3107 - Five Points and the Making of Irish New York

Hybrid Course- In-Person | Registration opens 9/8/2026 10:00 AM EDT

N.A.
10/7/2026-11/11/2026
10:15 AM-11:30 AM EDT on Wed
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$55.00

3107 - Five Points and the Making of Irish New York

Hybrid Course- In-Person | Registration opens 9/8/2026 10:00 AM EDT

This course will look at how, over the course of the 19th century, Irish Americans came to dominate the population and politics of New York City. Class sessions will address the following topics:

Session 1: Irish immigrants in New York City in the years before the Great Famine, including the formation of the historic Five Points neighborhood.

Session 2: The causes and consequences of the famine that resulted from the potato blight of 1845, and British indifference to the plight of its victims.

Session 3 and 4: The life the Irish made for themselves in New York City.

Session 5: The role of the New York Irish in the Civil War, as well as how Irish immigrants in the 1860s began to gain control of the city’s politics. We will watch scenes from the 2002 film Gangs of New York and consider to what extent it is historically accurate.

Session 6: How the New York Irish fanned out across America, and how their lives differed from the immigrants who remained in New York City. This final session will also look at the New York Irish community in the late 1800s and examine the extent to which the Famine Irish were able to achieve the upward mobility they craved despite the unprecedented impediments that stood in their way.

  •   This is a hybrid course offered simultaneously virtually and in-person. This page is for registration to attend in-person (in-person registrants will also receive the course Zoom link to attend virtually as needed).  If you prefer to attend the course virtually for the entire semester, please click here to register for the virtual section.

    This course will be recorded, and registered participants will receive a link to the recording within two business days after the session. Recordings will be available to watch anytime through February 28, 2027. 

    Recordings are provided as a convenience for reviewing material or accommodating occasional scheduling conflicts. They are not intended to replace live participation, where you'll have the opportunity to ask questions and join the discussion. If you plan to watch the course only through the recordings, please register for the virtual section.
Tyler Anbinder

Tyler Anbinder is emeritus professor of history at The George Washington University, where he taught courses on the history of American immigration and the American Civil War era. He is the author of Nativism and Slavery: The Northern Know Nothings and the Politics of the 1850s; Five Points: The 19th Century New York Neighborhood that Invented Tap Dance, Stole Elections, and Became the World’s Most Notorious Slum; City of Dreams: The 400-Year Epic History of Immigrant New York; and Plentiful Country: The Great Potato Famine and the Making of Irish New York.