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Through this proposal, I hope to illustrate the political, religious, and physical struggles that pushed the Irish people out of their homeland, Ireland. I will illuminate some of the many ways the English and then, later, Americans used stereotypes and propaganda to marginalize the Irish, and much worse. Their intentions were to defame and demoralize the Irish people so they could conquer and control them. I will examine how America worked on immigration issues in the 1800s. I will show how illegal immigration has set the stage for the strict and arguably intolerant policies that are in place in America today. I will then ask the question, How has our social paradigm shifted, and by what means do we now handle the situation of immigration Or have these things changed at all?
One of the many reasons the Irish moved from their homeland to America was the political situation they faced. The English monarchy wanted to absorb Ireland into its empire. One of their methods of gaining control was to dehumanize the people they planned to conquer through public ridicule. They influenced public opinion against the Irish by creating the impression that they were Neanderthal-like people, violent, immoral, and not capable of intelligence or simple common sense. They used cartoons and pictures that portrayed their features as apish and primitive. One example of this is English artist James Gillrays drawing United Irishmen in Training 1798 . This picture depicts a group of Irishmen in their revolt against England in 1798. In this picture, Gillray gives the Irish characteristics of Ogres. Another example of this type of public ridicule is ‘The Usual Irish Way of Doing Things’ by Thomas Nast (18401902). Nasts picture depicted an ape-like being sitting atop a barrel of gunpowder, swinging a bottle of rum with one arm, and a lit torch in the other. These illustrations worked. Public opinion was that the Irish were no more intelligent than beasts and were in need of a strong English government and a threat to Americans. Comment by Rebekah Filut: Anti-Irish political cartoon titled ‘The Usual Irish Way of Doing Things’ by Thomas Nast (18401902), published in Harper’s Weekly on 2 September 1871.
In the 1820s the Irish came in smaller numbers. In 1845 the Potato Famine caused massive immigration. The Irish peoples main source of food was a type of potato called the Irish Lumper. The great potato famine was caused by the potato blight which was spread throughout the potato fields throughout Ireland and other countries in Europe. The result of the blight was starvation and illness. At the time, England was in control of Ireland. At first, England helped Ireland by importing corn and other food sources. However, eventually, England could no longer supply the food due to the increasing need to feed their own countrymen. When Lord John Russell took power as Prime Minister, he took a less active role in the welfare of Ireland. He was not as concerned about feeding the people of Ireland. He simply didnt care. He felt the resources should be directed towards England. And, since public opinion was that the Irish were less than human it made sense that those in power no longer wanted to invest resources in them. The result was starvation and poverty. Due to malnourishment and poor health, many Irish were unable to work which led to the inability to pay rent and subsequently being evicted. Logically, they started to America.
When the Irish immigrated to America in large numbers nativists felt threatened. Sadly, when they landed on the shores of their new home, they found the use of degrading cartoons and propaganda were used in America too. It appeared their situation hadnt changed.
Nativists were afraid there would not be enough jobs to go around. Because of the financial situation they had left in Europe coupled with their need to establish themselves in The New World, the Irish would do anything to earn a wage. Most of them were not formally trained; so, they took menial jobs. They would take up mostly hard labor. They were active in the building of Americas railroads and canals. The women worked as house servants. Jobs became scarce.
Another nativist concern was the vast number of Irish Catholic immigrants that came. The newly independent Americans were worried that the Irish Catholics would come and try to force their religion on their people. One cartoon that depicts the nativists fears is a piece by Nathanial Currier The propagation society. More free than welcome. It shows a boat full of Irish Catholics arriving at the United States shoreline welcomed by a young boy holding a Bible and an older gentleman leaning against a flag. In this cartoon, the Irish Catholic Bishop is holding a cross and a sword. He was looking as if he planned to conquer America with his Catholicism. Comment by Rebekah Filut: Thomas Nast named The American River Ganges , which depicts the roman catholic clergy as crocodiles invading America’s shores to devour the nation’s schoolchildren. The point of this piece was to dehumanize the Irish Catholics and depict them as ravenous beasts coming in to devour the children or in better terms taint the childrens religious stance in a school system that was created to have a variety. May add this Im not Comment by Rebekah Filut: N. Currier, The Propagation Society, More Free than Welcome, 1855, via Library of Congress. ~ credits
Another piece by Thomas Nast named The American River Ganges, depicts the Roman Catholic clergy as crocodiles. They were invading Americas shores to devour the nations schoolchildren. The point of this piece was, again, to dehumanize the Irish Catholics. It was to depict them as ravenous beasts coming in to devour the children. It was thought they would taint the childrens religious views in a school system that was created to have a variety.
Though these prejudices were wrong, they were effective. People believed them and treated the Irish as if they were, not just outsiders, but a threat to the religious liberties that their forefathers had just fought for and won. People looked down on them for their appearances, and the way they acted, and some didnt even believe they were human. There were even store owners that would put up signs saying, No Irish Need Apply . These skewed ideas people had, made living hard for the Irish people. When they came to America, they soon made up more than half of the population of Boston and New York. This caused them to become crowded in small apartment complexes. The communities were filthy and ridden with crime and disease.
