The Irish Famine and the Impact on Boston Immigration

 

 

Essential Questions:

 

  1. How did the Irish Famine and the resulting flood of immigration impact the city of Boston?
  2. What was the experience of a typical Irish Immigrant in Boston?

 

Objectives:

 

  1. Students will understand the factors leading to the wave of immigration from Ireland to Boston in the 1840s.
  2. Students will understand the impact that this wave of immigration had on the city.
  3. Students will understand the experience of Irish Immigrants in Boston.
  4. Students will understand the conditions under which immigrants made the trip to Boston.

 

 

Standards:

 

US I: 27.b  The causes and impact of the wave of immigration from Northern Europe to America in the 1840s and 1850s.

 

Primary Sources:

 

  1. “The Search for Missing Friends”: Irish Immigrant advertisements placed in the Boston Pilot 1851-1853.
  2. Acts and Resolves: Immigration laws passed in Massachusetts as a reaction to the increase in new Immigrants.  (Laws are from 1848-1853).
  3. Ships Manifests: Ocean Monarch (May 23rd 1848), Brig Lively (May 23rd, 1848), Brig R Marker (May 23rd 1848)
  4. 1850 census – Federal census from Boston Ward 1

 

Activities: (Under Development)

 

  1. Background on the Irish Famine: Handouts and Readings OR web research

 

Students will understand the causes of the Irish Famine and the impact on the citizens of Ireland.

 

http://www.people.virginia.edu/~eas5e/Irish/Famine.html

http://vassun.vassar.edu/~sttaylor/FAMINE/

http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/famine/index.html

 

  1. The Journey to Boston

 

Students will look at the ship logs and answer the following questions in order to develop a better picture of the immigrants who were traveling to Boston. 

 

    1. Did immigrants come alone or with family?
    2. What is the age range of the Passengers?
    3. What are some of the listed occupations?
    4. 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?
    5. Are the passengers predominantly of one gender, or are there an equal number of men and women?

 

  1. Impact on Boston

 

Students will look at the Census records to see where immigrants were settling, what kind of family units were living together, what occupations the new immigrants had taken, etc.

 

Students will read through the Immigration laws passed between 1848-1853.  They will then be asked why they think the Massachusetts legislature passed these laws beginning in 1848 and what impact on immigration these laws would have had.

 

  1. The Impact on Immigrants

 

Students will read the “Search for Missing Friends Advertisements” in order to better understand how immigrant families were impacted by the decision to emigrate.  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. This will hopefully give students an idea of how many families were broken apart as a result of the famine and the necessity of emigration, as well as the huge range of places where immigrants wound up settling (i.e. not just Boston and NY).

 

  1. Culminating Activity: TBD

 

 

Assessments:

 

The Assessment(s) for this unit will be based largely upon the activities that are planned.  Once my activities are fully developed, I will begin working on the issue of assessment.