{"product_id":"becoming-american-portland-maines-irish-and-the-making-of-immigrant-america-1840-1861-9798218630089","title":"Becoming American: Portland, Maine's Irish and the Making of Immigrant America 1840 - 1861","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe remarkably transformative years preceding the American Civil War had a profound impact on the Irish community in Portland, Maine. That era included the temperance crusade, the Irish Repeal Society, the Great Hunger (the Great Famine), intense Irish immigration, prohibition and the fanatical battle Neal Dow fought against King Alcohol, the Portland Company, the railroad, the sugar industry, the connection via steamers between the city and Great Britain, the Know-Nothing nativist menace, abolition, the rise of the Republicans and their battles with Democrats, the \"Rum Riot,\" - all contributing to the assimilation and rise of the Irish in Portland, Maine.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBarker, Matthew Jude:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Matthew Jude Barker has been a genealogical and historical researcher since 1981 and is a resident historian at the Maine Irish Heritage Center (MIHC). Since 1996, Matt has written Maine history articles for periodicals, including Portland Magazine, Galway Roots, Discover Maine, and The Bollard. He has contributed to four books, including They Change Their Sky: The Irish in Maine (2004), and John Ford in Focus (2008), and is the author of The Irish of Portland, Maine, A History of Forest City Hibernians (2014), Becoming American (2025), and The Blue and the Green (2025).","brand":"Casco Bay Celtic Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51690681925906,"sku":"9798218630089","price":28.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_d3581336-3cd9-44ed-bce4-a8d639cece68.jpg?v=1761743401","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/becoming-american-portland-maines-irish-and-the-making-of-immigrant-america-1840-1861-9798218630089","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}