America did not have an immigration system until August 3rd, 1882. It was easy for people to immigrate to America from foreign countries. That has changed. Today the immigration process is long, strict, and tedious. Because of that many immigrants come to America illegally through Mexico and Canada, even smuggled in on ships. Like the Irish of the 19th century, they came with hopes of finding a better life.
Our current immigration process begins in two main fields, Immigrating Based on Family and Employment-Based Immigration. Petitions are filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Immigrating Family starts with a legal United States resident, a family member, filing an I-130 petition for the foreign citizen to come. Employment-Based Immigration starts with the sponsoring employer filing an I-140 Petition for the Alien Worker In some categories the immigrant can file the I-140 petition independently. Of course, over the years there have been some changes to the way things work. For instance, in 2012 an immigration policy called the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, also known as DACA, was put in place by President Obama. DACA is an immigration policy created to protect the children of illegal immigrants from losing their benefits and being deported. These children, known as dreamers, were brought to America illegally at a young age and identified as Americans. Among other things, they have attended American schools, been brought up in American culture mixed with their home culture, and depended on American quality of healthcare. Most know little about their native country. They may not even speak their native language. They must register for the program and renew it every two years to keep them safe from deportation. The program also gave those people the ability to get a job and healthcare under their employer. There are restrictions. To qualify for the DACA program the person must prove they had entered the United States before the age of 16. They must have been in the U.S. continuously. They must be under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012. Comment by Rebekah Filut: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process.html Comment by Rebekah Filut: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process.html Comment by Rebekah Filut: Original:
DACA is an immigration policy keeping the Dreamers that sign up from being deported as well as giving these immigrants a shot at getting a job and having health care from their employer. Comment by Rebekah Filut: further elaborate Comment by Rebekah Filut: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-dreamers-and-daca-explained-1517567400
When Donald Trump was elected as President, one thing his campaign platform was set on, was creating more structure for the immigration system. This included repealing the DACA program as well as banning the immigration of nations tied to Islamic terror. As of June 28, 2019, the policy had been updated. It will now only accept renewals from previous DACA recipients. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will no longer accept new applications for the DACA program. Comment by Rebekah Filut: Fact check — so far looks about right
Has our social paradigm and means of handling the situation of immigration changed? I would argue no, it has not changed much at all. In fact, with Yellow Journalism circulating the internet now it is even harder to know what is real and what is not.
Broadly speaking, immigration is still viewed as a threat in the United States. Propaganda based on stereotypes is still practiced. Fear of alien cultures and religions is still a fact. Vulnerability to physical harm and loss of property is still a threat. The loss of jobs is still a concern. One can tune in to a shouting, self-proclaimed authority on the radio declaring the threats we face from open borders. There are cultural practices connected to some religions that are illegal in this country. Some practices are legally discriminatory and, even considered murder in America. Some countries have weak or little to no laws and some immigrants from those countries have found Americas citizens, confident in our law and order, easy to exploit. Poor, starving, homeless immigrants are still willing to take the most menial jobs.
The biggest change has been the increase in what is considered illegal immigration due to the laws and rules that have been set since 1882. In order to examine this topic responsibly we must also look at how our country has prospered through immigration. One amazing example is the Present John F. Kennedy. The Kennedy Presidential Library says he was America’s first Irish Catholic president. His mothers family, the Fitzgeralds, and his fathers family, the Kennedys were from Ireland. President Kennedys Fitzgerald ancestors were from a small village in County Limerick. Some of his Fitzgerald family migrated to America in the 1840s because of the great potato famine. President Kennedys paternal ancestor, Patrick Kennedy, was from County Wexford and migrated about the same time. He was a cooper. A cooper made wooden barrels, buckets, and wooden implements. The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys suffered through discrimination against the Irish Catholic immigrants. They were coopers and common laborers. The families progressed to clerks and business owners. Both of President Kennedys grandfathers became Boston politicians. His maternal grandfather, John Fitzgerald, was elected mayor of Boston twice and was also a member of the US Congress. In an address in June of 1963 President Kennedy commented that his great grandfather came to America from Ireland with nothing except his faith, which was very strong, and a longing for freedom. He was heard during his presidency saying that he believed that someday the government would introduce an immigration policy that would benefit everyone who came and would offer that same freedom his grandfather dreamed of. One that was fair. We can only imagine what his view would be if he could see our current policy. President Kennedys views on immigration were both compassionate and sensible. President Kennedy was an example of how America prospers from our immigrants.
In this Proposal, we have seen a people stripped of self-government, deprived of their religion, demeaned and demoralized by propaganda. And finally, because of starvation, they faced the hard decision to leave their homeland. We have witnessed the illustrations and tactics used against them by nativists here in America. We have examined some of our immigration laws now in contrast to how they handled immigration then. We even asked the hard questions our society faced regarding immigration. We can learn from Irelands story. The story of Irish immigration could be enlightening. If we look at the tactics the English and even the nativists used to control and even deter the Irish, we can see those same tactics in use now. Hopefully looking at the past and recognizing the same behavior now can help us change our paradigm. My appeal to all is to examine the issues we are having with immigration and develop regulations using both reason and compassion. Yellow Journalism produces prejudice; and, uninformed compassion may leave us vulnerable. Neither has a place in reason.
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