Up until the mid-19th century, most Irish immigrants in America were members of the Protestant middle class. When the Great Potato Famine hit Ireland in 1845, close to 1 million poor and uneducated Irish Catholics began pouring into America to escape starvation. Despised for their alien religious beliefs and unfamiliar accents by the American Protestant majority, the immigrants had trouble finding even menial jobs. When Irish Americans in the country's cities took to the streets on St. Patrick's Day to celebrate their heritage, newspapers portrayed them in cartoons as drunk, violent monkeys. The American Irish soon began to realize, however, that their large and growing numbers endowed them with a political power that had yet to be exploited. They started to organize, and their voting block, known as the "green machine," became an important swing vote for political hopefuls. Suddenly, annual St. Patrick's Day parades became a show of strength for Irish Americans, as well as a must-attend event for a slew of political candidates. In 1948, President Harry S. Truman attended New York City 's St. Patrick's Day parade, a proud moment for the many Irish Americans whose ancestors had to fight stereotypes and racial prejudice to find acceptance in the New World. All of the following are implied by the passage EXCEPTA. The Irish immigrants came to America to find new opportunities and break away from the scarcity in Ireland which was ravaged by the Potato Famine. B. Green Machines were first created to exploit the growing Irish population in America and form a formidable voter group. C. The first St. Patrick's Day celebrations were not welcomed positively by the American public. D. Most politicians who supported the cause of the Irish immigrants were Democrats. E. The Irish population in America had grown to more than several hundred thousands by the end of the mid 19th century.