Immigrants in America / African Americans / Scottish-Irish / Chinese / 1830-1890 / 1890-1924 / Population
Growth: Estimates show that the United States population is growing by 2.5 million people annually. Immigrants contribute a large number to this amount, making up a little under one million of this total. The average number of immigrants that usually enter the United States in one year is 800,000. Contributing to this number are the almost 700,000 that enter as lawful residents and the other 100-150,000 that enter legally as refugees. There is presently an interesting contradiction in America regarding immigrant population. The number of immigrants in the United States is larger than ever before in history, yet immigrants make up a very small percentage of the population. The current rate of immigration to population size is one-third of what it was in its peak years (1901-1910).
Immigrants in America: In America today, there are an estimated 915,900 legal immigrants which in turn, affect the population. For example, they have increased the foreign born population percent to 8.5% of the total population. However, there are also men and women who leave the United States for one reason or another. These emigrants total about 243,000 with 48,000 of them being native-born and 195,000 being foreign-born.
African Americans: Perhaps no other ethnic group has affected America in more ways than African-Americans. Africans were first present in the area that would later be known as the United States in 1619, when a small handful of captives were sold by the captain of a Dutch man-of-war to settlers at Jamestown. Soon greater numbers were brought to help fill the need for labor in a new country where the land was bountiful and the labor scarce. By the end of the 17th century, almost 1,300,000 Africans had arrived in the New World. The number escalated to 6,000,000 between the years of 1701 and 1810. After 1810 another 1,800,000 arrived. Some Africans were brought directly to the English colonies that were located in North America. Others though, landed as slaves in the West Indies. They were later resold and then shipped to mainland like common cargo. Perhaps one of the greatest stories in all of history is how these slaves were finally freed from slavery and gained political freedom. Some of the most famous leaders of this movement were Martin Luther King, Martin Luther King Jr., Jesse Jackson, and Malcolm X.
Scottish-Irish: These immigrants arrived from Ireland and mainly settled in the concentrated regions of the valleys of Pennysylvania and Virginia during the 18th Century. Perhaps the largest wave of these immigrants was from 1846-1849. During this time in Ireland there was a great potatoe famine which sent a large number of the Irish fleeing the country. During this small interval of three years more than 1,500,000 people arrived, most of them settling in the Eastern United States. They were a large contributing factor to the growing economic strength of the United States. Some of the most famous Scottish-Irish were Andrew Carnegie, Andrew Jackson, and Alexander Graham Bell.
Chinese Immigration: The Chinese government is one that encourages its people to immigrate be it legally or illegally. This is because the Chinese government sees it as a way to lower the umeployment rate of the country. An estimate by the Chinese government says that there are probably about fifty million umemployed citizens of China. This causes quite a large effect on the U.S. because a large number of these people come to America seeking jobs. China is slowly becoming more capitalist, but in the process the older Communist leaders are receiving all the money. Since the fairly recent introduction of privatization the Chinese people have had a hard time utilizing it. This is because even to receive a license they must bribe many officials and overcome other such obstacles. They are led to move to such countries as the United States to have a better oppurtunity at work. The consumer reaps the benefits of this however, because it causes a lower cost of labor. Due to this lower labor cost, the products also cost less. This is a positive effect although there is higher competition for jobs because of these immigrants.
1830-1890: Immigrants arriving during this time period had several effects on America both good and bad. One of the first noticed was that they lowered the price of American labor. However, immigrants with a lower standard of living began to replace American laborers, and thus robbed them of their jobs. During the major immigration waves, there were also three major crime waves. The largest of which began in 1850 and lasted almost 30 years. The causes for these crime waves were definitely linked to immigration and also to such factors as economic deprivation and war. Diseases such as cholera and small pox erupted due to the large amount of people on the move. The Irish also returned these types diseases to the United States when they came in the 1940s. In 1854, the anti-immigration Party, which are sometimes referred to as the Know-Nothings, reached great strength before finally collapsing in 1856. This Party was fundamental because it represented the deep concerns of many Americans and their views of immigration.
1890-1924: When many Jews began to travel to the United States, they also began to bring more of an open religion barrier. Polish and Asian immigrants were among the many that brought much cheap labor to the country. To aid in this cheap labor, the Italian and Jews were known for their skilled workers in many work areas. All the changes that immigrants brought about in this time period though, were not positive. Although the Italians were skilled workers they, along with the Chinese, brought organized crime to a new level in America. Along with crime they brought many diseases that had not previously been a problem in the United States. They also resulted in poor job oppurtunities for more than two generations of Americans.
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