"We have enough dirt, misery, crime, sickness and death of our own" : How the Irish Immigrants were Portrayed in 19th Century America – A Thematic Analysis of New York Times Articles

Abstract

Irish immigrants formed a large part of the poor in America after they were forced to migrate due to the Great Famine (1845-1852). The aim of this study was to bring insight into how Irish immigration and immigrants were portrayed in America in the 19th century. This was done by analysing New York Times articles between the years 1850 and 1900 that discussed the Irish immigrants and Ireland. The study was conducted by means of thematic analysis, which is systematic and objective when quantifying extensive data. This approach meant that the analysis was divided into smaller content-related categories that each have their own pattern of meaning. An inductive method was used for the analysis, meaning that the themes were determined by their occurrence in the data, making this type of analysis purely data-driven, without trying to fit into pre-existing categories. The thesis finds that there is an abundance of sometimes overlapping ways in which the Irish immigrants are discussed and portrayed in the media. These portrayals included instances of racism, prejudice, and all kinds of stereotypes, while also noting positive features such as the immigrants proving to be useful as labour. America often prided itself on its role as a haven and saviour for refugees from around the world. This data reveals a very different picture: while their heart and passion could be found to be good and pure, the immigrants could also face anti-immigrant sentiments in their work, in their homes and especially toward their Catholic religion. The immigrants were readily objectified into tools or plants, and called dirty, criminally inclined, or morally and mentally crippled. The Irish immigrants were not portrayed as victims of unjust systems, but rather they were considered to be mere paupers and as such they are to blame for their own misfortune. The research concludes that many of the ways in which the immigrants were discussed and portrayed in the media are extremely similar to how they are discussed in the 21st century. The research also finds that the Irish immigrants slowly started to gain a more trusted position in American society once they started to assimilate to their surroundings and they became more American in their manners.