Periodically, social media blows up with stories about how the Irish were slaves, too. There’s some truth to that story; the English sent many Irish people to the American colonies as convict labor. In other cases, people were conscripted because of debt, and some people just wanted to try something new and agreed to work in exchange for passage.
There were definitely abuses in this system, too. But there were two key differences between Irish labor and African labor in the new world. First, the Irish understood what they were getting into, which alone gave them enormous organizing and negotiating power. This means that, for example, they understood the date that their indentures were up.
Legally, they were human beings.
Second, the Irish were allowed to work off their indentures and go free. This was true of the very first Africans, too, but it didn’t last long. (Also, fun fact: this is one reason many African-Americans have Irish last names.)
What economists call forced labor or bonded labor has been around since the beginning of time, and it’s still with us. Many immigration schemes, parts of the sex trade, and drug cartels rely on aspects of it. But the chattel slavery of the American south stands out as being especially cruel for the way that people were sold like livestock, for the way that families were separated, and for the inability of people to ever get out of it.
Legally, they were property.
The distinction between being people and being property is crucial to everything that came after.
There’s a related argument that is made about the experiences of newly arrived immigrants and freed slaves. Most of my father’s family came over during the Irish potato famine. Many of us have ancestors who arrived over here with nothing but the clothes on their backs and the knowledge in their heads,
In finance, we learn about the power of compound interest. Very small differences multiply over time to end up creating huge value. That’s why people are advised to contribute even small amounts to retirement funds when they are young, or to pay off even $5 or $10 in additional principal on credit card debt or student loans. It adds up!
So my ancestors got off their coffin ships with nothing but the clothes on their backs and the knowledge in their heads. But even if we hold everything else equal (legalized discrimination, personal prejudices, social capital and kinship ties through things like churches and hometown clubs, greater economic development in the North than in the South, greater resources and opportunities in port cities than at a rural crossroads), even if we ignore all of that other stuff, they had a huge advantage.
Because slaves were legally their masters’ property, everything they owned was legally their masters’ property, too. When they were emancipated, they were turned out with nothing, and yes, some masters were so vindictive that this included the clothes on their backs.
In addition, it was illegal for slaves to learn to read or write. Some picked it up, to be sure, but the vast majority did not. They were not taught any math, either.
Someone coming from Europe might not be able to read or write English, and I know how hard it is to learn a second language because I have been trying to master Spanish since I was a freshman in high school. But it’s a lot easier if you are literate in one language.
It took generations for people in my father’s family to make it to the middle and upper-middle classes. My siblings and relatives include teachers, nurses, business owners, government officials, and even a nuclear engineer. I assume my ancestors are thrilled, or maybe they are disappointed that it took so long and that we aren’t all living in gilded mansions like they might have imagined all Americans did, when they were puking their guts out in steerage.
But the reason that the average descendant of Irish immigrants to this country, and the average descendant of African slaves, have different average experiences today, even if we hold everything else equal (a favorite trick in economic analysis) is that even with just the clothes on their backs and the knowledge in their heads, the Irish arrived here with greater resources.
Being an immigrant is hard. The fact that I am in my nice home office in Lakeview with time to post on social media while also working on a proposal for another book, showing off my fancy private-school education, and not fighting tuberculosis while farming for potatoes, is practically a miracle. It doesn’t negate my family’s or your family’s progress to admit that others had it harder.
We need to recognize those differences if we’re going to make a difference.
