Down with the Irish - Anti-Irish Propaganda

Irish Catholics were popular targets for stereotyping in 19th century America. According to historian George Potter, the media often stereotyped the Irish in America as being boss-controlled, violent (both among themselves and with those of other ethnic groups), voting illegally, prone to alcoholism and dependent on street gangs that were often violent or criminal. You could hardly imagine a group more despised in the world than the impoverished rabble escaping famine in Ireland.