U.S. IMMIGRATION FROM 1790-2000

U.S. IMMIGRATION FROM 1790-2000 By the end of the 16th century the Spanish were established in St. Augustine. By the 17th century thriving communities dotted the landscape: the British in New England and Virginia, the Dutch in New York and New Jersey, and the Swedish in Delaware. Also by the mid-18th century, the British colonies had become the most prosperous in North America. Largest Immigrant Groups Total Immigrants for the Period English 300,000 African 300,000 Scotch-Irish 100,000 German 100,000 Scottish 75,000

1790-1820 In 1790 it passed the first Naturalization act, which stipulated that “any alien, being a free white person, may be admitted to become a citizen of the United States.

1820-1880 Many new immigrants came in pursuit of a dream; nearly all the Irish immigrants from the 1840’s and 1850’s came to escape a nightmare. The Irish weren’t the only newcomers. Chinese immigrants began to arrive in the 1850’s, entering through San Francisco. The republican platform of 1864 stated, “Foreign immigration which in the pas has added so much to the wealth, resources, and increase of power to the nation.

1820-1880

1880-1930 By the 1880’s, steam power had shortened the journey to America dramatically. After 1892 nearly all immigrants came in through the newly opened Ellis Island. (By the 1880s alone, 9% of the total population of Norway immigrated to America.) Between 1880 and 1930over 27 million people enter the United States, about 20 million through Ellis Island. But after the outbreak of the World war 1in 1914, American attitudes toward immigration began to shift.

1880-1930

1930-1965 The great Depression, beginning in 1929, left few with the means or incentive to come to the United states. Many recent immigrants returned to their native lands, including hundreds of thousands of MEXICANS, many against their will. In the late 1930s, with the 2nd world war accelerating in Europe, a new kind of immigrant began to challenge the quota system, and the American conscience. By the early 1960s, calls for immigration reform were growing louder. In 1965, Lyndon Johnson signed the Immigration and Naturalization Act into law.

1930-1965

1965-2000 At the end of the 20th century, illegal immigration was a constant topic of political debate. Immigrants could enter the country by air, by sea, and by land routes through Canada and MEXICO, making if easier than ever to enter the country illegally. In 1986, the government gave amnesty to more than 3 million aliens through the Immigration Reform Act.