Immigrants' Assimilation Into Life of the Nation

Irish immigrants were ill willed as a result from their poor living conditions and their willingness to work for low wages; sadly, this was exacerbated by religious conflict (Library of Congress, 2001). A tension between Protestants and Catholics became present in cities and this caused problems with the Irish-Catholic. Verbal attacks between these two groups would usually lead to mob violence; for example, there was a time when Protestants burned down St. Mary’s Catholic Church in New York City in 1831 and in 1844 riots in Philadelphia left thirteen dead. Irish-Catholic were attacked by anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic sentiments, in the 1840s, to fight against their foreign influences and in exchange promote “traditional American ideals” (Library of Congress, 2001).