Реферат: Immigrant Communities A Look At 4

took jobs as household servants and maids, and they often lived

at the residence they worked at. In these jobs they had no

expenses and were able to send the majority of their earnings

home to their struggling families. Some Irish women also took

jobs as factory workers. Men tended to work as manual laborers,

in jobs such as construction work, railroad builders, and canal

workers. Some Irish men also found jobs as firemen, policemen,

dockworkers, and cobblers. Irish men often joined unions and

became involved in politics through these groups.

These immigrants set up their homes in tenement houses and

formed large communities in Boston and Chicago. Families were

not as common, since women were working to support families in

Ireland and often married later in life. Men who were married

were sometimes in very mobile occupations which required them to

leave their families for months at a time. Religion and the

church was a very important part of life for Irish immigrants.

Most Irish were Catholic, although some were of the Protestant

faith. However, the Irish also found time for fun, and taverns

were a common fixture in most communities.

Another large immigrant group was the Germans. People of

this ethnic background came to America in search of jobs and

land, both of which were hard to come by in their native land.

Germans usually brought their families with them to the new

country, and took jobs as farmers, service or factory workers and

skilled artisans. Single men were often boarders with German

families, who took people into their homes as a source of income.

Unlike the Irish, the German women worked at home and sent the

children out to work as household servants. They were also able

to save some of their income, since they did not have to send it