The Irish in Illinois

The Irish in Illinois PDF Author: Mathieu W. Billings
Publisher: SIU Press
ISBN: 0809338009
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 270

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Book Description
The first statewide history of the Irish in the Prairie State Today over a million people in Illinois claim Irish ancestry and celebrate their love for Ireland. In this concise narrative history, authors Mathieu W. Billings and Sean Farrell bring together both familiar and unheralded stories of the Irish in Illinois, highlighting the critical roles these immigrants and their descendants played in the settlement and the making of the Prairie State. Short biographies and twenty-eight photographs vividly illustrate the significance and diversity of Irish contributions to Illinois. Billings and Farrell remind us of the countless ways Irish men and women have shaped the history and culture of the state. They fought in the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, the Civil War, and two world wars; built the state’s infrastructure and worked in its factories; taught Illinois children and served the poor. Irish political leaders helped to draw up the state’s first constitution, served in city, county, and state offices, and created a machine that dominated twentieth-century politics in Chicago and the state. This lively history adds to our understanding of the history of the Irish in the state over the past two hundred fifty years. Illinoisans and Midwesterners celebrating their connections to Ireland will treasure this rich and important account of the state’s history.

The Irish in Illinois

The Irish in Illinois PDF Author: Mathieu W. Billings
Publisher: SIU Press
ISBN: 0809338009
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 270

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Book Description
The first statewide history of the Irish in the Prairie State Today over a million people in Illinois claim Irish ancestry and celebrate their love for Ireland. In this concise narrative history, authors Mathieu W. Billings and Sean Farrell bring together both familiar and unheralded stories of the Irish in Illinois, highlighting the critical roles these immigrants and their descendants played in the settlement and the making of the Prairie State. Short biographies and twenty-eight photographs vividly illustrate the significance and diversity of Irish contributions to Illinois. Billings and Farrell remind us of the countless ways Irish men and women have shaped the history and culture of the state. They fought in the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, the Civil War, and two world wars; built the state’s infrastructure and worked in its factories; taught Illinois children and served the poor. Irish political leaders helped to draw up the state’s first constitution, served in city, county, and state offices, and created a machine that dominated twentieth-century politics in Chicago and the state. This lively history adds to our understanding of the history of the Irish in the state over the past two hundred fifty years. Illinoisans and Midwesterners celebrating their connections to Ireland will treasure this rich and important account of the state’s history.

Irish Chicago

Irish Chicago PDF Author: John Gerard McLaughlin
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 9780738520384
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 132

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Book Description
Uses vintage photographs to present a visual history of Chicago's Irish heritage, from the great waves of migration to the present day.

Chicago's Irish Legion

Chicago's Irish Legion PDF Author: James B. Swan
Publisher: SIU Press
ISBN: 9780809328901
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description
Extensively documented and richly detailed, Chicago’s Irish Legion tells the compelling story of Chicago’s 90th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, the only Irish regiment in Major General William Tecumseh Sherman’s XV Army Corps. Swan’s sweeping history of this singular regiment and its pivotal role in the Western Theater of the Civil War draws heavily from primary documents and first-person observations, giving readers an intimate glimpse into the trials and triumphs of ethnic soldiers during one of the most destructive wars in American history. At the onset of the bitter conflict between the North and the South, Irish immigrants faced a wall of distrust and discrimination in the United States. Many Americans were deeply suspicious of Irish religion and politics, while others openly doubted the dedication of the Irish to the Union cause. Responding to these criticisms with a firm show of patriotism, the Catholic clergy and Irish politicians in northern Illinois—along with the Chicago press and community—joined forces to recruit the Irish Legion. Composed mainly of foreign-born recruits, the Legion rapidly dispelled any rumors of disloyalty with its heroic endeavors for the Union. The volunteers proved to be instrumental in various battles and sieges, as well as the marches to the sea and through the Carolinas, suffering severe casualties and providing indispensable support for the Union. Swan meticulously traces the remarkable journey of these unique soldiers from their regiment’s inception and first military engagement in 1862 to their disbandment and participation in the Grand Review of General Sherman’s army in 1865. Enhancing the volume are firsthand accounts from the soldiers who endured the misery of frigid winters and brutal environments, struggling against the ravages of disease and hunger as they marched more than twenty-six hundred miles over the course of the war. Also revealed are personal insights into some of the war’s most harrowing events, including the battle at Chattanooga and Sherman’s famous campaign for Atlanta. In addition, Swan exposes the racial issues that affected the soldiers of the 90th Illinois, including their reactions to the Emancipation Proclamation and the formations of the first African American fighting units. Swan rounds out the volume with stories of survivors’ lives after the war, adding an even deeper personal dimension to this absorbing chronicle.

