height of the
controversy, almost all of the New England Puritans had an opinion, and the small community of
the Massachusetts Bay Colony was torn apart, fighting over the theology and philosophy brought
up in the controversy. By looking at sermons and other methods of communication that both
Williams and Cotton used, we find that Cotton hid behind others' words. He was a brilliant man
who could captivate a large audience, but the doctrine he put forth could never compete with the
"simple and true" doctrine that Williams said he had and then we find that Williams was very
forceful in public forums with his words, and he even went to England to seek things by using
words. By using analysis of what the two powerful speakers said or spoke and interpreting them
in that way; we find that true feelings about the other could only be spoken outside the organized
churches. The works pertaining to the historiography of the Williams-Cotton Controversy are
few and far between; a comparison study of Williams' and Cotton's speeches would suggest that
5
though it is easy to find those works, no one really has made an effort to look at them from that
level the comparison study was made with, mostly placing authors' own biases and beliefs on the
characters. But many works have been done to find out the way the trilogy has made changes in
the religious laws or the this-worldly powers. The author argues we should study this so that we
do not go back and have the same disputes over issues of conscience and our ecclesiastical debt.
There are a number of societies today, the U.F.W.C.A.M. that is remarkably close to what the
Massachusetts Bay colony then was and have that same opportunity to correct the mistakes the
colonists then made. There are individuals with these backgrounds who are exceptionally good
speakers.
Carey, Patrick W. 2022. An Immigrant Bishop: John England’s Adaptation of Irish
Catholicism to American Republicanism, Second Edition. Google Books. C.U.A.
Press. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=-
5deEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=Irish+Catholics+in+early+America+faced+
discrimination+from+the+Protestant+majority.&ots=jU-
E04Jn8B&sig=__r_5Hs1CTVv47j7DDhU2vqfx0o.
The author discusses John England and his influence on early Irish settlers. Born in
1786, John England grew up in an impoverished background in Cork County, Ireland. When
England was sixteen, he traveled to the United States to enroll in a college in Maryland and
pursue a major in medicine. Ultimately, he decided against a future as a doctor and instead felt a
call to the priesthood. Once he committed to this calling, he faced a challenge no American-born
Catholic would ever have to deal with. England had to decide if it was morally and ethically
responsible to accept higher positions of power into the church in America. For years, he
6
struggled with this decision, and his decisions would eventually lead to the first Congress of
Baltimore in 1829. This event would determine the future of the Catholic Church in America.
The religious refugees that came to the American colonies tended to be young men and women.
They did not play a major part in the establishment of the American colonial societies, but they
played a larger role in revolution, state-building, and diffusion of Catholicism through the
society. They came with the same prejudices as their descendants, but the revolution was the
major vehicle through which the Irish became integrated into American society. The
Constitution of 1787 did not interfere in religious matters. The United States is the only country
to be founded in the colonial era of empire and colonies that did not establish a state church.
There was wide support in the thirteen colonies for religious freedom, which deeply contrasted
with the British government in Ireland and the anti-Catholic British colonial policy. The
revolution was the turning point for the fate of Catholicism in America. It is important to
remember the importance of Irish Catholicism in the early Americas; people seem to forget the
oppression that the Irish population faced and how they overcame this to make a successful new
life for themselves in the Promised Land.
Coburn, Carol K. 2021. “Crossing Boundaries and Cultural Barriers: Catholic Sisters,
Social Justice, and Transnationalism.” American Catholic Studies 132, no. 1: 1–28.
https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/156/article/788333/.
The work "Crossing Boundaries and Cultural Barriers: Catholic Sisters, Social Justice,
and Transnationalism" is a recent article by Carol K. Coburn, a Professor Emerita in Religious
Studies and the Director of the C.S.J. Heritage Center at Avila University1.
