On St Paddy's Day, Let Us Not Forget That Irish Catholics Immigrants Were Not Welcome

Woodmonkey · 03-17-2005, 15:08

As we read about the anti-immigrant forces in this country, it is good to remember that everything said today, was said about the hated Irish Catholics. Religion and culture were a big part of the discrimination.

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Discrimination at its Worst

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Treatment of Irish Catholic Immigrants During the 1920’s

During the 1920’s there were many controversial issues. There was a concern about declining moral and ethical values, which led to restrictions such as prohibition for example. The concern about these issues seemed most intense when they pertained to religion. Ins situations like these it always seems necessary to place the blame somewhere. One particular group on which this blame was emphasized happened to be the immigrants. Irish Catholic immigrants were a main focus of discrimination in many ways.

The fight for immigration restriction was fueled by America’s negative view of foreigners. Protestants especially made it a point to link alcohol with Catholic Irish immigrants. They were looked upon as immoral and corrupt because of this. Prohibiting alcohol was an unsuccessful way of trying to counterattack not only the immorality in urban cities, but the immigrants who resided there as well. This was yet another example of searching for an answer to the deterioration of morals and values. In an effort to justify prohibition, it was said that Limitation upon individual freedom in matters affecting society is the price that any people must pay for the progress of its civilization. Personal liberty cannot rightly be claimed for practices which militate against the welfare of others or the interest of the community as a whole. (http://www.aihs.org.history.htm) The Ku Klux Klan, which was already an established organization increased in number when efforts to prevent and discourage Irish Catholic immigrants from practicing Catholicism were unsuccessful. The Klan considered itself to be Pro-American, which directly meant anti catholic. Established by those which were considered “native born, white, Protestants, the KKK was afraid of ‘encroachments of foreigners,’ especially those who answered to a foreign Pope as their religious authority” (http://www.aihs.org/History/history3.htm). The fear that surrounded this time period was a perfect way to spread the propaganda of the Klan. It was believed that this group of immigrants held their primary allegiance to a foreign sovereign over loyalty to the United States. Does this sound familiar? There is another group of immigrants that the exact same thing is said about. The righteous people back then were wrong. This anti Catholicism was a driving force behind the popularity of the KKK. To show the mentality of the time, there was no tax on Klan fees because they were considered to be a benevolent society by the government. The fact that the KKK adamantly discriminated against the Irish Catholics may seem surprising because the majority of today’s population would assume that the Klan’s members encompassed any person who appeared to be Caucasian. That is one of the reasons, maybe even the main reason, that the Irish Catholics joined forces with the Blacks in their fight for civil rights.

This group of immigrants was also discriminated in the workplace. Employers made the wages for this group lower than wages of other employees. The intention for this ill treatment was that the immigrants would warn their Irish relatives of the bad conditions here in the U.S. discouraging them from immigrating as well as to encourage the Irish Catholic immigrant employees who resided in the U.S. to leave.

This direct discrimination against the Irish Catholic immigrants was hypocritical in the democratic and liberal society of America. It is wrong to allow one group to infringe upon another one’s rights just because of religious and cultural differences. If this were to be considerable then there would be no place to draw the line. The prejudice demonstrated against Irish Catholic immigrants during the 20’s is a violation of their constitutional rights. After all, because of the fact that the first inhabitants of America were the Native Americans, everyone who lived in the U.S. can be considered an immigrant. A further explanation of this is the following: Immigration Restriction was an example of eugenics which is identical to racism because both believe that there are innately, irreversibly inferior groups of human beings. Eugenicist-racists believe in the inequality of the races and that by selective breeding the inferior of the population are somehow consistently eliminated. (http://www.illinoisrighttolife.org/racism.htm). There were many efforts to Americanize Irish Catholic immigrants. School bills were passed that prohibited children from attending Catholic school. (That happened in Oregon when the state was controlled by the KKK - another piece of history not many know about. A law which forced all children to attend public schools, which was an attempt to shut down Catholic Parochial Schools, went to the Supreme Court and was declared unconstitutional) Unfortunately, the mistakes of history were repeated with other form of eugenics such as the extermination of millions of individuals in German concentration camps.

This topic is significant because we must learn from past encroachments of rights to ensure that these events do not occur again. As Dumenil states, for the Irish Catholic immigrants as well as the others, “the old-stock drive for conformity and community represented attacks on their culture, religion and ethnicity. Repeatedly their stake in American society, their right to be American citizens, was denied” (Dumenil, 248). I agree that it was their right to become American citizens. Discriminating against Irish Catholic immigrants was unjust, especially for the reason that there is no rational or justifiable way to discriminate against which people are allowed to immigrate and which are not.

