Paula Craig - 180 Years Apart

180 Years Apart

Transportation

Paula Craig

Airplanes
Ease & Speed
- Paula Craig used to visit every year with her kids
- Now she and her family visits every other year
While leaving her family was hard, the speed and ease that airplanes provided made the sacrifice more bearable

Irish Immigrants 180 Years Ago

Coffin Ships
- Nicknamed coffin ships because the ships passengers, "were only flying from one form of death" (Irish Times)
- Disease ridden, cramped, and dirty
- Over 20,300 people died on these ships
The U.S. government saw these immigrants as disease-ridden
- Raised the price to 7 pounds
  - Too expensive for more than one journey. Most immigrants knew that they would never come back

Housing

Paula Craig

Paula Craig lives in a comfortable, clean home
- 4,000+ sq ft
Large backyard

Tenement Housing

Irish were forced into tiny homes called tenements
- Unsanitary conditions
- Horrible heating
- Cramped

Discrimination

Paula Craig

No problem whatsoever with her accent
- People often make connections with her culture
- Her accent is a talking point, compared to 100 years ago when it would be frowned upon.
Americans often drum up St. Patrick's Day to an offensive level
- It annoys Paula, however she doesn't mind

Irish 100 Years Ago

Irish faced violent and verbal abuse
- Portrayed as drunkards, and non-human
Because of this, Irish were forced to perform manual labor and carry out often dangerous, low paying jobs

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