America is a nation of immigrants.
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Aside from a spat of isolationism that ran through both world wars and peaked around the same time as the Nixon administration, there’s usually been a pretty steady influx of immigrants coming to our country:
Photo Credit: Pew Research Center
But the nations that people have come from have changed quite a bit over time, as this 2015 GIF from Pew Research Center’s Fact Tank illustrates:
Photo Credit: Pew Research Center
That GIF runs a bit fast for me. Let’s walk through it.
There’s a bit of a blip from Canada in Vermont, and California was taking in Mexicans as the dust from the Mexican-American War settled.
But, otherwise, it’s all Ireland and Germany:
Photo Credit: Pew Research Center
As we get into settling the west and building the Transcontinental Railroad, you’ll notice the influx from China has now overtaken Mexico in California.
We’ve also got a new surge in Florida from the Bahamas, and the Canadians have overtaken the Irish in New Hampshire:
Photo Credit: Pew Research Center
By 1870, the Irish and Germans still maintain the highest rates, but the wave from Canada has spread, Mexico has re-joined the conversation, and folks from the UK are making a play in the Midwest:
Photo Credit: Pew Research Center
Then the UK spreads a bit, and China has a serious influx.
Cubans also start to make the trek in higher numbers:
Photo Credit: Pew Research Center
By 1900, Ireland and China’s mass influx has all but petered out, but Germany is still running strong, and the UK is still making a play.
Canada continues to spread across the parallel, and the Swedes make their mark on Minnesota.
And Italians leaves one boot for another as they flow into Louisiana:
Photo Credit: Pew Research Center
Now, we’re starting to see how the events that led into the World Wars are making a bit of an impact in the US.
Italy’s influx continues to grow, and we start to see people from Russia as well as Austria.
And, Norway made a play for the Dakotas:
Photo Credit: Pew Research Center
Check out this spread of immigrants from Italy and Russia/USSR in 1920:
Photo Credit: Pew Research Center
By 1930, Germany shows no signs of slowing down, the UK makes another big push, and Italians continues to flock to the US:
Photo Credit: Pew Research Center
Much of the same for the 1940 census:
Photo Credit: Pew Research Center
We get another surge from the USSR post-WWII, and China pops back up in Mississippi:
Photo Credit: Pew Research Center
Still pretty steady with most of the same countries in 1960:
Photo Credit: Pew Research Center
And, it looks like Germany never really stopped sending her people:
Photo Credit: Pew Research Center
But, we can see how, by 1980, Mexico is starting to give Germany a bit of competition:
Photo Credit: Pew Research Center
By 1990, we see some Asian nations make a play, but they still don’t seem to affect the growing influx from Mexico:
Photo Credit: Pew Research Center
That trend continues into the new millennium:
Photo Credit: Pew Research Center
And it doesn’t show any signs of slowing down:
Photo Credit: Pew Research Center
Perhaps, after 130 years of running the game, Germany simply ran out of people to give:
Photo Credit: Pew Research Center
Today, most of our immigration comes from one country.
But that’s also been the case for most of our history.
It’s just that for most of the time, that country happened to be Germany:
Photo Credit: Pew Research Center
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