Historical Background

1600s English The first immigrants stepped off the Mayflower in 1620 [1 p 25]. 1700s German In 1700 Germans and Scotch-Irish began to emigrate. After the Revolutionary War, when the first census was taken in 1790, most of the approximately 4 million white people in the US were descended from the three original groups (English, German, Scotch-Irish). [1 p 26] 1800s During the first 50 years of the century, a million more immigrants arrived, mostly from England and Germany. In the middle of the 19th century, the tide of immigration became a virtual flood. Between 1841 and 1860, nearly 3.5 million people came from Ireland and Germany. Another million came from England and other European countries.
Most European immigrants, no matter what their country of origin, left from one of two German ports, Bremen or Hamburg. Because steamship companies had to bring rejected immigrants back to Europe at company expense, everyone had to undergo a medical inspection. [1 p 26] 1900s

Sources

[1] Finding Your Roots: How to Trace Your Ancestors at Home and Abroad / Jeane Eddy Westin. New York: Jeremy P Tarcher/Putnam, 1998.]
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Created by Joan Kolarik
email address: kolarikj@hotmail.com.
Last Updated: 20 May 2000.