Waves of Immigration Into The United States

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During these years, most people come from Great Britain, the Scandinavian countries, Northwest Europe, Ireland, and Germany. And then immigration began to taper off around 1894.

People emigrated from England for better jobs and less taxes.  Thomas Malthus, with the publishing of his book, Essay on the Principles of Population, created a scare when he claimed the population of England would surpass the food supply.  Farmers who had suffered losses due to the agricultural depression in several of the British counties came to establish farms and find work as farm laborers in the United States.

 Many of the British immigrants had technological skills which were in demand in the Unites States.  For example, Samuel Slater came to the United States in 1789 and established the first cotton factory in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.  Andrew Carnegie established his first blast furnace in 1879 and began producing steel.  After becoming very wealthy, Henry Frick and J. Pierpont Morgan purchased the factory from Andrew Carnegie in 1901.

Many of the British with textile skills, settled in and established textile mills in Massachusetts, especially, New Bedford, Lawrence, and Fall River, where loom-fixers, wool-sorters, shopkeepers, and saloon owners were very prevalent.  Today, many of the textile mills have moved overseas to Pakistan and India.  These jobs are considered low skilled jobs and are being replaced with higher skilled jobs in the computer industry.

Miners from Cornwall emigrated to the United States because of the declining mining industry and settled in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois.  These areas were rich in iron and copper.  The trade unions assisted in sending workers to the United States, thinking that they could increase their own wages.  They paid for over eight hundred men who were having difficulty finding work or were blacklisted because of their union activities.

The English were instrumental in building and creating the Industrial Revolution in the United States.  As a result, several became very wealthy, and becoming involved in philanthropy.  England was able to stretch its empire to over every continent as a result of its involvement in the Industrial Revolution.

 As there were fewer opportunities for employment after 1894, fewer English workers came to the United States for jobs. Today, many English people are emigrating to the United States for other reasons, such as the influx of Muslims into the country, overcrowding of the cities, and lower taxes.  Many argue that England’s expansion into other parts of the world is responsible for its conflict in the world and inner strife.

 In conclusion, emigration of the people from England from the early seventeen century until the late nineteenth century has resulted in the Industrial Revolution in the United States.  In the next articles, I will discuss emigration from other countries.