Before the discovery of the potato, Irish people struggled with consuming a variety of food, living mainly off of grain and dairy products (Simon Wright). Potatoes became highly popular because of the easy growing and price of them; almost any family could enjoy potatoes. At the start of the 18th century, Ireland had a population of just over 2 million but by the mid 19th century the population had soared to over 8 million (Simon Wright). Population growth in Ireland made it clear and evident that people from around the world were craving the popular crop. Yet, Ireland remained a poor nation, with millions in poverty.
The early Irish settlers in the United States emigrated from Ireland. Most people left Ireland for similar reasons. The largest amounts of Irish people were being forced out of their homeland due to the potato famine in the 1840’s. The idea of coming to America not only gave them hopes for a new beginning but for many was their own chance at survival. With failing crops and illness threatening the land families were unable to pay their rent and keep a roof over their head. Others were having their land taken from them because of the religious wars going on in the country and had no where else to go.
1906 San Francisco Earthquake The San Francisco Earthquake changed many lives of pedestrians whom lived in the city on the day of April 18, 1906. Between 227,000 and 300,000 people were left homeless out of a population of about 410,000. The Army built 5,610 redwood and fir temporary homes to accommodate 20,000 homeless people. The houses were designed by John McLaren, and were grouped in eleven camps, packed close to each other and rented to people for two dollars per month until rebuilding was completed. They were painted olive drab, partly to blend in with the site, and partly because the military had large quantities of olive drab paint on hand.
Millions of acres of farmland became useless and hundreds of thousands of people were forced to leave their homes and migrated to California and to other states. Owning no land, many migrant workers traveled from farm to farm to pick fruit and other crops at starvation wages (Hornbeck, pg16-18). During The Early European and American Exploration of the Great Plains, the region in which the Dust Bowl occurred was thought unsuitable for European-style agricultural endeavors were primarily cattle ranching with some cultivation, however a series of harsh winters beginning in 1886, followed by a short drought in 1890 which led to an expansion of land under cultivation (Egan pg20-22). It was an important determinant of The Great Depression because throughout the 1930’s more than a million acres of land were affected by The Dust Bowl, thousands of farmers lost their livelihood, property, and mass migration patterns began to emerge, farmers left rural American in search of work in urban areas (Haberler, pg 70-72), During The Great Depression, severe drought conditions prevailed much of The United States plains soil turned to dust and large dark clouds could be seen across the horizon in Texas. Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico.
Out of work and with few local options, many tradesmen and their families emigrated to Newfoundland and Labrador. Similar socio-economic conditions existed in Ireland. The collapse of the textile industry in the southeast and a series of poor farming seasons between 1770 and 1830 resulted in much economic hardship for members of the working class. The country's population jumped from about four million to seven million, placing even greater pressures on Ireland's limited jobs and resources. During the first three decades of the 19th century, between 30,000 and 35,000 people left Ireland for Newfoundland and Labrador, often to escape hunger, poverty, and overcrowded living conditions.
That outlet was the free Blacks of the time whom the Irish found themselves competing for menial, low wage job against. In a good many cases signs would be posted or job ads would state “No Irish Need Apply” (Gone to America, 2000, pg.4, para.3). The Irish were in opposition to the Emancipation Proclamation, the freeing of the slaves would simply add to their problem they had competing with Blacks for jobs. The worst violence surrounding this time in Irish American and Black American history took place in July 1863 in New York city when riots broke out between the two groups. These riots were sever enough that Federal troops were called in to put a stop to the fighting but not before 18 free Blacks Americans died and $5 million worth of property was damaged.
People thought that it was a punishment from God. In the end about ½ of the population died and making it one of the worst bubonic plagues ever in human history. It took the country over 100 years to recover from this disaster. The next event was the peasant’s revolt. This happened in June 1381 and it involved thousands of peasants who gathered and travelled to London to protest about their freedom and the poll tax King Edward III had issued.
Evidence shows that Ukraine suffered tremendously during the era of collectivisation, from forced resettlements to the famine of 1932 and 1933 when approximately six million people starved to death. There was a mass migration from the country side to the towns (Pittaway, 2008, p131). The worst of the purges had already happened and
Both of these things hurt the new Irish immigrants once they arrived in America. The Irish faced many issues and prejudices when they arrived in America. One of these issues was poverty. Irish immigrants had little to no money when they arrived and because they had no money they had trouble getting out of the cities and slums. When they arrived they needed a job right away and the hard, low paying jobs were the ones they often would find.
The Black Death In the 1340s a lethal disease, also known as the Bubonic plague, attacked Europe’s entire population killing almost 50 million people, the continent's population reduced approximately two-thirds, leaving behind an unforgettable mark on our history. It spread quickly and devastated many other countries (Benedictow 1). As we can see, the Black Death Plague has been in existence for about 650 years, even though it is not widespread today, the Plague still exists. There are several explanations on the origins of the Black Death. It began in the spring of 1346 in the steppe region when the Mongols launched an attack on the Italian merchant’s last trading station, Kaffa in the Crimea (Benedictow 3) Others thought that it originated from earthquakes and fire, people even believed that it was a punishment from God for their sins.