Takaki CH. 6 Emigrants from Erin

In Chapter 6 of Takaki, we read about much more than just differences between races. Differences within race become an issue of discussion. The Irish’s migration was described as a “massive infux” (139). This was ironic because many of these immigrants didn’t want to even leave their homeland; Ireland. The Irish were oppressed.

Takaki states that between 1815 and 1920, five and a half million Irish came to America. The Irish didn’t treat their migration as something they wanted. It was more like a necessity. They felt like they were being driven from their homeland by the British and they weren’t wanting to leave. To make more profit, the British wanted to transform the Irish economy into a “cattle civilization” (141). The British were trying to add Ireland into their market. Takaki describes the Irish living conditions. “The typical single-room cabin of an Irish family consisted of four walls of dried mud with a straw roof and a hold cut in the roof for the chimney” (142). It was described as a “wretched hovel,” which seems unlivable. They opted to migrate to “the Land of Promise” rather than feel like slaves in their on land. Upon arrivial, they began work, with very little earnings. Potatoes were a main source of food for them because they worked where they were grown. These crops soon became infected and lead to the threat of hunger. It was a deadly disease spreading everywhere and lead people to die from both sickness and hunger. Many were unable to pay rent and were then evicted. “For many landlords, the famine offered an opportunity to convert more land into fields for grazing” (143). These landlords definitely saw opportunity. For the Irish, times were hard in America. They weren’t treated well by the colonists because the colonists considered them more of savages, not white. Although this was an issue, the Irish weren’t completely looked down upon because the African Americans were even lower than the Irish.

In what ways were the Irish looked at as “different” than the whites upon first viewing of them? I feel that what was done to the Irish was wrong. I don’t believe that there should have been such harsh feelings and actions put toward them. It was hard to see that they didn’t even want to come to America in the first place because they loved Ireland so much. In other cases, immigrants don’t feel as much love for their homelands as the Irish so it was hard to put this whole thing into perspective.