Irish-Americans, Race, and Occupational Assimilation, 1850-1880

• In Event: Racial and Ethnic Minorities Section Roundtables Session
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table One: Historical Sociological Perspectives on Race and Racism

Abstract

This study examines the occupational progression of Irish-American immigrants from 1850 to 1880 using the cohort generation method. It finds that while Irish-Americans had low levels of occupational dissimilarity from native Blacks in 1850, second generation Irish-Americans in 1880 had high levels of occupational dissimilarity from Blacks, a progression not seen with other European-origin immigrant groups. The low occupational status of Irish Americans in 1850 was present for immigrants both literate and illiterate, and was present in the South as well as nationally. The most likely explanation for this shift is that the racial meaning of being Irish changed, even if the Irish had the advantages of whiteness at the time of their arrival in the United States.

Author

• Sebastian B. Spitz, Harvard University