World Affairs
The circumstances of Irish arrivals was poverty, oppression by the English, and the potato blight (1844 -1849). For this group, leaving Ireland was a matter of survival but not without sadness. Disease was rampant and starvation, particularly among farmers, only made matters worse. Of the 5, 457,914 Irishmen that left for the United States between 1820 to 1860, only two thirds, 3,742,532 people, disembarked in New York City (Binder & Reimers, 39).

The First Immigrants
Compared to the immigrants arriving at the United States, the most notorious were the Irish. Their aggressive nature, socially and politically, were widespread themes of many historical documents. Although most were poor, their numbers were significant and their strong political involvement had them holding power over New York City's political stronghold, Tammany Hall, for many years.

In New York, the first Irish immigrants were the poorest of the poor, living under terrible conditions. Among immigrant groups, the Irish, being the largest group and weakened by malnutrition, were most vulnerable to outbreaks such as cholera, typhus, and tuberculosis. According to Kinsella, the mortality rate for children born to Irish immigrants in New York City was 80 percent (Kinsella, Para 3).

The decision to leave Ireland was a family one. According to Binders and Reimers, 51.2 percent of the arriving Irishmen arrived as family units.

Most Irishmen arrived without an education and often faced "Irish need not apply" signs. The jobs that welcomed them were perilous, labor-demanding tasks that, more often than not, led to their deaths. Women faced difficult times, especially those with families, as jobs were limited. So many worked as seamstresses and maids that books such as Advice to Girls in America by the Nun of Kenmare took for granted that all women would be in the domestic services (Binders & Reimers, 4). Pressures were immense for the Irish, who temporarily sought relief in bars. Instead of helping them out, these actions ended up with stereotypes and hostility.

Under desperate circumstances, the Irish were forced to resort to begging in the streets, forming gangs, and crime, which created a bigger rift between the Irish and residents of New York City. Another controversy centered around the draft during the Civil War, where the majority of those drafted were Irish. This greatly angered them because they received the impression that they were spilling their blood to free the blacks, who would compete with them for jobs. This is a pattern that, considering the over-crowdedness and poverty of the time, inevitably repeats throughout East Harlem history.

Read more about Irish Harlem -- or Next (German Harlem)