Emigrants from Erin

In Chapter 6: “Emigrants from Erin” Takaki concludes that some Irish were forced to move to America and compared to the blacks, but they were able to advance in society.

“In the Age of Jackson blacks suddenly were competing with Irish workers,” (139). The Irish had white skin though, which was thought to “privilege” them and place them above the blacks. At first the Irish did not want to leave their homeland. “The Irish viewed themselves as a people driven from their beloved homeland by ‘English tyranny,’ and they were merely British slaves. The poverty of Ireland was also caused by English colonial policies,” (140). The English were once to the Irish as the whites were to the blacks. The Irish and the blacks were slaves, forced away from their homeland, and were used for the improvement of another group of people. At one time in Ireland, “the British colonialism and its emphasis on exports had reduced the Irish people to extremely harsh living conditions,” (141). “However, progress for landlords meant pauperization for the peasants,” (142). Irish began wanting to move to America, or the “Land of Promise.” Instead of living in horrible conditions and as slaves they wanted to have a better life… possibly in America? They wanted to escape the tyranny, oppression, and poorness. Some poor Irish that stayed in their homeland survived on potatoes, but when the Great Famine came conditions only got worse. More Irish emigrated to America in order to avoid death. Coming to America, the Irish experienced traumatic conditions like black slaves had experienced on slave ships and about 20% died on the journey or right after (145). The Irish soon became like blacks and were slaves to the other whites because of the hard labor they did every day for the whites. “The Irish had high accident rates, for they were frequently assigned to the hazardous jobs that other whites did not want to do,” (147). “Irish laborers were thought nothing of more than dogs,” (147). They were placed below the blacks because black slaves had a certain value, but an Irish person did not have any value to the landowners. However, the Irish and blacks were both viewed as outcasts and savages and of very low intelligence (149). Soon the Irish began getting more opportunities. Irish children began to be educated to avoid “falling back to a savage life” and the Irish used their whiteness against the blacks. “They sought to become insiders, or Americans, by claiming their membership as whites,” (151). Also, the Irish were seen to assimilate rapidly, were already Christians, had white skin, and spoke English, making it easier for them to become citizens. So, the Irish first experienced a nightmare in America, but soon went from “rags to riches,” (163).

Were the English really the bad guys or the good guys? Of course, perspective plays a major role in this decision. To the English, they were probably just making things great for themselves, and their people. However, I feel the English were bad guys…bullies. They took land from the Irish and left many laborers jobless. When the British put emphasis on exports, about 90% of laborers were then not needed. The Irish saw the English as “savage tyrants,” (140). They appear to be just as savage as Irish or blacks.

I thought that it was quite interesting how similar early America and Ireland were. The Irish were like the Indians and blacks of America. I also noticed too cases of true irony: 1. The Irish were treated like dogs, below everyone, but advanced to being only below the other whites. 2. The Irish were oppressed in Ireland and then oppressed the blacks in America. That’s what we should not do-bring others down because we were once down.