European Immigrants
By the eve of the Revolution, about 2.5 million immigrants were living in the 13 colonies; 60 percent were of English origin, while the remaining 40 percent were from a diversity of other nations. In one way or another, each nationality helped champion the search for independence and the goal of personal freedom that were the philosophical basis of the American Revolution. Even before we were a country, we were a "melting pot."
During the period when European immigration dominated, the source of immigrants changed. In the first two-thirds of the 19th century, most immigrants came from Ireland, Germany and Great Britain. In the 1880s a permanent shift occurred. In 1882, the peak year of the "old immigration," 87 percent of the immigrants came from Ireland, Germany, Great Britain, Scandinavia, Switzerland and Holland. In 1907, the peak year of the "new immigrants," 81 percent of immigrants came from Italy, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Greece, Rumania and Turkey. From the 1820s to World War II, Germany provided 16 percent of immigrants, Ireland 12 percent, Italy 12 percent, Austria-Hungary 12 percent, Great Britain 11 percent, Russia 10 percent, and Scandinavia 5 percent.
This investigation will focus on three of the largest immigrant groups to come to our shores during the peak of European immigration to America, the Germans, the Irish, and the Italians. You can use the time machine door on the left to investigate those groups individually.
The settling of America began with an idea. The idea was that people can join together and agree to govern themselves by making laws for the common good. With that idea in mind, 102 English colonists (later referred to as the "Pilgrims") set sail in 1620 on the Mayflower. They landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts. This is generally considered by many to be the "start" of planned European migration!
