“Mingled Together”: Irish and African American Relations in Civil War-Era Philadelphia and Baltimore
Open AccessThis dissertation explores the lives and experiences of the Irish and African American communities in the major American cities of Philadelphia and Baltimore during the Civil War era. Philadelphia and Baltimore were two of the nation’s largest cities in the middle of the nineteenth century. In addition to being situated on the border between slavery and freedom, both cities were home to significant communities of Irish Americans and free Blacks. This project explores the parallel, and occasionally intersecting, methods each community used during this period to demonstrate that they were full-fledged Americans who deserved the rights and acceptance which citizenship entailed. Both communities sought to take advantage of this momentous period in United States history to improve their status as outsiders in the American populace. The project also explores the day-to-day interactions of Irish and African Americans. While the most visible interactions between men and women from these communities were often violent, details of their daily experiences point to them working, reveling, and even living together. Their complex relationships reflected both the antagonism and camaraderie that stemmed from proximity and circumstance. Taken together, the parallels and interactions between Irish and African Americans demonstrated the challenges of navigating American social and political systems that kept outsiders at a distance and made them struggle for acceptance in the United States.
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