Now, they usually come by plane. Every year 1.4 million people come to the Boston airport from another country. 3,300 of them are immigrants.
In the 1850’s when many Irish came to Boston, they came in sailing ships.
The trip took two months from Europe to the U.S. The ticket was $17.50 but when the immigrant arrived in Boston, he or she might get $1.50 for working for one day.
People had to bring their own food and cook on the ship! They were cold, hungry, dirty and sick. Many people died. Sometimes the ship hit an iceberg (a mountain of ice in the water). That was very dangerous.
Irish immigrants were leaving Ireland because the potatoes were dying and they had difficulty getting enough food at home. But now they said they had to go through the ‘bowl of tears’ to come across the water to the U.S.
In the 1870's, new steamships made the trip easier and cheaper. These ships took only two weeks to cross the ocean.
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Immigrants usually had third class tickets, in steerage. These cheaper tickets were for steerage, in the bottom part of the boat. Steerage was crowded with many people. Some were sick. It was not very comfortable. |  |
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Some people went to Canada first and then came to Boston, because tickets to Canada were cheaper. Some people went to New York first. They all came to Boston by train. They arrived at South Station. |  |
How did you or your grandparents or your great grandparents come to the United States? My great grandmother’s family had $12 when their ship arrived in 1923.
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