7
In this article, Coburn discusses the multiple narratives of Catholic sisters' ministries and their
transformational influence from institution building to social justice and their transnational
impact in the 21st century1. This work is part of her extensive research on the topics of Catholic
sisters, religious history, and peace and justice1. The article explores how Catholic sisters have
navigated cultural and societal barriers to contribute to social justice efforts, not just within their
own communities but on a global scale. This could involves examining specific case studies of
their work, analyzing the strategies they have used to overcome challenges, and discussing the
implications of their efforts for the broader field of social justice. From the time when they first
started working in areas far removed from the comfortable cloistering of their mother houses,
U.S. sisters have had to cross boundaries and navigate cultural barriers. In that work, they left
the mark of their religious traditions and American cultures on the local- sometimes
international- cultures and societies of the places they converted, educated, nursed, and served in
a variety of other ways. However, although contact zones studies show that power differentials
between groups often lead to a double-edged process of conversion, the American sisters'
collision with other cultures was not just a process by which the identity of others was hegemon
really shaped. We have also seen that the identity of American sisters was shaped through their
collisions with Others. This might have occurred in ways that reinforced their dominant class,
race, and ethnic construction, but it also had subversive dimensions, providing U.S. sisters during
a time in U.S. history when women were striving to straddle a no rights' status as marginal
silently accepted due to their gender, and the struggle of some elite women to bring themselves a
vocation-important sense of central social advantage -a vocation which, at times, left them with
an uneasy, if not paradoxical, sense of their marginality.
8
Fisher, James T. “The Rise of the Immigrant Church.” Oxford Academic Online 24, no. 3
(November 30, 2007): 43–68. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195333305.003.0003.
The article by Fisher discusses the emergence and growth of immigrant churches. It
explores how immigration patterns have led to the establishment of these churches as a way for
immigrants to maintain their religious and cultural identities in a new country. The author
highlights the role of religion in providing a sense of belonging and community for immigrants
and discusses the challenges and opportunities faced by immigrant churches in adapting to their
new environments. Overall, the article sheds light on the important social and cultural role that
immigrant churches play in the lives of immigrant communities. A number of factors have been
identified by scholars who are responsible for the growth of immigrant congregations.
Incidentally, a majority of these factors have been responsible for the mushrooming of immigrant
congregations in cities in the Western world. These factors are the central underscores through
force and define the growth of immigrant congregations within Western cities. It also offers a
phenomenon setting in describing the irregular growth of immigrant religion as a whole and also
the irregularity that informs responses to these congregations by established churches and state
agencies, for example. This section outlines four key factors, such as social, political, and
economic, as well as those relating to the religious market. Additionally, based on the migration
theory, these factors exist, and their varying influence is subject to the national origins of the
immigrant group and also its particular situation with respect to the temporal or numerical
growth of particular immigrant groups within any jurisdiction. From this point, it is useless to
identify the key factors that either shape the original membership of the congregations or those
that will influence the growth patterns of the religious groups over time.
9
Fitzpatrick, Tara. 1991. "The Figure of Captivity: The Cultural Work of the Puritan
Captivity Narrative." American Literary History 3, no. 1: 1–26.
https://doi.org/10.1093/alh/3.1.1.
The author discusses how the captivity narratives reveal much about the Puritans and
their perception of the American wilderness, including their sense of humility, paranoia,
imperialism, and agoraphobia, their uneasiness about native people, and their sympathy for those
tribes they considered more civilized. However, perhaps most important is the way the
narratives illustrate basic Puritan principles of social hierarchy and family organization, civil and
religious community, vocational orientation, and dependence upon the grace of God. The
captivity narrative's power to communicate these Puritan values stems from the genre's ability to
render an account through a distinctly Puritan kind of providential typology that picks out and
comments on the relationship among what are taken to be concrete, particular events and what
are taken to be abstract, divine patterns. As such, the captivity narrative becomes a way for the
Puritans to exhibit their capacity for imagination—that is, the capacity to produce a vision of
world events as being produced by and pregnant with God's intent. As we can see here, the
Puritan captivity narrative is a rich and diverse field, for it can provide insights not only into
Anglo-American relations but may even deepen our understanding of early Irish relations.
