123 School Work

Irish Immigrants in Early Chicago

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       To speak about the birth of a city which we now call as a "city of cultures" and not mention the Irish immigrants is to only tell part of the story. The Irish immigrants who arrived in the early 19th century not only increased the cities population but also shaped the cities roots. It is to these men and women that the city owes its thanks to in shaping Chicago as the city we now live in.
       In 1816, about 6,000 Irish immigrants arrived on the shores of early America. 3,000 Irishmen helped build the Erie Canal in 1818. Around 1836, a large number arrived to Illinois to help build the Illinois-Michigan Canal, which further aided the economic standing of a new city. Around 1845, an event which would forever change the history of Ireland, caused the potato farming to almost cease in its existence. "A serious blight began among the Irish potatoes," which caused many to starve and even die. And, to add to the misery, an outbreak of typhus also occurred around the same time. This event forced many Irish families to continue to migrate to a country that promised a new life and a new beginning...