Irish, their strengths and achievements, their ability to adapt and

to survive, their religious fidelity and their propensity for political

chicanery, we may better understand the fascinating contradictions

so apparent in their character as they have made their way through

the long tortuous maze of Boston politics.”

-Thomas H. O’Connor, The Boston Irish, p. xix

The way in which the Irish transformed Boston is perhaps the most remarkable story of immigration changing America. Though commonly associated with the Great Potato Famine of the 1850’s, Irish immigrates began to voyage across the Atlantic as early as the seventeenth century. However, following the Famine in Ireland, an unprecedented flood of starving Irish arrived in New England seeking opportunity, political freedom, religious toleration, but above all, a meal. “The one hundred and fifty thousand Irish who sailed for America in 1848 were pursuing the glimmer of hope contained in the words often heard around the peat fire: ‘the States.’” Many of these optimistic Irish landed in Boston, a fairly important port of entry. Because

Traveling from Ireland, the immigrants dreamed of opportunity and freedom, but “Boston was no melting-pot; its Anglo-Saxon culture was old and hard.” Being unable to support their families along with the hostility of the Brahmins discouraged and bemused them. They had left their home, completely uprooting families and familiarity in order to escape British tyranny, but the situations were essentially the same. “The farm, the old people, the Church, the fair, the raising of potatoes, hay, and cattle, the cutting of turf, the talk of going to America and of those who had gone, the talk of fairies and magic, the inadequate school, the hardness of life, these things did not change during the ninety years in which the Irish came to America.” As they longed for success and a new beginning in America, they quickly realized, it did not occur quick or painlessly. It required years of struggle, perseverance and the ability to adapt to a strange, new setting.

I will trace the ascension of these men, each of whom would figure prominently in the different chapters of Irish American politics. Their lives, dissected and analyzed separately confirm that many Irish settled in Boston with the desire to prosper and start afresh. Though it seemed impossible at first, painful and sobering experiences fueled their determination to excel and flourish. (Thesis) Initially, they viewed careers in politics as a source of severely needed jobs. Furthermore, politics offered an expression of social alienation, pure excitement and the satisfaction of holding political power and the status that it vicariously presented.

Even so, the Irish influence on Boston politics did not take place for decades after the first cluster of immigrants fled their homeland. Despite the enormous increase in the number of Irish Catholics in Boston, at first they appeared politically indifferent. Due to the transitional period in American politics at the time, the new residents found political affairs confusing and irrelevant. Nevertheless, their apathy did not last long. One factor that would eventually draw the Irish to the political realm of Boston lay in the tremendous lack of employment opportunity. A study of the occupational distribution of immigrant men in Boston following the famine concluded that, “the Irish of Boston were highly distinctive

Some topics in this essay:
Irish Catholics, Jews Poles, Industrial Revolution, Famine Ireland, Traveling Ireland, Furthermore Boston, Catholics Boston, Boston Irish, Irish American, Thesis Initially, boston politics, conditions irish, irish catholics, ability adapt, american cities, american political, living conditions, irish immigrants, american politics, boston lay,