Irish Immigrants in America

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Irish Immigrants in America
Just like in the modern world, migration from one country to the other was a common phenomenon in the 19th century. The United States of America was the preferred destination for many immigrants who left Europe in pursuit of the elusive American Dream. Although the immigrants come from different ethnic backgrounds, they carried with them part of their culture that was new to Americans. The author posits, the servant class was non-existence and never associated with Native Americans, but when the immigrants settled in New York, the demand for domestics grew in popularity (Lynch-Brennan 46). The majority of domestics comprised of immigrant women who had no alternatives and desperately needed a means of livelihood to fend for their families. However, it was noted that the immigrants came in different phases and included the Irish, Italians and Jews.
Most of these groups had escaped the hardships of their native countries and relocated to America for a fresh start. According to the author, low-wage and unwanted tasks were filled by immigrant women with the Irish taking most of the jobs as servants in the houses of the middle-class. Italians and Jews differed significantly from the Irish when it came to the propensity to work, and the majority employed in the needle trade. The Irish women had no problems working as domestics because at the time there were no alternative sources of employment for immigrants.

They lacked formal education making them unfit for important jobs in New York and the Northern parts of America. The Irish did not hold social ranks in deep regard and since most were unmarried, working as a servant was the only way of surviving (Lynch-Brennan 112). In the book, a feudalistic approach describes the role of domestics in American homes. The book is an eye-opener to the revolution of the service jobs in America as new nomenclature was adopted to ensure that the rights of servants and domestics are not violated.
Work Cited
Lynch-Brennan, Margaret. The Irish Bridget: Irish Immigrant Women in Domestic Service in America, 1840-1930. Syracuse University Press, 2009.