In the years following the Great Famine many thousands left Ireland for America, drawn by the promise of steady work.

After horrors of the Great Famine receded, many Irish still left their homeland to find new lives in America. The United States was seen as a land of opportunity, and the Irish were in demand as workers in mills and factories.

In this print, a young Irish woman is depicted as being drawn to America. Steamships are depicted in the harbor with people flocking to them, and a sign expresses a need for a million men to work in America at "good wages." The immigrant depot in New York City, Castle Garden, appears at upper left.

Many young Irish women found work in America in the 1850s in textile mills. For example, immigrant labor began to replace the Mill Girls in Lowell, Massachusetts.