Missions Resources - Bibliography
How the Irish Became White
Authors: Ignatiev, Noel
ISBN: 0-41591825-1
Publisher: Routledge, 1996
Type of cover: Soft Cover
Summary: I initially picked this book off the shelf because of its title. As it turns out, the book really is about how the Irish became White (in America), so the title was no trick.
The first Irish on New World soil were slaves, and were excluded from full participation in society for quite a while (Irishness was still a major issue for many who voted against John F. Kennedy in 1960). By necessity, this book is more about race and racism than about the Irish: it demonstrates the ridiculous lines that define “race” when it tells the story of the Unions voting on whether the Irish were white. It’s a fun read, with larger-than-life characters (they’re Irish, after all!), exciting and shocking stories, and an exposition on American attitudes toward its excluded members, that catches you off-guard.
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