9781422274095

asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liber- ty from every part of Europe.” 3 IMMIGRATION TO A NEW COUNTRY After the American Revolution came to an end in 1783, the newly formed United States government decided to con- duct the first Census of the population. The Census found that “of the 3.9 million people counted, the English were the largest ethnic group. Nearly 20 percent were of African heritage. German, Scottish, and Irish residents were also well represented.” 5 The very first Naturalization Act was passed in the year 1790. This act stipulated that any immi- grant who was a free white person could come to the Unit- ed States and become a citizen. At first, the immigration rate was rather low. An esti- mated 6,000 people entered the United States per year in the late eighteenth century and the early years of the nine- teenth century. The number dropped even lower during the War of 1812 that took place between Great Britain and the United States. Once that war ended, however, the United States began to see larger number of immigrants enter the country. Most of these immigrants came from Great Brit- ain, Ireland, and Western Europe. The beginnings of the Industrial Revolution saw even more immigrants arriving at the shores of the United States. During the 1840s and 1850s, the majority of these immi- grants came from Ireland to escape a terrible potato famine. Nearly 1.5 million Irish citizens made their way to America

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A History and Overview of Immigration