Paper Summary:

This paper examines the stream of Irish women, particularly Roman Catholic Irish women, to New York City in search of a better life for themselves and their families during the latter part of the 19th century. It describes their experiences in steerage to the US and the difficult lives that they led in the United States. The paper discusses the case of one of the first immigrants to arrive, a 15-year-old girl, named Annie Moore. Finally, the paper concludes that Irish women immigrants helped define America.

From the Paper:

"Irish women immigrants helped define America through their faithful and undying belief that they could build a better life for themselves and their families in "The Land of Opportunity," and they did, but it took hard work and considerable sacrifice. Many saw their children rise to heights unthinkable in The Auld Country. Over time, many Irish immigrants climbed the social ladder and became better educated, wealthier, and more successful than their forbears. The first Kennedy who immigrated to the United States in 1848 was a laborer. His grandson went to college and made a fortune, and one of his great-grandsons, John F. Kennedy, became the thirty-fifth president of the United States. Indeed, thanks in large part to the strength and bravery of their female immigrant ancestors, almost one-fourth of all American presidents have been of Irish descent."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Conway, John Horton. Numbers and Games. 2nd ed. Natick: Peters, 2001.
• Diner, Hasia R. Erin's Daughters in America: Irish Immigrant Women in the 19th Century Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1983
• Gilje, Paul A. "The Development of the Irish American Community in New York City before the Great Migration," in Ronald H Bayor and Timothy J Meagher, eds., The New York Irish Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996
• Kenny, Kevin. The American Irish: A History New York: Pearson Education Inc., 2000
• Miller, Kerby. Emigrants and Exiles: Ireland and the Irish Exodus to North America New York: Oxford University Press, 1985.

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