The Irish Way

January 2, 2012
“The Irish saloonkeeper, priest, cop, and ward heeler have become caricatures,” writes Barrett, “but each really did interact with the new immigrants every day, as did the Irish nun, public schoolteacher, and street tough.” In this way, the Irish helped shape American identity, according to Barrett (William Z. Foster and the Tragedy of American Radicalism), a professor of history and African American studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Three million Irish immigrated to the U.S. and by 1900 the Irish-born and Irish-American population had expanded to five million. This scholarly history, with chapters like “The Street,” “The Parish,” and “The Workplace,” details the interactions between the Irish and later immigrants in such public places as vaudeville houses, saloons, congested streets, and unions. In addition to the power and influence of Irish politicians, Barrett covers novels (e.g., James T. Farrell’s Studs Lonigan) and comic strips (Bringing Up Father) and the Irish influence on Hollywood, including Catholic censorship efforts that led to the Legion of Decency in 1934. Portraying colorful characters like New York reformer politician boss Timothy Sullivan and showing how the blending of African-American and Irish dance resulted in tap dancing, Barrett gives us an authoritative, fact-filled analysis. Photos.

February 1, 2012
Barrett (History and African-American Studies/Univ. of Illinois; William Z. Foster and the Tragedy of American Radicalism, 2000, etc.) explores the influence of Irish immigrants on nearly every aspect of American society. Irish immigrants have always been a hardy group, particularly during the period of 1890-1930, when many of them led the country in politics, trade unions, the theater and the administration of the Catholic Church. The first wave struggled to make a life, vying with not only racism and discrimination, but also territorialism and infighting. However, they had the advantage of numbers and the ability to read and write English. They didn't settle in small protective neighborhoods but dispersed throughout the cities, which made their presence more conducive to the acculturation of new arrivals than in the ethnic quarters. The author establishes a distinct difference between acculturation and assimilation, the former being a gradual process during which ideas and language are absorbed both from and by the neighborhood. The second generation strove for respect and acceptance by moving into the church and skilled trades. Despite priests and other church workers of different ethnic descent, particularly Italian and Polish, Irish priests and nuns controlled the church, and their native scrappiness made them leaders in the unions. By 1900, more than 95 percent of Irish Americans were literate, and they quickly learned that they could control neighborhoods simply by delivering for their neighbors, whether in jobs or protection, collecting social capital at every turn. Thus the Irish could build political machines, which were blindly followed by "simple-minded" immigrants. Barrett's vast knowledge illuminates "America's first ethnic group."

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March 1, 2012
The story of the Irish in America is an example of a downtrodden and despised ethnic group that has made it economically and politically. Barrett has written an excellent, bottom-up survey of the Irish experience over the past two centuries. In particular, he concentrates on Irish Catholics in urban environments and the twin processes of advancement and assimilation. Of course, these processes did not occur in isolation, and Barrett provides fascinating examples of how ordinary Irish men and women were transformed and transformed others as they interacted with other ethnic groups. These interactions were not consistently positive, and Barrett acknowledges the strains of racism and anti-Semitism that have infected many Irish. These strains were counterbalanced by a commitment of many to social justice via political activism. Barrett touches upon the lives of a few of the most prominent Irish, but he is most successful in describing the Americanization of policemen, teachers, nuns, and even gang leaders. This is a superior ethnic study that will have value for both scholars and general readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)