Throughout the 1840's as well as the 1850's millions flocked to the United States hoping for a better life and for a chance to succeed in the land of opportunity. Many came to America, the Land of the Plenty, in what was known as the "Black Forties." Millions of people from both Ireland and Germany came to America in a desperate attempt to start a new life. Both came here for many of the same reasons, faced the same hardships, and both greatly impacted America with their cultures as well as their effect on political effect.
Although there were many similarities the Irish and the German's also had different contributions to America.
During the 1840's Ireland had become hazardously dependent on the potato crop. So, when blight had overtaken the potato crop, many had little to eat and about two million of the Irish perished due to disease as well as hunger. Because of these conditions thousands found themselves flocking to America, the Land of Plenty, in the hopes to survive and to lead a better life. Many also left Germany for the same reasons. Between the years of 1830 to 1860 about a million Germans also flocked to America due to crop failures and the hopes of starting a new and successful life. However, unlike the Irish, a large sum of the Germans that came to America were liberal political refugees who were devastated by the collapse of the democratic revolutions in 1848. These liberal political refugees saw America as a place of hope for democracy.
When the Irish set out for America, they had very little money and were not prepared for urban life. Being far too poor to move west like the Germans, the Irish were not able to buy land or livestock, so they settled for the seaboard cities in the Northeast. Many men took jobs as day laborers or construction workers and women seemed to have hard times finding jobs, so they settled for domestic servants. The Irish were also hated by native works and it was a common site to see "No Irish Need Apply" on many factory gates.
