[uncbob]

Rationalization. For 4 million blacks in the south, hard labor began at age 6 or earlier. Immigrants came to America for the opportunity to work. They could have as easily gone to the south as the north but because of slavery they were neither needed nor welcome there. Slavery kept the south backward and kept most white southerners poor. ,br>
Wasn't rationaling but stating ecomonic reality

BTW I read in one account when they were draining the swamps in LA they didn't use slaves because the death toll was too high and slaves could no longer be imported
So they used Hibernians ( Irish) as they stated another boatload will be along next week

[Ditto]

So they used Hibernians ( Irish) as they stated another boatload will be along next week

I have heard the same story and I don't doubt it. There is a to this day a large Irish subculture in New Orleans that dates back to that time. I have talked to some and they sound like they are from Brooklyn.

I'm not sure that it was the 'death' issue however that lead immigrants to those jobs. Draining those swamps were public work projects and the government would either have to hire slaves from their owners or hire "freemen". Since sugar and rice crops were so profitable at the time it's doubtful that many plantation owners would forgo a crop to rent their slaves out to the government, and if they had, they probably would have charged more (opportunity costs) than what the Irish were willing to work for.

It would be interesting to see what the real history of those stories are.