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The Irish in Chicago
The Irish in Chicago examines the history, religion, politics and literature of one of the city's most influential ethnic groups. The Irish community of nineteenth-century Chicago was shaped by three major forces: nationalism, Catholicism and politics. Nationalism gave Irish immigrants and their children an ethnic identity, while the parish offered spiritual comfort and community in urban neighborhoods. Priests and politicians shared the community's leadership. Politics gave the Irish wealth and opportunities that were denied them in business; in fact, for Chicago's Irish, politics was a business. The most powerful of Chicago's Irish politicians was Richard J. Daley, mayor and chairman of the Cook County Democratic Central Committee, who perfected Irish machine politics during his twenty-two-year administration. The literary contributions of Chicago's two pioneering Irish-American...
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