round the turn of the twentieth century, mass immigration
from eastern and southern Europe dramatically altered
the population's ethnic and religious composition. Unlike
earlier immigrants, who had come from Britain, Canada,
Germany, Ireland, and Scandinavia, the "new immigrants"
came increasingly from Hungary, Italy, Poland, and Russia.
The newcomers were often Catholic or Jewish and two-thirds
of them settled in cities.
Background
Today, Americans are highly conscious of the impact of
immigration. Since 1965, when the United States eliminated
quotas that restricted the number of people who could
come from certain parts of the world, the face of the
nation has changed visibly. The recent movement of millions
of migrants to the United States has had profound political
and social repercussions, spurring intense public debate
over such issues as bilingual education and immigration
restriction. But this influx of people is only the most
recent example of a long history of immigration to the
United States. In a single decade -- 1900 to 1910 -- 8.8
million immigrants entered the United States. |
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