Why did immigrants leave Ireland to go to the US?

Answer 1

Generally speaking, the potato famine with its resulting unemployment and, of course, starvation, drove the Irish to migrate, particularly to the US and Canada. There were political influences also, but no need to go into that. All immigrants are leaving troubled times, where they go simply depends on where they can go. Very few people leave their homeland willingly; circumstances force them to do so. For the Irish, the potato blight was an enormous disaster, since the potato is one of the very few foods which can alone support humans. Given a patch of potatoes and a cow or sheep or goat for milk, a person can live healthily. With the potatoes gone, many, many Irish died and the survivors boarded ships for the new world, thus exporting a rich culture and an accent which spread all over the US. Of course, the police forces in America became very largely Irish, but that's another story.

Answer 2

One of the main reasons people left Ireland to come here in the 1850's was because in Ireland most people were poor and had a scarce amount of food so they were starved and in America it was easy to buy land and get food at a low price. Also because of the potato famine it killed over a million men , women, and children.

:-) ;-)

Answer 3

There are various reasons, but it all comes down to the same thing: To try to find a better life. It can also depend on when you are talking about. In the modern era, it would have been mostly for economic reasons. At various stages in the 20th century there was not much employment available in Ireland, so Irish people went to the USA and other countries in search of work. Going much further back, in the 1840s Ireland experienced its famous famine, so people left because of the poverty and levels of starvation. At other times people have left due to political problems and uprisings in Ireland. So there are many reasons.