Who are Americans? A snapshot of America is provided every 10 years through the Census.

Census A count of the population taken every 10 years Other information asked to compile a snapshot of Americans First government to require that a census be taken

A Nation of Immigrants Every American, even those born here, is descended from someone who immigrated. 1 st settlers, the Native American, migrated across the land bridge between Siberia and Alaska 1 st European Settlers were from Spain (1492)

Settlers from France and England starting in the 1600s Immigrants from Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, Scotland, and Sweden in late 1600s and the 1700s Black, unwilling, immigrants also came starting in the 1600s on slave boats

The Great Immigration- the land of promise Immigrant numbers grew from 600,000 in 1830 to more than 2 million in 1850 Most of these immigrants were poor from Germany, England, and Ireland , more than 10 million Europeans immigrated mostly from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark

By the mid-1800s, Americans become concerned at the number of immigrants the first immigration restriction laws are passed , about 22 million more immigrated mainly from Greece, Russia, and Poland 1920s- new immigration quotas are made into law

Immigration Today Only 675,000 immigrants are allowed to enter the US per year Of those, only 27,000 may come from any one country Exception are refugees Example: Vietnam

Population Growth Immigration Americans having children (usually large families before industrialization) Birthrate has dropped steadily throughout the 1900s From 1930 to 1999, the population increased from 123 million to 275 million, but the rate of increase was the slowest in the nation’s history Birth rate vs death rate

Shifts in Population mid-1800’s- shift from rural to cities (jobs) Late 1800’s- mass migration of former slaves to North from South 1970’s- migration to the western and southern parts of the country (Sunbelt) (warmer & more spacious than Northeast) Urban Shift- from the large city to suburbs