The large Irish enslavers of antebellum Louisiana

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article aims to further understand the Irish immigrant experience with U.S. slavery by studying Irish enslavers in Louisiana. The profits extracted from slavery in New Orleans created the possibility for some Irish immigrants to accumulate immense wealth. Irish enslavers were immigrants who took advantage of enslaved people. Indeed, the Irish families examined in this article took to owning enslaved people quite easily, regardless of their religious background. They were confident in their innate whiteness and their ability to purchase enslaved people and operate plantations. The opportunities available to Louisiana's Irish enslavers and their experiences are best understood in the context of the expansion and restructuring of the southern economy during “the second slavery.” In Louisiana, Irish enslavers found that their wealth bridged any religious or cultural differences with those native-born. This study of Irish enslavers aims to provide a unique line of inquiry for understanding Irish attitudes towards race and slavery in the antebellum U.S. Irish enslavers may have been few in number, yet they are not insignificant. They add an ethnic dimension to the history of U.S. slavery and a southern dimension that complicates visions of Irish American history.