Despite initial appearances, very few writings of the period were purely religious tenets; instead,
they were attempts to understand the makeup of the New World society. The Puritan captivity
narrative is the perfect showcase for this trend, for it reveals the massive and dramatic shift in
beliefs that engulfed all members of European society.
10
Gleeson, David T. “Empire and Emancipation. Scottish and Irish Catholics at the Atlantic
Fringe, 1780–1850.” The Journal of Ecclesiastical History: America: History and Life
with Full Text 74, no. 2 (April 1, 2023): 443–45.
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022046923000283.
The article by David T. Gleeson discusses the experiences of Scottish and Irish Catholics
in the context of the British Empire during the period from 1780 to 1850. The author explores
the intersections between religion, ethnicity, and imperial power dynamics, focusing on the
challenges and opportunities faced by these marginalized groups. Challenges faced by Scottish
and Irish Catholics – Most Catholic Scots were attracted to the United States because the
Presbyterian and Episcopalian establishment churches had relegated them to a second-class
status in the country. The Catholic Church was outlawed in Scotland from 1560 to 1793, an act
of exclusion and discrimination and they were regarded as disloyal and alien. Although there
were no laws to prevent Catholics from immigrating to America, an anti-Catholic ethos
oppressed many of them in the colonial and early national periods. Only in 1787 had the Roman
Catholic Relief Act removed the most serious restrictions on Catholic worship and property
ownership in Scotland, allowing Scottish and Irish Catholics from the highlands and embattled
North to form networks and to seek compensation for their work in joint Highland and Irish
organizations. It is important to note the survival of ethnic nationalist organizations and their
participation in economic improvement has persisted in the modern age in North America, and
many of the Irish and Scottish traditions and cultural practices initially brought over from Europe
were integrated into societies in the New World and have importantly, remained in place.
11
Gordon, William. “The History of the Rise, Progress, and Establishment of the
Independence of the United States of America: Including an Account of the Late
War and of the Thirteen Colonies, from Their Origin to That Period.” infoweb-
newsbank-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net. Charles Early American Imprints, 1794.
https://infoweb-newsbank-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/apps/readex/doc?
p=EAIX&docref=image/v2%3A0F2B1FCB879B099B%40EAIX-
0F3018135691E888%40-0FD3254791C1B720%403.
The article was written by William Gordon in 1794. The book covers the history of the
United States, including the late war and the thirteen colonies, from their origins to the period of
independence. It provides an account of the events leading to the establishment of the United
States as an independent nation. The story of the settlement of the thirteen colonies is connected
with the commercial schemes of the English and with the principle of the Reformation. Queen
Elizabeth granted a patent to Sir Humphrey Gilbert to take possession of such countries that were
unoccupied by Christian princes. However, Irish Catholics contributed significantly to early
American society in terms of labor, social welfare, and education. The Irish people were known
to be hardworking and determined due to the adversities they faced back in their homeland.
While temperance, the Catholic Church's teachings were the influences in the temperance and
sobriety movement in the United States. Their religious upbringing also made Irish people
appreciate the value of education; thus, there were several prominent Irish Catholic individuals
who contributed as educators and founders of major universities in the United States of America.
Unlike other immigrants, the Irish people did not establish as many economic businesses; rather,
they were a greater influence in the religious, economic, educational, and social aspects of the
12
American way of life. Early Irish paddy's and Irish brawlers have revolutionized the image of
Irish Catholic people as hardworking, fun, educated, and social people.
Kauffman, Karen. “‘No Fair Claim to the Character of Christians’: Mathew Carey’s Path
to Benevolence for Philadelphia’s White Female Working Poor.” The Catholic
Historical Review 105, no. 3 (2019): 480–502. https://doi.org/10.1353/cat.2019.0096.
