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The First Great Wave of immigrants to the United States came from 1820 to 1880. These people came from Brittain, Ireland, and Germany; they settled mainly in the Midwest. (image source: wikimedia commons)
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Europeans from what is now Germany come to the U.S. due to failed revolutions in Europe. These immigrants settled mainly in Chicago. (image source: wikimedia commons)
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A wave of Chinese Immigrants come to the U.S. as a result of the Gold Rush and the labor needed to build the railroads. Chinese Immigrants settled mainly in California and in states west of the Rocky Mountains. (image source: wikimedia commons)
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The peak decade for Irish Immigration was from 1851 to 1860. They came to the U.S. because of the starvation due to the potato famine in Ireland. Many settled in Boston and New York. (image source: wikimedia commons)
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Japanese Immigrants began coming to the U.S. around 1869. They settled mainly in California as political refugees. (image source: wikimedia commons)
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German Immigrants came to the U.S. in large numbers from 1880 to 1920. They settled primarily in the Northeast states, like New York, Wisconsin, and Virginia. (image source: wikimedia commons)
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Russian Jewish immigrants come to the U.S. from 1180 to 1920. They were running away from antisemitism and looking for jobs and a better life. The majority of Russian Jewish Immigrants settled in New York and New Jersey. (image source: wikimedia commons)
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The new immigration reception center opened in New York in 1892. About 12 million immigrants passed through this reception center. Read about the history of Ellis Island (image source: wikimedia commons)
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The violence and scarcity of jobs during the Mexican Revolution, during 1910, caused many Mexicans to leave their country and come to the U.S. Most of these immigrants settled in the South Western states of the U.S., including California, Texas, and Arizona. (image source: wikimedia commons) (image source: wikimedia commons)
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The First World War (1914-1918) interrupts immigration to the U.S. (image source: wikimedia commons)
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The U.S. required new immigrants to pass a literacy test before being admitted to the country. These tests often had similar images that immigrants had to distinguish from eath other in 14 seconds. It was a method to reduce the number of immigrants allowed to enter the U.S.
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During this time, the U.S. passed quotas, legislation, and restrictions that limited immigration to the U.S.
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Many immigrants in the U.S. were deported as a result of the successful Russian Revolution. The U.S. deported any person they saw as a communist threat. (image source: wikimedia commons)
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Congress passed a restriction quota, establishing a quota of 350,000 immigrants allowed.
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During World War II (1938-1945), immigration into the U.S. was limited. Immigration centers often became places where the U.S. held German and Italian prisoners as well as Japanese immigrants. (image source: wikimedia commons) (image source: wikimedia commons)
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From 1942-46, farm laborers from Mexico are allowed temporary residence in the U.S. through the Bracero Program. Mexicans settled mainly along the Southwestern States, California, Texas, and Arizona. (image source: wikimedia commons)
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Puerto RIcans began migrating to the U.S. in large numbers in 1945. These people were trying to escape extreme poverty in their island. Most settled in New York. (image source: wikimedia commons)
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The Vietnam War (1955-1975) leads Vietnamese people to immigrate to the U.S. Over 40 percent settled in California, but others also settled in New York, Maine, and Florida. (image source: wikimedia commons)
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In 1965, Cubans were admitted into the U.S. under special quotas as refugees. Most Cubans settled in Miami, Florida, Tampa Bay Area, New Jersey, and West New York. (image source: wikimedia commons)
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10 million immigrants admitted legally into the U.S. as refugees. This was a response to the Vietnamese and Cuban refugee crisis. Read about the Refugee Act on the US Embassy Website
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Salvadorian and Guatemalan people came to the U.S. as refugees. They came here escaping poverty and violence. Many of these immigrants settled in Houston, Texas, and California.
More pictures of the Salvadoran Civil War (image source: wikimedia commons) (image source: wikimedia commons) -
The Immigration Act of 1990 increases legal immigration ceilings by 40 percent. This sets a quota of 700,000 immigrants to enter each year for the next three years, and 675,000 every year after that.
Read More about the Immigration Act of 1990
