History

This paper examines the economic and social reasons that are attributed to the high emigration rate in Ireland and in Germany during the nineteenth century, and how the lives of these groups turned out in the United States. As a result of economic deterioration and social inequality, pessimism became prevalent in Ireland from the 1840s onward and in Germany from the 1830s onward. Because the United States was perceived as an optimistic avenue for advancement, thousands of Irish and Germans emigrated their homelands and fled to America in search of a better life. During the first few decades upon their arrival in America, these groups faced massive discrimination by nativists; cultural barriers propagated negative stereotyping, which in turn created a nativist environment that excluded anyone of foreign nationality. The Irish and German immigrants found themselves fighting hard to overcome their oppression in America. By creating a cohesive social network among people of their own kind, whether it was through politics, religion, or in business, these immigrants challenged the social stigmas tha