Immigration
The Irish seemed to be the most dominant ethnic group of immigrants in Boston.[1] Boston is the number one American city to be home of the largest group of Irish-Americans.[2] Prior to the restrictive 1924 Immigration Act, numerous Irish immigrants were able to migrate to Boston.[2] Following the racially restrictive piece of legislation, immigration and population rates in Boston began to slow down and stagnate between 1920 and 1950.[4] Nonetheless, there was a large Irish-American presence throughout the era.[1] Since there was a large number of them and mayor Curley was Irish, a lot of his public planning projects were influenced by them and/or benefitted them more than their Yankee counterparts.[3]
To be an Irish immigrant in the midst of a depression and world war was extremely difficult. Not only did they face high unemployment rates like the rest of the nation, they took the most menial and low paying of jobs just because that is all they could acquire at the moment.[1] Therefore, they found themselves mostly in the industrial and commercial districts. This is where all of the housing were basically slums due to their poor living conditions.[1]
These Irish immigrants came over to Boston in the first place because most of them were fleeing away from famine and/or because there was low religious toleration where they originally came from. The religion most frequent in this situation was Catholicism.[5] They thought migrating to Boston would lead them to better lives, but the stagnation of the city hindered them from acquiring this goal. This is probably why Curley favored the Irish so much with his public works projects. He probably understood the fact that the Irish immigrants had already experienced bad conditions and did not want to place them in possibly worse conditions in Boston. This desire to renew the housing of the Irish immigrants led to the development of Boston’s affordable housing projects.[10]
To be an Irish immigrant in the midst of a depression and world war was extremely difficult. Not only did they face high unemployment rates like the rest of the nation, they took the most menial and low paying of jobs just because that is all they could acquire at the moment.[1] Therefore, they found themselves mostly in the industrial and commercial districts. This is where all of the housing were basically slums due to their poor living conditions.[1]
These Irish immigrants came over to Boston in the first place because most of them were fleeing away from famine and/or because there was low religious toleration where they originally came from. The religion most frequent in this situation was Catholicism.[5] They thought migrating to Boston would lead them to better lives, but the stagnation of the city hindered them from acquiring this goal. This is probably why Curley favored the Irish so much with his public works projects. He probably understood the fact that the Irish immigrants had already experienced bad conditions and did not want to place them in possibly worse conditions in Boston. This desire to renew the housing of the Irish immigrants led to the development of Boston’s affordable housing projects.[10]
References:
1. O'Connor, T. H. (1995). The Boston Irish: A Political History. Boston: Northeastern University Press.
2. 1920-1950: Stagnation | People, Places & Planning in Boston. (n.d.). People, Places & Planning in Boston. Retrieved February 13, 2013, from http://planningboston.org/eras/1920-1949/
3. Glaeser, E. and Shleifer, A. (n.d.). The Curley Effect: The Economics of Shaping the Electorate. [pdf] http://www.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/shleifer/files/curley_effect.pdf [Accessed: 14th February. 2013].
4. Huse, C. P. (1916). The Financial History of Boston. New York: Harvard University Press.
5. 1880-1920: Transformation | People, Places & Planning in Boston. (n.d.). People, Places &
Planning in Boston. Retrieved February 13, 2013, from http://planningboston.org/eras/1880-1920/
6. Affordable Housing | People, Places & Planning in Boston. (n.d.). People, Places & Planning in Boston. Retrieved February 13, 2013, from http://planningboston.org/planning/affordable-housing/
1. O'Connor, T. H. (1995). The Boston Irish: A Political History. Boston: Northeastern University Press.
2. 1920-1950: Stagnation | People, Places & Planning in Boston. (n.d.). People, Places & Planning in Boston. Retrieved February 13, 2013, from http://planningboston.org/eras/1920-1949/
3. Glaeser, E. and Shleifer, A. (n.d.). The Curley Effect: The Economics of Shaping the Electorate. [pdf] http://www.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/shleifer/files/curley_effect.pdf [Accessed: 14th February. 2013].
4. Huse, C. P. (1916). The Financial History of Boston. New York: Harvard University Press.
5. 1880-1920: Transformation | People, Places & Planning in Boston. (n.d.). People, Places &
Planning in Boston. Retrieved February 13, 2013, from http://planningboston.org/eras/1880-1920/
6. Affordable Housing | People, Places & Planning in Boston. (n.d.). People, Places & Planning in Boston. Retrieved February 13, 2013, from http://planningboston.org/planning/affordable-housing/