Most of those Irish who arrived in America lived in areas already established by other Irishmen. Common settlement areas were established in New York City, Philadelphia, New Orleans and Boston. And in these areas of Irish immigration were the districts landlords taking full advantage of the Irish by establishing their own little enterprises of converting large warehouses and other types of buildings into what would become "slums". No space was left untouched. And without proper sanitary conditions, those who arrived with illnesses spread them throughout the close community of crowded living quarters. Which brought up the question to why did the Irish not expand their horizons once they left the ship? Why did they resort to living in the slums instead of traveling out of these areas in the first place? The answer is very simple. Most did not have any money and thought if they could only get a job they could make the money to move further inland. Also, many feared moving into unfamiliar grounds and preferred to live with their own kind. But then there were those who did venture outward.
(tomorrow "No Irish Need To Apply" Part III)
No comments:
Post a Comment