In those days, the Irish immigrants had much in common with African-Americans; they might be nicknamed “Negroes turned inside out” while African-Americans would be “smoked Irish”. A quip, attributed to an African-American, went something like this: “My master is a great tyrant, he treats me like a common Irishman.” In the census of 1850, the term “mulatto” appears for the first time, due primarily to inter-marriage between Irish and African-Americans. The white, Protestant business establishment believed amalgamation between the races would begin with the Irish and African-Americans. The resulting united front of labour would have increased wages, something the establishment did not want.
