Between the end of the American Revolution and the end of the War of 1812 (1783-1815), some 100,000 to 150,000 Irish immigrants landed in North America. Most were Ulster Presbyterians who came as farmers or artisans. Squeezed by high rents on their land and the collapse of the linen industry due to British free trade policy, more and more Irish looked to America as a place to begin anew. As economic conditions continued to worsen in Ireland, the numbers of immigrants soared. Upwards of one million Irish immigrants crossed the Atlantic between 1815 and 1845. Increasingly (especially after 1830), these immigrants were Catholics hailing from the south and west of Ireland. They were much poorer and brought fewer skills with them compared with their Ulster counterparts. One of the things making immigration to America in this period easier was the increased trade between Ireland and NY and Liverpool and NY. The growth in trade in the 1820s and 1820s encouraged emigration by lowering the cost of passenger travel. England, however, wanted to populate Canada (British North America) rather than America with Irish immigrants and passed a series of Passenger Acts that made emigration to America far more expensive and inconvenient. For example - heavy surcharges increased the price of passage to NY to 4 to 5 pounds versus just 15 shillings for transit to Canada. In addition, ships bound for Canada left from every Irish port, while most bound for America left from Liverpool. Still, limited opportunity in Canada led many an Irish family to book cheap passage to Canada and then walk to Boston. Such a trend accounts for the high percentage of Irish who settled in New England in the pre-famine era. While large members of Irish immigrants settled in cities like Philadelphia and New York, several Irishmen and Irishwomen distinguished themselves in the early history of the West. Catherine O'HARE, for example, a native of Ulster, made history in 1802 when she bore, with the help of Indian midwives, the first known child of European descent west of the Rocky Mountains. One of the earliest contributions to the future city of Chicago was Irish-born John WHISTLER. In 1803, he oversaw the construction of Ft. Dearborn, and upon its completion served as its first commander. Joe WALKER served as the first sheriff of Independence, Missouri, a town he helped found. He also surveyed the Santa Fe Trail and guided the first wagon train to California. Thomas DAUGHERTY and Hugh MENAUGH accompanied Zebulon Montgomery PIKE (of Lamberton, NJ) in 1806 during his exploration of the Rocky Mountains. Many of the best scouts in the early West were Irish. -- Excerpts, "1001 Things Everyone Should Know About Irish American History," Edward T. O'Donnell (2002)