Many Irish immigrants arrived in the United States of America from 1820 to 1860. Primarily driven by the Great Irish Famine of 1845-1852, large numbers of immigrants settled in Northeast port cities including New York City, Baltimore, Boston, and Philadelphia. Irish Americans served on both sides of the United States Civil War. Irishmen, many of whom were immigrants themselves, held prominent positions in the Catholic Church. Irish American groups, such as the Fenian Brotherhood, supported efforts for Irish independence from British rule.
The scrapbook was purchased in 2015.
The collection is open for research.
Irish American Newspaper Clippings Scrapbook (MSS IrishAmerican), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.
Both the
The scrapbook is loosely divided into two sections focusing on poems and articles.
The Irish American Newspaper Clippings Scrapbook is chiefly comprised of poetry and newspaper articles originating from predominantly American newspapers, pasted into a bound scrapbook. There are additional loose newspaper clippings located in between pages of the scrapbook. The majority of the clippings are poems related to domestic topics including love, marriage, family, death, nature, seasons, dreams, farming, and friendship. Many poems depict the Irish American immigrant experience, reminisce about Ireland, and describe elements of the Catholic faith. Other poems illustrate the United States Civil War from the soldiers’ perspective, as well as memorialize President Abraham Lincoln. The remaining one-third of the scrapbook contains political speeches, obituaries, and social advice columns. The majority of articles describe Irish cultural and sociopolitical issues such as emigration to the United States of America, practicing Catholicism in America, and relations with the United Kingdom. Also included are several profiles of Irish nationalists such as Robert Emmet Daniel O’Connell and Thomas Francis Meagher, as well as Irish Catholic leaders including Archbishop John Hughes. The creator of the scrapbook is unknown.