20th+Century+Perspective

20th Century Perspective

Foreign-Born Population in the United States, 1900-2000
 * = 
 * Country/Year** ||~ 1900 ||~ 1930 ||~ 1960 ||~ 1970 ||~ 1980 ||~ 1990 ||~ 2000 ||~  ||
 * ~ Austria ||  ||   || 305 || 214 ||   ||   ||   ||
 * ~ Bohemia ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * ~ Canada || 1,180 || 1,310 || 953 || 812 || 843 || 745 || 678 ||
 * ~ China ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   || 1,391 ||
 * ~ Cuba ||  ||   ||   || 439 || 608 || 737 || 952 ||
 * ~ Czechoslovakia ||  || 492 ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * ~ Dominican Republic ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   || 692 ||
 * ~ El Salvador ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   || 765 ||
 * ~ France ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * ~ Germany || 2,663 || 1,609 || 990 || 833 || 849 || 712 ||  ||
 * ~ Holland ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * ~ Hungary ||  ||   || 245 ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * ~ India ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   || 1,007 ||
 * ~ Ireland || 1,615 || 745 || 339 ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
 * ~ Italy || 484 || 1,790 || 1,257 || 1,009 || 832 || 581 ||  ||
 * ~ Korea ||  ||   ||   ||   || 290 || 568 || 701 ||
 * ~ Mexico ||  || 641 || 576 || 760 || 2,199 || 4,298 || 7,841 ||
 * ~ Norway || 336 ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * ~ Pakistan ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   || 724 ||
 * ~ Philippines ||  ||   ||   ||   || 501 || 913 || 1,222 ||
 * ~ Poland ||  || 1,269 || 748 || 548 || 418 ||   ||   ||
 * ~ Russia/Soviet Union || 424 || 1,154 || 691 || 463 || 406 ||  ||   ||
 * ~ Sweden || 582 || 595 ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * ~ Switzerland ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * ~ United Kingdom || 1,168 || 1,403 || 833 || 686 || 669 || 640 ||  ||
 * ~ Vietnam ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   || 543 || 863 ||
 * ~ Total Foreign Born || 10,341 || 14,204 || 10,347 || 9,619 || 14,079 || 19,763 || 31,100 ||
 * ~ % Foreign Born || 13.6% || 11.6% || 5.8% || 4.7% || 6.2% || 7.9% || 11.1% ||
 * ~ Native Born || 65,653 || 108,571 || 168,978 || 193,591 || 212,466 || 228,946 || 250,321 ||
 * ~ % Native Born || 86.4% || 88.4% || 94.2% || 95.3% || 93.8% || 92.1% || 88.9% ||
 * ~ Total Population || 75,994 || 122,775 || 179,325 || 203,210 || 226,545 || 248,709 || 281,421 ||
 * ~  ||~ 1900 ||~ 1930 ||~ 1960 ||~ 1970 ||~ 1980 ||~ 1990 ||~ 2000 ||

According to the 1990 census nearly 20 million inhabitants had been born outside the United States, about 8 percent of the total population. Eight million, or 40 percent, of those born overseas became naturalized citizens. Early in the 20th century it took immigrants three generations to switch from their native language to English. At the end of the 20th century, the shift to English was taking only two generations. This is not only because of the daily exposure to English-language movies, television, and newspapers, but because entry-level jobs in service industries require more communication skills than did the factory jobs that immigrants took a century or more ago.

After the depression of the 1890s, immigration jumped from a low of 3.5 million in that decade to a high of 9 million in the first decade of the new century. Immigrants from Northern and Western Europe continued coming as they had for three centuries, but in decreasing numbers. After the 1880s, immigrants increasingly came from Eastern and Southern European countries, as well as Canada and Latin America. By 1910, Eastern and Southern Europeans made up 70 percent of the immigrants entering the country. After 1914, immigration dropped off because of the war, and later because of immigration restrictions imposed in the 1920s.

Reasons for immigrating during the 20th century Ellis Island, New York Built in 1892, the center handled around 12 million European immigrants, herding thousands of them a day through the barn-like structure during the peak years for screening. Government inspectors asked a list of twenty-nine probing questions, such as: Have you money, relatives or a job in the United States? Are you a polygamist? An anarchist? Next, the doctors and nurses looked for signs of disease or debilitating handicaps. Usually immigrants were only detained 3 or 4 hours, and then free to leave. If they did not receive stamps of approval, and many did not because they were deemed criminals, strikebreakers, anarchists or carriers of disease, they were sent back to their place of origin. During the period from the mid-1890s to 1914 America witnessed an unprecedented wave of immigration to her shores. The majority of this influx came from Eastern and Southern Europe. Those who could not afford the cost of a first or second-class ticket for the passage to the New World were taken to screening centers such as Ellis Island in New York City's harbor. Those who suffered from a communicable disease or lacked sponsorship were turned away. Many who passed inspection made their way to the farms, mines, forests or other places of employment in America's heartland. The majority ended up in the cities along America's east coast.
 * escaping religious, racial, and political persecution
 * seeking relief from a lack of economic opportunity or famine
 * contract labor agreements offered by recruiting agents (coal mines, steel and textile mills)

"We saw the big woman with the big spikes on her head." - Story of Sadie Frowne, a thirteen year old immigrating from Poland with her mother around 1905. Her story- http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/immigrating.htm

Webpage of the US Citizenship and Immigration Service - all current laws and regulations of immigration are located on this site http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis

This graph shows the impact of illegal immigrants on society today-