How Did Irish Immigration Impact The American West

As tensions arose between the Irish and the English in the British Isle, Irish settlers began to immigrate to America in hopes of a better and more stable life. Many Irish citizens, led by the Irish Republican Brotherhood, were rebelling against British rule in Ireland. In the 19th century, thousands emigrated from Ireland. Between 1800 and 1900, Irish Americans impacted the development of the American West through nationalistic views and ideals, the spread of Catholicism, and by helping to build the transportation that expanded the West. To begin with, Irish Americans impacted the American West through their attitudes of the new country and the views that Americans possessed of them. Beginning around 1840, waves of immigrants came from Europe

This religious spread was not always welcomed. As the Irish immigrated to America, they assimilated to American culture but also kept their roots, and they began by establishing new towns on the East Coast and in the Midwest. According to artist, inventor and nativist leader (Billington 365) Samuel F. B. Morse, “It is a fact that numerous societies of Roman Catholics, particularly among the Irish foreigners, are organized in various parts of the country, under various names and ostensibly for certain benevolent objects; that these societies are united together by correspondence, all which may be innocent and praiseworthy, but… are at least suspicious.” (Morse). Morse targeted Irish Catholics because he feared that they would change certain aspects of American society. He felt this way because he was a well-known nativist leader and wanted to rally Protestants against Irish Catholics. This was due to the mounting Protestant fear of Catholics changing the current social structures (Billington 362), as Protestants only believed that the Catholics would change American society for worse. Morse felt that all the new Catholics in America would remain loyal to the papacy, and that this would interfere with the republican system that America was built on (Henretta 310). As historian Ray A. Billington notes, it was also believed that Protestants would attempt to destroy Catholic churches in the West, making them susceptible to danger (Billington 371). The Irish spread their Catholic religion as they moved westward, and faced some opposition from fearful