"When America Despised the Irish: The 19th Century’s Refugee Crisis" with Christopher Klein

Christopher Klein, author of several books, including "When the Irish Invaded Canada: The Incredible True Story of the Civil War Veterans Who Fought for Ireland’s Freedom" discusses the era of scorn the Irish initially encountered and find out how they became part of the American mainstream.

Presented at History Camp Boston on March 16, 2019.

History Camp brings together people from all walks of life who are passionate about history for a day of sessions on all aspects of history. There’s nothing else like it, and people come from all over to attend. Find out about upcoming History Camps and sign up for updates at http://historycamp.org.

This was one of 60 sessions at History Camp Boston this year. View more sessions from this History Camp and others here in our Youtube channel.

About the session:
More than 150 years ago, tens of thousands of poor, disease-ridden refugees sought haven in the United States. They threatened to take jobs away from Americans and strain welfare budgets. They practiced an alien religion and pledged allegiance to a foreign leader. They were accused of being criminals. And, worst of all to many Americans, these undesirables were Irish. Explore this era of scorn the Irish initially encountered and find out how they became part of the American mainstream.