The article by Karen Kauffman explores the philanthropic efforts of Mathew Carey
towards the white female working poor in Philadelphia during the early nineteenth century. The
article provides historical context by discussing the socioeconomic conditions prevalent in
Philadelphia at that time, particularly focusing on the challenges faced by white women who
worked in low-paying jobs. It highlights the discrimination and exploitation these women
experienced, leading to poverty and destitution. Kauffman demonstrates how Mathew Carey, an
Irish immigrant, and prominent Catholic philanthropist, became aware of the plight of these
women and embarked on a path toward benevolent action. The author emphasizes Carey's
commitment to his Catholic faith and its teachings on charity as a driving force behind his
philanthropic initiatives. Through extensive research, including primary sources such as Carey's
letters and writings, Kauffman chronicles Carey's journey towards establishing charitable
institutions and programs specifically designed to assist white female working poor. His efforts
included providing employment opportunities, offering vocational training, establishing schools,
and advocating for workers' rights. The article highlights Carey's determination to challenge
societal norms and prejudices by emphasizing the dignity and worth of these impoverished
women. Carey's approach is also analyzed within the broader context of contemporary social
movements and Catholic theology on charity and justice. Overall, Kauffman presents a
13
compelling analysis of Mathew Carey's philanthropic work and its impact on the lives of
Philadelphia's white female working poor. The article sheds light on an often-overlooked aspect
of American history and offers insights into the intersections between religion, gender, and
poverty during this period.
Moran, Katherine D. 2020. The Imperial Church: Catholic Founding Fathers and United
States Empire. Google Books. Cornell University Press.
https://books.google.com/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=CXW4DwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=Irish+Catholics+played
+a+pivotal+role+in+shaping+the+landscape+of+American+politics.&ots=uS3Dn-
D0MU&sig=JTaPVWMKcC6GztjdHeW9TQqmOXA.
Moran argues that the image of "Catholic Founding Fathers" played a significant role in
shaping the narrative of the American empire during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She
contends that Protestant and Catholic Americans alike celebrated figures like Jacques Marquette,
Junípero Serra, and Spanish friars in the Philippines as benevolent agents of conquest, portraying
them as models for "civilizing" missions abroad. This, she argues, obscured the violent and
exploitative aspects of colonialism while contributing to the construction of a unified, cross-
confessional national identity. Moran examines how historical celebrations of Catholic
missionary figures served as justifications for U.S. expansionism. She highlights the previously
unrecognized centrality of Catholic historical narratives within Protestant discourses of the
American empire. The book analyzes how both Protestant and Catholic Americans embraced
these narratives,Fforging a shared sense of national identity based on a shared imperial mission.
Moran delves into the specific cases of the Midwest, Southern California, and the U.S. colonial
14
Philippines to illustrate her argument. The author offers a fresh perspective on the religious
dimensions of American imperialism. Challenges traditional narratives of U.S. national identity
and its religious underpinnings. Sheds light on the complex relationship between Catholicism
and Protestantism in American history. Critics argue that readers may find the focus on Catholic
contributions to imperial narratives overlooks the role of other religious groups. The book might
face critiques for presenting a homogenous view of Catholicism or Protestantism,Fignoring
internal diversity within these denominations. In any regard, the work is well worth researching
and using in post-graduate writing.
O'Hanlon, Ray. 2021. Unintended Consequences: The Story of Irish Immigration to the U.S.
And How America's Door Was Closed to the Irish. Google Books. Merrion Press.
https://books.google.com/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=x6UkEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT8&dq=Irish+immigrants+in+A
merica+faced+xenophobia+and+were+not+seen+as+equals.&ots=55bRf2dlBy&sig=
JF_01PW5cEWB2kzVIFkJpFiDNxs.
