Irish immigrants

- Irish people emigrated to America

The reasons why Irish people emigrated to the USA

• In Ireland, there was a big potato famine

• Before: eight million Irish people

• One million people died of starvation

• Two million people left Ireland to go to America

• After the famine the population of Ireland was only four and a half million

When the Irish settled in America

• 1816• 1818• 1826• 1846 -

1850

Where Irish people settled in America and their jobs

• Predominantly, the Irish settled along the middle Atlantic coast

• They became chamber maids, cooks and caretakers of children

Number of Irish immigrants

0

50.000

100.000

150.000

200.000

250.000

1816 1818 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850

Immigrants inAmerica

Irish people in America in the 19th century

• Lived in cellars and shanties, partly because of poverty

• 80% of all infants born to Irish immigrants in New York died

• The other immigrants did not like them and wanted to send them back to Ireland

• The Irish immigrants were very poor

Thank you for your attention

By Lioba, Svenja, Anne and Johanna