Historical memory continues to be one of my favorite things to study and learn about in history, and Jenson\u2019s work on the myth of victimization in the Irish community showed how a group\u2019s historical memory does not necessarily correlate to actual historical events. Moreover, I found it interesting that Jenson sought to disprove the existence of Irish economic victimization, and offer possible explanations as to why the social mobility of the Irish was lower than other immigrant groups and proves an interesting contrast to the more traditional historical studies. As AJ and David have already mentioned, Jenson does a superb job of pointing out the fact that the actual existence of documentation suggesting an organized effort of discrimination against the Irish is non-existent.
\nWhat I think is missing in this piece was a more detailed observation on how other forms of discrimination, such as dehumanizing images that are plentiful in Kenny\u2019s descriptions in Race, Violence, and Anti-Irish Sentiment in the Nineteenth Century, helped facilitate the perpetuation or creation of this myth of economic discrimination. Jenson alludes to this by saying, \u201cThe question is not whether or not the Irish were admired. (They were not)\u201d (9). He continues by offering a quick dismissal of the pervasiveness of all forms of discrimination against the Irish, there is no evidence that more than one in a thousand Americans considered the Irish as racially inferior.\u201d However, Jenson also acknowledges what Kelly\u2019s work shows, namely that the contemporary literature at the time contained and promoted a negative portrayal of the Irish (9). I think an effort to better connect how the discrimination in other aspects of the Irish experience contributed to the myth of economic discrimination would have added to Jenson\u2019s work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Historical memory continues to be one of my favorite things to study and learn about in history, and Jenson\u2019s work on the myth of victimization in the Irish community showed how a group\u2019s historical memory does not necessarily correlate to actual historical events. Moreover, I found it interesting that Jenson sought to disprove the existence … <\/p>\n

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