The author explains that the story of the Irish in America is actually three stories. There
were those who came before the Potato Famine of the 1840s, those who survived it and were
affected by it, and those who escaped the political turmoil and violence that plagued Ireland in
the mid and late 19th century. When the Irish speak of Irish immigration to America, they
usually speak in the context of the famine. It is estimated that about 100,000 Irish came to
America between 1820 and 1840. But the majority - over 1.5 million - arrived in the fifteen
years between 1845 and 1860. There were many push factors that encouraged the Irish to leave
Ireland, as well as pull factors that attracted them to America. The revolutions in America,
Europe, and Latin America also had an impact on both Irish and American immigration history.
15
Even though the Irish and American experiences with immigration were often vastly different,
the work concludes that in modern society, both nationalities often express concern. The major
challenges faced by Irish immigrants in America were in the form of discrimination, prejudice,
and urban challenges. There was a deep-rooted prejudice against the Irish. For example, in
advertisements, a manufacturer of soap would boast that his product did not contain any "Irish,"
and in listings for employment, many employers would write "No Irish Need Apply." There were
many who believed the Irish immigrants were "taking American jobs ."Many Americans were
also hostile to the Irish because they believed that the Irish were loyal to the Pope over the U.S.
government. The newly arrived Irish immigrants were also accused of causing drunkenness,
disorder, and violation of public peace. This was due to the heavy drinking that was very
common during this time for the immigrants. The author dives into the Federalist Party, which is
commonly regarded as having been the bitterest foe to the Catholic population. This much is
true, but the democratic party was shaking on the verge of dissolution and unable either of hope
or preservation of its own existence. Democratic towns elected federal candidates, and even
republican ones when their opposition was the importation and naturalization of the Irish. Its
rallying claim of suffering having it ceased to exist, the federal ticket was the last faint struggle
of a decaying party, not supported by the hopes or the opinions of the people, nor upheld but
remembered as a monument of the error of their ways.
Shannon, William V. 1989. The American Irish: A Political and Social Portrait. Amherst:
University Of Massachusetts Press.
William Shannon writes on the intricacies of the Irish in the political and social fabric of
America. Irish Americans, in general, have always been metaphorically tied with having the
16
ability to make an impact change in terms related to the political outcomes of certain events,
either on the microcosmic scale, which is more of the local type, or the macrocosmic scale. Irish
Americans have always had a sort of fixation in terms of possessing the political potential so that
they can infiltrate the policies therein are imposed, and such is the fission that has been held for
generations on end! Claimed that the Irish community was the largest national division located
in the United States. The difficulties that the Irish community faced were the challenges that
other brand-new immigrants were also encountering. Moreover, to fit into American society
successfully, the Irish community really needed to adjust and leave their old ways of living
behind them. It was vital for the Irish immigrants to adjust to the new circumstances, change
their behavior, and politically organize themselves to guarantee their future success within the
country. The bigotry of the Protestant ruling class had a direct influence on the actions and
attitudes that the Irish group was going to have when they entered the New World. Despite the
challenges that were waiting for them, many of the Irish were strong-minded, opinionated, and
devout Catholics. The cohort of Irish Catholics who migrated to America in the 19th and early
20th centuries, giving rise to a huge wave of people of Irish descent currently in the U.S., got
here at a crucial point in Irish history. Political and social forces were dividing Ireland, and the
immigrants left to flee those forces to avoid hunger, discover work, and hunt for a greater life
than may have been attainable at the house. What they discovered was a technique of life and
work that would depart an enduring mark on their offspring, each materially and culturally.
Tentler, Leslie Woodcock. 2020. American Catholics: A History. Google Books. Yale
University Press. https://books.google.com/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=T1LaDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=The+first+Diocese+of+th
17
e+Roman+Catholic+Church+in+USA+was+established+in+1789.&ots=RcFN5M2lZ
4&sig=SVrzcGIDa1zyxck5Idz1Tfq30vI.
