When I first read this article, I was surprised at the poverty level of the average Irish family. There have been several accounts of the horrible conditions they were living under. What was even more disturbing was the fact that the English were the cause of this harsh oppression on the people. I originally thought it was simply a famine that caused so many Irish immigrants to flood the United States. The death toll of the famine was also a lot higher than I initially thought. Many of these people could have been saved had the English not neglected their workforce. Instead of using the cattle and other livestock to feed the famished population, the exporting continued and more people died of the Great Famine. There was no choice but to emigrate from Ireland or die. With that the Irish had to carve out a new existence in America. This emigration saw thousands more die due to inhospitable conditions aboard the ships and starvation. This story of Irish emigration is an example of the tragedy suffered by many races due to the wrongs of others.
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