Why were the irish treated poorly?

Question:

Why were the irish treated poorly?

i mean they were of the caucasian race so why were they treated poorly when they first came to america. WHat was it about them that they wouldnt givethem decent jobs

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: People brought the prejudices of Europe with them when they came to America. Up to then most Americans were Protestants from England and northern Europe. Protestants didn't like or trust Catholics because of centuries of religious wars. Then as now being poor was associated with crime, drunkenness, and irresponsibility and the first large group of Irish emigrants were desperately poor because they were fleeing the famine. The problem of anti Irish feelings did not disappear in the first generation but as later waves of Catholic immigrants came it became mostly a religious problem. It was not until1960 that we elected our first and only Catholic president and religion was an issue in the campaign.