The subject of immigration is quite fascinating to most Americans because they view themselves as a

nation of immigrants. However, the early Britons who came to what is today the United States
considered themselves "settlers" or "colonists," rather than immigrants. These people did not think they
were moving to a new country: instead, they thought they were settling new land for the "mother
country." There were also large numbers of Dutch, French, German, and Scotch-Irish settlers, as well as
large numbers of blacks brought from Africa as slaves. At the time of independence from Britain in 1776,
about 40 percent of people living in what is now the United States were not British. The majority of
people, however, spoke English, and the traditions that formed the basis of life were mainly British
traditions. This period we have just been discussing is usually referred to as "the Colonial period." Today,
we're a little more interested in actual immigration after this period. Let's first take a look at what is
often called the Great Immigration, which began about 1830 and ended in 1930. Then let's consider the
reasons for this so-called Great Immigration. Third, I’ll make a few brief remarks about a decrease in
immigration between 1940 and 1970. Finally, we'll talk about the immigration situation in the United
States today.

As l said, we'll begin our discussion today with the period of history called the Great Immigration, which
lasted from approximately 1830 to 1930. It will be easier if we look at the Great Imnmigration in terms
of three major stages, or time periods. The first stage from approximately 1830 to 1860. Before this tine,
the number of immigrants corning to the United States wa comparatively small, only about 10,000 a
year. However, the rate began to climb in the 1830s when about 600,000 immigrants arrived. The rate
continued to climb during the 1840s with a total of 1,700,000 people arriving in that decade. The rate
went on climbing during the 1850s, when 2,600,000 immigrants arrived. During this first stage of the
Great Immigration, that is, between the years 1830 and 1860, the majority of immigrants came from
Germany, Great Britain, and Ireland. Now let's consider the second stage of the Great Immigration. The
second stage was from 1860 to 1890, during which time another 10 million people arrived. Between
1860 and 1890 the majority of immigrants continued to be from Germany, Ireland, and Great Britain.
However, during the second stage, a smaller, but significant, number of immigrants came from the
Scandinavian nations of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The third stage of the Great Immigration, which
lasted from 1890 to 1930, was the era of heaviest immigration. Between the years 1890 and 1930,
almost 22 million immigrants arrived in the United States. Most of these new arrivals came from the
Southern European countries of Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain and the Eastern European countries of
Poland and Russia.

Now that we know something about the immigrants who came to the States during the Great
Immigration, let's consider the reasons why most of these people immigrated. Why did such large
numbers of Europeans leave their homes for life in an unknown country? It would be impossible to
discuss all the complex political and economic reasons in any depth today, but we can touch on a few
interesting facts that might help to clarify the situation for you. First of all, one of the most important
reasons was that the population of Europe doubled between the years 1750 and 1850. At the same time
that the population was growing so rapidly, the Industrial Revolution in Europe was causing widespread
unemployment. The combination of increased population and the demand for land by industry also
meant that farmland was becoming increasingly scarce in Europe. The scarcity of farmland was
increasingly scare in Europe that meant the abundance of available land in the growing country of the
United States was a great attraction. During these years, the United States was an it seemed that there
was expanding country, and it no end to land. In fact, in 1862 the government offered public land free to
citizens and to immigrants who were planning to become citizens. In addition to available farmland,
there were also plenty of jobs during these years of great economic growth. Other attractions were
freedon from religious or political persecution. Some other groups also came to the United States as the
direct results of natural disasters that left them in desperate situations. For example, the frequent
failure of the potato crop in Ireland between the years 1845 and 1849 led to widespread starvation in
that country, and people were driven to emigrate. Another factor that affected the number of
immigrants coming to the United States was improved ocean transport beginning in the 1840s. At that
time, ships big enough to carry large numbers of people began to make regular trips across the ocean.
Now let's summarize the reasons for the high rate of immigration n the years we discussed: to first, the
doubling of the population in Europe between 1750 and 1850; second, the unemployment caused by
the Industrial Revolution; and third, the land scarcity in Europe, followed by religious and political
persecution and natural disaster. These reasons combined with improved transportation probably
accounted for the largest number of immigrants.

Immigration declined somewhat after the Great Immigration. During the decades between 1940 and
1970, the total immigrant population varied from 9 to 11 million people. There are several reasons for
this decline. This decline was in part due to various laws whose aim was to limit the number of
immigrants coming from different parts of the world to the United States. The first law that limited the
number of immigrants coming from a certain part of the world was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.
This law was followed by many other laws that also tried to limit the numbers of people immigrating
from various countries or parts of the world. In addition to such laws, certainly nt as the or parts of the
economic and geopolitical events as important as the Great Depression which began in 1929, and World
War J, which lasted from about 1937 to 1945, also contributed to the decline in immigration.

Now that we've talked about the historical situation, let's discuss the current situation with respect to
immigration, which is quite different from that in the past. To understand some of the changes, it's
important to note that in 1965 strict quotas based on nationality were eliminated, and immigration has
increased in every decade since. Let's see how different things are today from the past. In 2010, the
number of immigrants living in the United States was 40 million, or 12.8 percent of the total population.
This is the largest number of immigrants in history although the share of the total population, 12.8
percent, has been larger in the past. The 40 million figure includes both legal and illegal inmigrants, and
the census reports that three-quarters of these immigrants came to the United States legally. These
recent immigrants are seldom Europeans as they were in the Great Immigration. Rather, immigration
from Latin America was responsible for 58 percent of immigrants from 2000 to 2010. Mexico, the origin
of close to 12 mnillion, was the top country to send imnigrants in that decade. The second largest group
came from China. Third was India, and the fourth and fifth largest groups of immigrants were from the
Philippines and Vietnam.

Do immigrants today migrate for the same reasons as in the past? Not exactly, according to information
immigrants reported to the Census Bureau. There were three main reasons for immigrating to the
United States in the decade 2000 to 2010: (1) access to public services; (2) political problems in their
home countries; and (3) the desire to join relatives living in the States. Interestingly, none of these
reasons is directly related to the U.S. economy, which actually lost jobs during the decade. We'll talk
more about that in the next lecture.
Last, it might be interesting to speculate on immigration in the future. Complicated issues worldwide
may cause an increase in immigration-or they may cause a decrease. Global warming and social unrest
in other countries could lead to an increase in immigration to the United States. On the other hand,
strict U.S. anti- immigration laws at the state or federal level., sanctions against employers who hire
illegal immigrants, and improved economic conditions in home countries could lead to a decline in
immigration to the United States. We can't know for sure which way the numbers will go. We've
covered a lot, so let's end here for today.