Author Leslie Woodcock Tentler, a distinguished historian, provides an up-to-date
account of American Catholicism. She also authored Catholics and Contraception: An American
History. The book is a sweeping historical account of American Catholicism. Spanning nearly
five hundred years, it delves into the rich tapestry of Catholic history in what would become the
United States. The book covers the period from the arrival of the first Spanish missionaries to
the present day. The author explores how lay Catholics practiced their faith and the impact of
clergy on Catholic life and culture. The book grapples with the question of what it meant to be a
“good Catholic” in specific historical contexts. It delves into Catholics’ participation in
American politics. The book delves into and discusses Catholic intellectual life and education.
Race and the Civil War are written about, and detailed discussions on Catholics’ role during the
Civil War provide a good historical context to the Irish contribution. The role of Catholic
schools is expounded upon as well. She writes about how, in the 1960s, U.S. Catholic schools
had indeed achieved a large gain in the American Catholic demographic. By 1960, the
Indebtedness to U.S. Catholics had assumed alarming proportions. Both John LaFarge's
announcement and Kennedy's work, as well as the opening of a thirteenth Pacific Coast Catholic
college, Scranton University, strike a consensus note in the modern era of American Catholicism.
United States Census Bureau. 2024. "Map of the Week: Irish Ancestry in the US |
UBIQUE." U.B.I.Q.U.E. American Geographical Society. 2024.
https://ubique.americangeo.org/map-of-the-week/map-of-the-week-irish-ancestry-
in-the-us/.
18
The United States Census Bureau is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical
System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census
Bureau is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and its director is appointed by the
President of the United States. The Census Bureau's primary mission is to conduct the U.S.
Census every ten years, which allocates the seats of the U.S. House of Representatives to the
states based on their population. The Bureau's various censuses and surveys help allocate over
$675 billion in federal funds every year, and it helps states and local communities to make
projections on population growth, understand the need for new roads, schools, and public
services, and plan for healthcare for the people in their community. Additionally, the Census
Bureau is heading the implementation of the 2020 Census, which will be a massive operation,
and technology will be heavily employed to work effectively and efficiently. This particular
map shows the Irish within the United States and how their presence aided in the population and,
ergo, the funding of programs that help(s) the United States.
Vanhanen, Anni. 2023. "'We Have Enough Dirt, Misery, Crime, Sickness and Death of
Our Own': How the Irish Immigrants Were Portrayed in 19 Th Century America -
a Thematic Analysis of New York Times Articles."
https://www.doria.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/187296/vanhanen_anni.pdf?
sequence=3
The master’s thesis by Anni Vanhanen provides a comprehensive exploration of how
Irish immigrants were depicted in 19th-century America. The study aimed to shed light on how
Irish immigration and immigrants were portrayed in America during the 19th century. The
analysis focused on New York Times articles published between 1850 and 1900 that discussed
19
Irish immigrants and Ireland. The research employed thematic analysis, which systematically
quantifies extensive data. Themes emerged from the data itself, following an inductive
approach. The analysis categorized content into smaller thematic patterns. Discussions of early
Irish settlers expound upon the stereotypes. Early newspapers of the time portrayed Irish
immigrants using racism, prejudice, and stereotypes. While some positive features were noted
(such as immigrants being useful as labor), negative portrayals prevailed. Irish immigrants faced
anti-immigrant sentiments in their work, homes, and especially toward their Catholic religion.
They were often objectified as tools or plants. Terms like “dirty,” “criminally inclined,” and
“morally and mentally crippled” were used. Irish immigrants were not seen as victims of unjust
systems; instead, they were considered mere paupers responsible for their own misfortune.
While America prided itself as a haven for refugees, the portrayal of Irish immigrants was often
at odds with this image. Heart and passion were acknowledged, but negative stereotypes
persisted. Remarkably, many ways in which Irish immigrants were discussed in the 19th century
persist in contemporary discussions.
The thesis provides valuable insights into the complex historical relationship between Irish
immigrants and American society during a pivotal period.