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Discrimination Against the Irish

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Writing in 1926, Thomas Beer identifies reasons why many were prejudiced against the Irish. The American Protective Association feared that the Irish were making America a Papal state: priests were allowed to ride trains free in California and Irish aldermen had attempted to fund parochial schools with funds from the city treasury. "But while the whole parasitic class [the rich], dependent on herds for place in office or income, wooed the Irishman, native mechanics and clerks began to resent him; he underbid them at all turns; he would work for less and live in worse quarters," Beer wrote. By 1894 three anti-Catholic or anti-Irish orders, such as the United Order of American Mechanics, had formed: "The Irish were at one established as tremendously funny, gay and charming people and concurrently were snubbed." But in the late 1890s, Beer claimed, "orders" were given in newspapers in New York, Cleveland, and Chicago that no derisive statements about Catholics be printed without approval.

Some evidence suggests that the Irish had in fact made great inroads in New York City, which in 1888 elected its first Irish immigrant mayor, William R. Grace, who enjoyed broad upper-class backing. Minstrel performers eventually eased off their sharply drawn caricatures of the Irish, perhaps because many were Irish themselves; as Toll notes, they rejoiced when John L. Sullivan won the heavyweight boxing championship and protested discrimination: "'No Irish Need Apply,' minstrels complained, was what honest Irishmen heard when they looked for work. But when America wanted soldiers, it 'never said no Irish need apply.'"

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Snowden · 03-17-2005, 15:29

All that prejudice and hatred was overcome by several facts. In fact, I suppose in may ways, prejudice against the Irish was as much because of America's Protestant beginnings as that they came here poor, taking jobs that needed doing and - as today - did not appeal to the locals.

In one generation they lost their accents for the most part; they were and are an intelligent people and with education moved into better-paying jobs. With the charm of most Irish, they became rich, politically moving and popular. Mostly, however, they remained Catholic.

Sometimes, thinking that in the U.S. we celebrate St. Patrick's Day more than it is celebrated in Ireland and that on this day most of us take up a bit of green to wear, no matter what our cultural or religious background, I think that the people who were so prejudiced had an inkling that this country would take to the Irish and elevate them to the status of royalty. If we had royalty, it probably would be Irish in part, at least.

Unfortunately, the Kennedys came over here too, but it's just not a perfect world. Even the Irish have their rogues.

Just an old woman rambling and pondering. There is something special about the Irish, and it's appreciated here more, I think, than anywhere else on earth. And it's in spite of the overwhelming prejudice against them. The potato famine in Ireland was one of the most hideous parts of history - but it brought to us the most charming of people, traditions and humor.

Phoenix56 · 03-17-2005, 15:45

Great post Katie !

And a Very Nice Reply form you my dear Snowden

satin_patriot · 03-17-2005, 15:51

hmm. Lots to think about there. I'm not altogether sure that I'm willing to equate some people's desire for tougher immigration laws with Nazi Germany during Hitler's reign. I think the key is to focus on how to make sure that the people coming into the country are doing it through legal means instead of just trying to shut down immigration... Probably not the intent of the article. I know there are initiatives to keep hispanics or arabs from immigrating, and that's probably more to what this article is referring. Just a thought.

Woodmonkey · 03-17-2005, 15:59

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Originally Posted by Snowden

All that prejudice and hatred was overcome by several facts.

It was alive and well in the 60's. Those of us who were in school experienced that hatred of Irish Catholics when Kennedy ran for the Presidency. There were cries that the Pope would control America if he got elected. There were a few people who would not allow their kids to associate with me when they found out that I was Catholic.

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Sometimes, thinking that in the U.S. we celebrate St. Patrick's Day more than it is celebrated in Ireland and that on this day most of us take up a bit of green to wear, no matter what our cultural or religious background, I think that the people who were so prejudiced had an inkling that this country would take to the Irish and elevate them to the status of royalty. If we had royalty, it probably would be Irish in part, at least.

It is celebrated differently because it became a statement by the Irish in this country.

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Just an old woman rambling and pondering. There is something special about the Irish, and it's appreciated here more, I think, that anywhere else on earth. And it's in spite of the overwhelming prejudice against them. The potato famine in Ireland was one of the most hideous parts of history - but it brought to us the most charming of people, traditions and humor.

That potato famine was one of the reasons for the hatred of the Irish immigrants here. Irish left in droves and came here to settle. Something like 10% of the population suddenly became Irish in a short time (according to the History Channel which I am now watching). The sudden influx of Irish Catholics alarmed the Protestants here, especially those with English roots.