The Irish in Chicago

The Irish in Chicago PDF Author: Lawrence John McCaffrey
Publisher: Urbana : University of Illinois Press
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
Examines the history, religion, politics, and literature of one of the city's most influential ethnic groups.

Immigrants in the Valley

Immigrants in the Valley PDF Author: Mark Wyman
Publisher: SIU Press
ISBN: 0809335565
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 284

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Book Description
This book shows the interplay between the major groups traveling the roads and waterways of the Upper Mississippi Valley during the crucial decades of 1830 - 1860. It's a lively, extensively-illustrated account which will help Americans everywhere better understand their diverse heritage.

The Encyclopedia of Chicago

The Encyclopedia of Chicago PDF Author: James R. Grossman
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780226310152
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1117

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Book Description
A comprehensive historical reference on metropolitan Chicago encompasses more than 1,400 entries on such topics as neighborhoods, ethnic groups, cultural institutions, and business history, and furnishes interpretive essays on the literary images of Chicago, the built environment, and the city's sports culture.

New Perspectives on the Irish Diaspora

New Perspectives on the Irish Diaspora PDF Author: Charles Fanning
Publisher: SIU Press
ISBN: 9780809323449
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 348

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Book Description
In New Perspectiveson the Irish Diaspora, Charles Fanning incorporates eighteen fresh perspectives on the Irish diaspora over three centuries and around the globe. He enlists scholarly tools from the disciplines of history, sociology, literary criticism, folklore, and culture studies to present a collection of writings about the Irish diaspora of great variety and depth.

The Irish in the South, 1815-1877

The Irish in the South, 1815-1877 PDF Author: David T. Gleeson
Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press
ISBN: 0807875635
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 293

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Book Description
The only comprehensive study of Irish immigrants in the nineteenth-century South, this book makes a valuable contribution to the story of the Irish in America and to our understanding of southern culture. The Irish who migrated to the Old South struggled to make a new home in a land where they were viewed as foreigners and were set apart by language, high rates of illiteracy, and their own self-identification as temporary exiles from famine and British misrule. They countered this isolation by creating vibrant, tightly knit ethnic communities in the cities and towns across the South where they found work, usually menial jobs. Finding strength in their communities, Irish immigrants developed the confidence to raise their voices in the public arena, forcing native southerners to recognize and accept them--first politically, then socially. The Irish integrated into southern society without abandoning their ethnic identity. They displayed their loyalty by fighting for the Confederacy during the Civil War and in particular by opposing the Radical Reconstruction that followed. By 1877, they were a unique part of the "Solid South." Unlike the Irish in other parts of the United States, the Irish in the South had to fit into a regional culture as well as American culture in general. By following their attempts to become southerners, we learn much about the unique experience of ethnicity in the American South.

Finding Your Chicago Irish

Finding Your Chicago Irish PDF Author: Sharon Shea Bossard
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781893121379
Category : Chicago (Ill.)
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Connect with Irish Chicago, where the culture is grand, the community lively, and good craic is legal. Bossard steers readers beyond the shamrocks and green beer and into the heart and soul of Irish Chicago with her entertaining and comprehensive guide.

Biographical History of the American Irish in Chicago

Biographical History of the American Irish in Chicago PDF Author: Charles Ffrench
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Chicago (Ill.)
Languages : en
Pages : 1008

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Book Description