Blog Post #42 -Changing U.S. Immigration Notes-

     Today in class we had to read pages 84-85 and take notes in our blog. Here are the key ideas of these pages. About 80 million people migrated to the US between 1820 and 2015, including 42 million who were alive in 2015. The United Sates has had 3 main eras of immigration: Colonial Settlement in the 17th and 18th centuries, Mass European immigration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and Asian and Latin American immigration in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. In 1790, the US population was 3.9 million. Immigration to the new United States came mostly from 2 places which were Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. Most Africans were forced to migrate as slaves. Between 1820 and 1920 approximately 32 million people immigrated to the United States. Nearly 90% were from Europe. In the 1840's and 1850's the migration came mostly from Ireland and Germany. In the 1870's it was the same. However in the 1880's people started coming from Scandinavia. The rate increased to 500,000 more people per year. In 1905-1914 people started coming from Southern and Eastern Europe. Annual migration was now at 1 million. About 1/4 of Americans trace their ancestry to German immigrants. Immigration in the US dropped sharply during the 1930's and 1940's due to the Great Depression and World War 2. More than 3/4's of the recent US immigration has came from Latin America and Asia. In 2006 Mexico passed Germany to be the country that has sent the most immigrants to the United States ever. The reason for immigration however has stayed the same: rapid population growth has limited prospects for economic advancement at home. Most people left their countries when their countries were in Stage 2 of Demographic Transition.