![]() In response, the United States passes the Steerage Act of 1819 requiring better conditions on ships arriving to the country. The immigrants overwhelm major port cities, including New York City, Boston, Philadelphia and Charleston. Louis and Cincinnati.ġ819: Many of newcomers arrive sick or dying from their long journey across the Atlantic in cramped conditions. Some 5 million German immigrants also come to the United States, many of them making their way to the Midwest to buy farms or settle in cities including Milwaukee, St. This first major wave of immigration lasts until the Civil War.īetween 18, the Irish-many of them Catholic-account for an estimated one-third of all immigrants to the United States. Immigration from Western Europe turns from a trickle into a gush, which causes a shift in the demographics of the United States. History Shorts: The Revolving Doors of Ellis Island Irish Immigrant Waveġ815: Peace is re-established between the United States and Britain after the War of 1812. The English are the largest ethnic group among the 3.9 million people counted, though nearly one in five Americans are of African heritage. Without citizenship, nonwhite residents are denied basic constitutional protections, including the right to vote, own property, or testify in court.Īugust 1790: The first U.S. The Naturalization Act of 1790 allows any free white person of “good character,” who has been living in the United States for two years or longer, to apply for citizenship. March 1790: Congress passes the first law about who should be granted U.S. This new world hath been the asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty from every part of Europe,” he writes. “Europe, and not England, is the parent country of America. Most colonists consider themselves Britons, but Paine makes the case for a new American. January 1776: Thomas Paine publishes a pamphlet, “ Common Sense,” that argues for American independence. White People of 'Good Character' Granted Citizenship Still others, including hundreds of thousands of enslaved Africans, arrived in America against their will.īelow are the events that have shaped the turbulent history of immigration in the United States since its birth. Many sought greater economic opportunities. Some, including the Pilgrims and Puritans, came for religious freedom. They were Native American ancestors who crossed a narrow spit of land connecting Asia to North America at least 20,000 years ago, during the last Ice Age.īy the early 1600s, communities of European immigrants dotted the Eastern seaboard, including the Spanish in Florida, the British in New England and Virginia, the Dutch in New York, and the Swedes in Delaware. Thousands of years before Europeans began crossing the vast Atlantic by ship and settling en masse, the first immigrants arrived in North America from Asia. The United States has long been considered a nation of immigrants, but attitudes toward new immigrants by those who came before have vacillated over the years between welcoming and exclusionary.
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