KEEPING HOUSE: IRISH AND IRISH-AMERICAN WOMEN IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, 1850-1890

This study documents the daily lives of Irish women as they became part of the social structure of Washington, D.C. Keeping House examines the evolution of Irish women's role in nineteenth century Washington, D.C. and notes how Irish women who came to the capital found domestic jobs that became rungs in the social ladder they climbed. In their move from working class to middle-class, Washington's Irish women formed a new cultural identity that corresponded with American middle-class values. Responding to values they brought with them from Ireland, and combining them with the virtues of American womanhood, Irish women used their experiences in Washington, D.C. as a foundation for middle-class association. Keeping House redefines the Irish woman's place within her ethnic community and within the community at large that provided her an opportunity to join the ranks of her fellow American women.