Catholics were granted representation in parliament.
In the mid-1840s Famine caused due to potato blight was the main cause of massive Irish immigration to the United States. Thousands of poor labors migrated to the United States due to poverty and hunger. In 17th and 18th century Penal laws restricted Irish Catholics for representation in parliament and also restricted their voting rights. However, the Roman Catholics relief act has given the demands of the Catholics who stayed in Ireland after the famine and granted the representation to sit in parliament.
Because the fort was a blockage for runners who got supplies from Europe. By the end of the civil war Galveston was the only port the confederates controlled.
