Kelley
Foley
4/14/2003
Place
Course
The Irish Famine and the Impact on Boston
Immigration
Essential Questions:
- How
did the Irish Famine and the resulting flood of immigration impact the
city of Boston?
- What
was the experience of a typical Irish Immigrant in Boston?
- How
can events thousands of miles away impact a person’s local community?
Enduring Understanding:
- The
Irish Famine began a trend of emigration out of Ireland.
- One of
the locations that Irish immigrants selected to travel to was Boston
- This
increase in immigration had a lasting impact both on the immigrants that
made the journey as well as on the city itself.
Objectives:
- Students
will understand the factors leading to the wave of immigration from Ireland
to Boston in the 1840s.
State Standard US I: 27.b The causes and impact of the wave of
immigration from Northern Europe to America
in the 1840s and 1850s.
- Students
will understand the conditions under which immigrants made the trip to Boston.
Connection to English
Language Arts: Standards 8 and 13 Understanding an Informational/Expository
Text and non-fiction)
- Students
will understand the impact that this wave of immigration had on the city.
State Standard US I 31.C the
influence of these trends on the reaction of Protestants to the growth of
Catholic immigration.
State Standard US
II.2 C The expansion of cities
- Students
will understand the experience of Irish immigrants in Boston.
History Theme: The influence of
economic, political, religious, and cultural ideas as human societies move
beyond regional, national or geographic boundaries.
Primary Sources:
- “The
Search for Missing Friends”: Irish Immigrant advertisements placed in the
Boston Pilot 1851-1853. Location: Lynnfield Public Library
- Acts
and Resolves: Immigration laws passed in Massachusetts
as a reaction to the increase in new Immigrants. (Laws are from 1848-1853). Location: Massachusetts
State Archive Boston,
MA
- Ships
Manifests: Ocean Monarch (May 23rd
1848), Brig Lively (May 23rd, 1848), Brig R Marker
(May 23rd 1848)
Location: NARA Waltham,
MA
- 1850
census – Federal census from Boston Ward 1 Location: NARA Waltham, MA
Activities:
Activity
#1:
Objective: Objective 1
Activity: Students will do
web based research at the following three sites:
http://www.people.virginia.edu/~eas5e/Irish/Famine.html
http://vassun.vassar.edu/~sttaylor/FAMINE/
http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/famine/index.html
Assessment: After
completing the web based research, students will be asked to write a short (1
page) paper discussing the Irish Famine.
Student will be assessed based upon
evidence of the following issues being addressed in the essay
- Reasons
for the famine
- Economic
impact of the famine
- Political
impact of the famine
- The
great hunger – what the famine meant for the average Irish family
- How
these economic and political changes affected emigration patterns in Ireland.
Activity #2
Objective: Objective 2
Activity: Students will look
at three ship logs and compile answers to a set of questions in order to
develop a better picture of the immigrants who were traveling to Boston.
Assessment: Students will be
assessed based upon answers to the following questions:
- Did
immigrants come alone or with family? If immigrants did travel with
travel with family, what is the range in size of family groups?
- What
is the age range of the Passengers?
- What
are some of the listed occupations?
- Other
than Ireland,
what are some of the other places of birth for the ship passengers? What is the proportion of Irish to
Non-Irish travelers on these ships?
- Are
the passengers predominantly of one gender, or are there an equal number
of men and women?
Activity #3
Objective: Objective 2
Activity: Students will read
an excerpt from Robert Whyte’s Journal of an Irish Coffin Ship (1847).
Although the destination of the ship discussed in this journal was not Boston,
the experience of the writer is typical of the experience of many Irish
immigrants traveling on similar vessels in this time frame.
Assessment: Students will
write a one to two paragraph reflection on the excerpts. Specifically, students will be asked to write
their reaction to the conditions on board the boat that Whyte describes. In addition, since so little is known about
Whyte, students will also be asked to reflect on whether they think the
descriptions could be accurate or whether they think some of the information
was fabricated. Students are expected to
provide support for either view point they take.
Activity
#4:
Objective: Objective 3
Activity: Students will look
at the Census records from 1850 from Ward 1 in Suffolk
County. Students will look at column 9/place of birth
to locate individuals born in Ireland.
Students will then look for information such as age, occupation, and number of
family members living in that dwelling.
Since records are listed in order of visitation, students should also
look to see if there were clusters of people living in the same area with
similar places of birth.
Assessment: Students will be
assessed based upon their answers to the following questions:
- What
is the ratio in this census record of people born in Ireland
as compared to individuals born in other locations?
- What
are some of the occupations of people listed as being born in Ireland? Is this similar to the information you
found when looking at the ship manifests? Are these occupations similar
in nature to the occupations listed for individuals born in other
countries?
- How
many people tended to live in the same dwelling? Were immigrants living with extended
family, with other families, independently, etc?
- In
addition to Ireland,
what are some other places of birth listed for individuals in this census
record? Based on the records does it appear as if Irish families tended
to reside close together or does it appear as if individuals with
different places of birth are evenly dispersed throughout the record?
Activity
#5
Objective: Objective 4
Activity: Students will read
the “Search for Missing Friends Advertisements” in order to better understand
how immigrant families were impacted by the decision to emigrate.
Assessment: Students will
create a chart from the advertisements listing where the person placing the ad
was located, as well as where the person that was being searched for was
thought to be. Students will then mark these locations on a map. This visual aid should provide students with
a better sense of how dispersed families became as a result of the famine and
the decision to emigrate.
Activity
#6
Objective: Objective 4
Activity: Students will read
excerpts from Faces of Community: Immigrant Massachusetts,
1860-2000, Irish Americans, and Fiona's McGilray's
Story: A Voyage from Ireland in 1849(historical fiction)
Assessment: Students will
discuss the information they learned by reading the excerpts about Irish
immigrant experiences in Boston. Students will be assessed based on discussion
participation
Activity #7
Objective: Objective 4
Activity: Students will read
information taken from the Massachusetts Acts and Resolves. Specifically they
will read immigration laws passed in Massachusetts
between 1848 –1854
Assessment: Students will outline the
changes created by these laws and will address the question of why these laws
were passed in this time frame. Students
will be assessed based upon this outline and how they address the question of
why these laws were passed.
Culminating Activity
Students will put together a
comprehensive diary from the point of view of a Boston Irish immigrant. This
diary must have at least 4 entries covering different periods of the
immigrant’s life. These 4 entries should
cover the following periods:
1. 1847
– You (the Irish immigrant) are still in Ireland. You are living through the famine and
deciding whether to emigrate. Discuss the conditions in Ireland
and the pros and cons for emigrating.
2. 1848
– You decided to leave Ireland
for Boston and are in the process
of making the journey aboard a ship.
Describe the crossing.
3. 1849
– You have been in Boston for six
months. What is life like? Where are you living, have you found a job,
what has your reception been like in this city?
4. 1855
– You have been in Boston for a few
years. How have things changed? Has your experience matched the expectations
you had when leaving Ireland?
What opportunities have you found and what obstacles have you had to overcome?
Students will be assessed based
upon a rubric. (See attached)
Assessments:
Assessments for each smaller
activity (activities 1-7) will count as either a homework or class
participation grade. The grade for the culminating activity will count as a
test grade.