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Oct 12, 1492
Christopher Columbus discovers America
Columbus left Castile in August 1492 with three ships and made landfall in the Americas on 12 October, ending the period of indigenous Native American- rule, now referred to as the pre-Columbian era. The discovery would lead to the establishment of "The New World". -
Jamestown, Virginia- The fist colony
In 1607, the English arrived in North America, preparing to embark on the long-awaited settlement of new territory. On May 14th the first colony was founded in Jamestown, Virginia, creating the first permanent English settlement in North America. By doing this The English became the first settlers in the newfound country of America. -
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European puritans
British, German, Dutch puritans came to North America to escape religious persecution, in search of a better opportunity or adventure. The Dutch established trading posts and cities around the Hudson River called New Amsterdam (today’s New York City). The English Quakers established the colony Pennsylvania and the city Philadelphia. More than 90% of the early colonists were farmers. -
1790 US population
Shortly after the war of independence from the British Empire and the adoption of the American Constitution, the US population breakdown was as the graph shows. The Native American population had been significantly reduced due to war, westward expansion and disease brought along with the European settlers. -
The urbanization og America
Around the 1830’s: Immigrants arrive at the American east coast. Some were attracted to cheap farmland in Western America made available by the westward expansion. Others came to take advantage of the ‘manufacturing boom’ in the cities due to industrialization, which facilitated the urbanization. -
Profession breakdown
The Irish were unskilled labourers that worked on railroads and canals, textile mill towns or in ports. Half the Germans became farmers, the other half became craftsmen in the cities. Asian immigrants worked on railroads and mines -
The first anti-immigration tendencies
1850: The total population passed 20 million. Anti-immigration laws and tendencies began to take root targeting Irish-catholic immigrants escaping the potato famine, but it was on a much smaller scale than seen later. -
The invention of the steamship
After 1880: Large steamships began replacing older, slower sailing ships and made crossing the Atlantic Ocean cheaper and faster, which increased the number of immigrants to the US passing through immigration processing stations such as Ellis Island in New York. Mass immigration began. -
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Ellis Island
Ellis Island in New York is today a symbol of American immigration history. From 1892 to 1954 was Ellis Island the first stop for more than 12 million people immigrating with the hopes of living The American Dream. Ellis Island was one of 30 stations welcoming immigrants. -
Immigration law
1921: Congress pushed a law that limited the immigration number each year. It worked effectively and reduced more than 50% of the original number. Later in 1924 they weren't satisfied with the anti-immigration crowd and established a border patrol. They state that they will deport all the undocumented immigrants. -
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Increase in Mexican immigrants
1944-45: The number of Mexican immigrants increase with 6000% as American men (former workers) were off fighting the Germans and Japanese during WW2. -
Operation Wetback
1954: ‘Operation Wetback’ (pres. Eisenhower and gen. Swing) began, and it consisted of hundreds of official officers, who led thousands of police officers to sweep neighbourhoods and stop any ‘Mexican-looking’ people and deport them if they did not have their immigration papers on them. In total, it is estimated that more than 1 million were deported. -
Hart-Cellar act
1965: Hart-Cellar act where all the immigration who have job skills that are highly sought, and relatives in America are allowed to settle. -
Immigration Reform and Control Act
1986: Ronald Reagan gave green cards to 2.7 million immigrants, which is the largest single moment of legalization in American history. In exchange, he promised to toughen sanctions against employers who hired undocumented immigrants. -
The Immigration Act of 1990
1990: The Immigration Act of 1990 increased the amount of legal immigrants from 500,000 to 700,000. Since 1990 around 1 million immigrants legally achieve residence in the US. -
Immigration today
Today: The US is home to 20% of the world’s immigrants. More than 10 million people are illegal immigrants, a cultural melting pot. The immigrant population breakdown is shown in the photo (2013), and of the top ten origin countries 5 are from South-East Asia and 5 are from Middle or South America.