Many Irish settlers were hunters in 10,000 B.C., when they arrived in Ireland. The Irish were originally in Scotland, but crossed a land bridge into Ireland. Irish immigration to the United States began in 1816 with about 6,000 people on a boat that sailed to America. In two years time, Irish people doubled the number with around 12,000 people who immigrated.
There were many Irish people who died in 1845 because of the Irish famine. The Irish famine is when the Irish potatoes were only producing one-quarter of the normal crop because of a blight. A blight is a disease that attacked the potatoes, thus making to where nobody could eat the potatoes. The Irish famine had killed about one million people because people were starving to death and typhus broke out killing off more people.
The Irish famine had caused almost two million people to emigrate to the United States. The two million people that emigrated was over a period of ten years, 1846 to 1855.
Many Irish immigrants built railroads in the United States, some were farmers, and others were coalminers. New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Illinois, Ohio, and New Jersey were the primary states that immigrants settled to by 1850.
Irish immigrants were discriminated because they were very poor after moving to America. Irish immigrants had to share a home because homes were limited and sometimes there would be nine Irish people living in one room.
Employment was another issue because Irish immigrants came to America in large numbers, therefore jobs would be limited. American people would discriminate against the Irish immigrants because people called the immigrants stupid, lazy, and dirty. In different newspapers under the employment section, people would put hurtful words in the ad, such as, “No Irish need apply”. Other places around town would have signs in the window that would say, “ No Irish permitted in this establishment.”