History of Irish Americans in Boston

Common card · No. 491268

People of Irish descent form the largest single ethnic group in Massachusetts, and one of the largest in Boston. Once a Puritan stronghold, Boston changed dramatically in the 19th century with the arrival of immigrants from other parts of the world. The Irish dominated the first wave of newcomers during this period, especially following the Great Irish Famine. Their arrival transformed Boston from an Anglo-Saxon, Protestant city into one that has become progressively more diverse. These people hired Irish as workers and servants, but there was little social interaction. In the 1840s and 50s, the anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant Know Nothing movement targeted Irish Catholics in Boston. In the 1860s, many Irish immigrants fought for the Union in the American Civil War, a display of patriotism that helped to dispel much of the prejudice against them. With an expanding population, group loyalty, and block-by-block political organization, the Irish took political control of the city, leaving the...

Read on Wikipedia · Image John Hoey from Framingham, MA, United States, CC BY 2.0