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United States Emigration and Immigration (view source)
Revision as of 12:56, 30 June 2021
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===What are United States immigration and emigration records?=== | ===What are United States immigration and emigration records?=== | ||
'''Immigration''' refers to people coming into a country. '''Emigration''' refers to people leaving a country to go to another. The records usually take the form of ship's '''passenger lists''' collected at the port of entry. | '''Immigration''' refers to people coming into a country. '''Emigration''' refers to people leaving a country to go to another. The records usually take the form of ship's '''passenger lists''' collected at the port of entry. | ||
=== Historical Background === | |||
Nearly fifty million people have immigrated to America. Significant patterns of immigration and settlement can be observed during three periods: | |||
==='''Pre-1820'''=== | |||
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|[[Image:Immigrants Behold the Statue of Liberty.jpg|left|300px|thumb|<center>Immigrants Behold the Statue of Liberty<center>]] | |||
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An estimated 650,000 individuals arrived in America before 1820. The majority (60 percent) were English and Welsh. Smaller numbers of German, Irish, Scotch-Irish, Dutch, French, Spanish, African, and other nationalities also arrived. For the most part these immigrants settled in small clusters in the eastern, middle-Atlantic, and southern states. <br> | |||
==='''1820-1880''' === | |||
Over ten million immigrants came from northern Europe, the British Isles, and Scandinavia during these years. There was a significant increase in the number of immigrants from Germany and Ireland beginning in the 1840s and 1850s. While some of the new arrivals settled in large eastern and mid-western cities, most migrated to the midwest and west. | |||
==='''1880-1920''' === | |||
More than twenty-five million immigrants, primarily from southern and eastern Europe, were attracted to this country. The largest numbers (in order) came from Germany, Italy, Ireland, Austria-Hungary, Russia, and England. Many of these immigrants settled in the larger cities, including New York City, Chicago, and Philadelphia. | |||
===What time periods and locations do they cover?=== | ===What time periods and locations do they cover?=== | ||