The book I am doing my review on is called “How the Irish Became White”, written by Noel Ignatiev. This book was published in 1995 by Routledge.
Ignatiev gives the readers stories about the early experiences of the Irish in the United States and how they were accepted in an oppressing American society. In this paper, I will examine three claims within the reading.
Noel Ignatiev claims that not all Irish would support abolishing slavery even though they have suffered oppression and hatred in their own homeland. Even with the abolitionists’ support from O’Connell, all of the Irish have same mindset at the end of the day. Another claim from the book is
Ignatiev explains to us the issues of slavery and the abolitionist movement rising in the …show more content…
Like in the first claim I examined, Ignatiev uses good sources such as the Dublin Evening Post and information gained from other individuals to back up his information. It is very important to know how different groups such as the Catholics were treated in Ireland, as well as the average working class of the different groups who immigrated. The sentence from page 39 that I have on my previous paragraph is interesting as well. Those situations have happened to many groups who have immigrated to the United States. For example, the Philippines has many ethnic groups such as the Tagalog, Visaya, Kapangpangan, the Cebuano, and more! The Filipinos in the Philippines associate themselves with their origin ethnic group. However, in United States they are all “Filipinos,” instead of calling each one Tagalog, Visaya, etc. The origins of the many groups in the United States has a long history and worth learning about. Ignatiev, in this chapter, educates the reader of the Irish identity.
The last claim from the reading that I will examine are the Issues between Irish and blacks and other immigrants in the labor market. In chapter 5, Ignatiev states that, “Under the capitalist system, all works compete for jobs. The competition gives rise to animosity among them; but normally it also gives rise to its opposite, unity. The book claims that the Irish did not fight only with the blacks, Germans, English laborers, and other workers, but they also fought with their own
Ignatiev gives the readers stories about the early experiences of the Irish in the United States and how they were accepted in an oppressing American society. In this paper, I will examine three claims within the reading.
Noel Ignatiev claims that not all Irish would support abolishing slavery even though they have suffered oppression and hatred in their own homeland. Even with the abolitionists’ support from O’Connell, all of the Irish have same mindset at the end of the day. Another claim from the book is
Ignatiev explains to us the issues of slavery and the abolitionist movement rising in the …show more content…
Like in the first claim I examined, Ignatiev uses good sources such as the Dublin Evening Post and information gained from other individuals to back up his information. It is very important to know how different groups such as the Catholics were treated in Ireland, as well as the average working class of the different groups who immigrated. The sentence from page 39 that I have on my previous paragraph is interesting as well. Those situations have happened to many groups who have immigrated to the United States. For example, the Philippines has many ethnic groups such as the Tagalog, Visaya, Kapangpangan, the Cebuano, and more! The Filipinos in the Philippines associate themselves with their origin ethnic group. However, in United States they are all “Filipinos,” instead of calling each one Tagalog, Visaya, etc. The origins of the many groups in the United States has a long history and worth learning about. Ignatiev, in this chapter, educates the reader of the Irish identity.
The last claim from the reading that I will examine are the Issues between Irish and blacks and other immigrants in the labor market. In chapter 5, Ignatiev states that, “Under the capitalist system, all works compete for jobs. The competition gives rise to animosity among them; but normally it also gives rise to its opposite, unity. The book claims that the Irish did not fight only with the blacks, Germans, English laborers, and other workers, but they also fought with their own