Kimberly Davis

HIS 200: Applied History

Southern New Hampshire University

February 24th 2020.

Writing Plan- Topic and Research Question

Topic of interest

The Irish immigration and assimilation is the historical event that I choose to analyze.

My biggest interest lies in the “No Irish Need Apply” (NINA) signs that are reported to have

been used to target the Irish immigrants employment. However, there lacks the historical

evidence to prove that “NINA” signs existed. However, the the economic discrimination of Irish

immigrants, while a documented thing, might have had more to do with the skills of the Irish

immigrants that were not helpful to the job skills needed in Northern cities.

Research Question

Did "No Irish Need Apply" signs appear like the origin of ethnic and economic

discrimination for the Irish immigrants, or were the reports of these signs just an exaggerated

urban legend?

Search Terms and Sources

Some of the search items that I used in the SNHU Shapiro Library are: “NINA” signs,

“No Irish Need Apply”, Irish victimization and Irish employment discrimination. For easeness

and grammar correctness, I used both AND and OR with these terms between them for in two

different searches.

One of the secondary resource that I found is: JENSEN, R. (2016). Discussion: Evidence

for the Historicity of NINA Restrictions in Advertisements and Signs. Journal Of Social

History, 49(4), 853-854. This can be found online at:

http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/eds/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=674da78a-2e32-484d-

ab85-

e09aa04f54e7%40sessionmgr4007&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ

%3d%3d#AN=116340645&db=khh.

The other resource is: Jensen, R. (2002). 'NO IRISH NEED APPLY': A MYTH OF

VICTIMIZATION. Journal Of Social History, 36(2), 405-429.This is found at:

http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/eds/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=47ec03be-7bcc-4753-

8133-

ae30b557cb35%40sessionmgr4007&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ

%3d%3d#AN=8743253&db=ahl.

The third resource is: JENSEN, R. (2015). Paper offers proof of 'No Irish need apply'

ads. Irish Examiner (All Ireland). This is be found at:

http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/eds/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=00bff92a-624f-40b8-

8a8b-

593e9394ef49%40sessionmgr4007&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ

%3d%3d#AN=edsgcl.428361570&db=edsgin.

Sources

This secondary source talks about where NINA restrictions and advertisements were

found and the social and economic impact these signs had. JENSEN, R. (2016). Discussion:

Evidence for the Historicity of NINA Restrictions in Advertisements and Signs. Journal Of

Social History, 49(4), 853-854. This can be found online at:

http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/eds/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=674da78a-2e32-484d-
ab85-

e09aa04f54e7%40sessionmgr4007&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ

%3d%3d#AN=116340645&db=khh.

This secondary source discusses how often the NINA information was added to

advertisements and how an environment of victimization grew around this idea that NINA.

Jensen, R. (2002). ‘NO IRISH NEED APPLY’: A MYTH OF VICTIMIZATION. Journal Of

Social History, 36(2), 405-429.This can be found at:

http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/eds/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=47ec03be-7bcc-4753-

8133-

ae30b557cb35%40sessionmgr4007&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ

%3d%3d#AN=8743253&db=ahl

This secondary source provides proof of ‘No Irish need apply’ ads. Irish Examiner (All

Ireland). This can be found at: http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/eds/detail/detail?

vid=0&sid=00bff92a-624f-40b8-8a8b-

593e9394ef49%40sessionmgr4007&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ

%3d%3d#AN=edsgcl.428361570&db=edsgin

This secondary source provides information for possible primary sources, but also shows

evidence of the NINA restrictions. Rebecca A Fried (2016). No Irish Need Deny: Evidence for

the Historicity of NINA Restrictions in Advertisements and Signs.

http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/eds/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=f444cdc1-92d6-4930-

a894-

c5990983b184%40sessionmgr4006&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ

%3d%3d#AN=116340635&db=a9h
 This secondary source discusses the New York Draft Riots. Susannah Bruce (2009).

Summer of Irish rage: in 1861, Erin’s sons and daughters embraced the Union war effort; buy by

1863 their disgust with the draft and emancipation caused them to riot in New York.

http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/eds/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=cb21861f-b44a-47c3-

ba48-c02dc7d7eebe

%40sessionmgr4008&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d

%3d#AN=edsgcl.200451599&db=edsggo

This primary source shows New York Times advertisements from the 1860’s showing

NINA variants. Mark Bulik (2015). 1854: No Irish Need Apply. New York Times photos

showing “NINA” ads in the classified section.

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/08/insider/1854-no-irish-need-apply.html

This primary source shows how Irish immigrants created poems/songs about how they

expected the NINA mentality despite attempting to assimilate and how their efforts in the war

were wasted because of the NINA mentality. No Irish need apply. J.H. Johnson, Stationer &

printer, 7 N. 10th Street, Phila. (1862). https://www.loc.gov/resource/amss.cw104040.0

Thesis Statement

I used the template questions provided in the learning block to complete these sample thesis

statements, but I am not entirely sure they convey what I am trying to discuss.

Possible Thesis 1: Although most scholars of Irish immigration have argued for the

presence of “No Irish Need Apply” (NINA) advertisements, further research shows that while

these advertisements did in fact exist, the reports of their popularity were overexaggerated.
 Possible Thesis 2: “No Irish Need Apply” signs were a result of limited transferable

employment skills, competition with freed African Americans, and differing religious views,

rather than blatant discrimination, as most historians have argued.

Audience and Message

Consider the topic you have chosen for your historical analysis essay. Who would be most

interested in reading about this topic? How might you alter your writing style or the information

you present to cater to this audience? Keeping your audience in mind, what will the message of

your essay be?

Based on my knowledge of the types of audiences, I believe an academic audience and a

known audience would be the most interested in my research topic. An academic audience would

read the article to evaluate the strength of my argument if the person were a professor, but

another student might read the essay as an opportunity to increase their argument evaluation skill

to enhance their knowledge of the subject matter. This audience would need an academic level

formality and structure to the essay. I would be writing to peers. An introductory paragraph

would need necessary background information with a sprinkle of this writing in the other

sections to help establish causality and contest. The message would be to present a clear

argument for one specific position concerning that topic. With a known audience, you are writing

to a group or individual with shared interests in a topic. For example, my topic of “NINA” signs

might appeal to those of Irish descent or those who are interested in the history of Irish

immigration or New York history at the time of Irish immigration. This audience might enjoy

more basic information than an actual argument. The message would be to share the differing

viewpoints as a topic of interest, rather than picking one particular view to argue.