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Show HN: Map of immigration to the U.S. since 1820

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Re: Show HN: Map of immigration to the U.S. since 1820

#91

Post by mikerichards »

djsumdog wrote: post #64
k__ wrote: post #7

Didn't know so much Germans came to the US back in the days.

German was a dominate language. At one time, nearly 1/3 of people in the US spoke it fluently. Germans were shamed from speaking it after WW1 and WW2 made the numbers dwindle even further. If it hadn't been for the wars, the US would most likely have most official documents in English, German and Spanish and German would probably be on the passports as well (currently US passports contain English, French and Spanish)

My great grandparents were born in America in the late 1800s and live in southern Ill (right outside of St. Louis), but spoke german at home as did much of that area.

My grandmother tells me the story of how mad she was when she started going to kindergarten/1st grade and she couldn't speak English yet.

Re: Show HN: Map of immigration to the U.S. since 1820

#92

Post by zhemao »

tstrimple wrote: post #78
jobesian4lyfe wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's because in the last ten years, America has proven to have a great quality of life. Clean roads, better facilities and plenty of well paying jobs.

How has it proven that? What I find interesting is that early on, our immigrants were predominantly from developed nations. Over time, this shifted more and more to developing nations. To me that seems to indicate that we're not seen as the land of opportunity among first world nations any longer. There are better options with more economic mobility and social services. Unless gun ownership is your primary motivating…

Both of these theories seem too simplistic. From the visualization, it didn't seem like immigration from Europe necessarily decreased in the late 20th century. It's just that the proportion from the rest of the world increased.

Also, countries like Ireland, Germany, and Italy weren't really "developed" prior to the 20th century (and to be fair, neither was the US). Germany and Italy weren't even united countries until late in the 19th century and Ireland was a British possession until the early 20th. It's possible Europeans are just staying where they are because conditions in their home countries have improved. Or, more likely, they are emigrating to richer EU countries because the Schengen agreement makes this much easier. Another factor is that a big draw for European immigrants in the 19th century was the large amount of unclaimed farmland out west. This is no longer the case now.

As for immigration from non-Western countries, they are coming over in larger numbers now because they are actually allowed to. Prior to 1965, quotas heavily favored Western European countries over the rest of the world[1].

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Nationality_Ac...

Re: Show HN: Map of immigration to the U.S. since 1820

#94

Post by dominotw »

gohrt wrote: post #89
devdas wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There were laws restricting immigration from non-white countries.

Until 2006?

US is mainly family based immigration and people could comein only if they already had someone here which meant only europeans.

They started work visas in the 90's which let ppl from everywhere in.

Re: Show HN: Map of immigration to the U.S. since 1820

#95

Post by jdminhbg »

swombat wrote: post #50
DrScump wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, importation of slaves to the U.S. was banned in 1808. Most slaves were native-born, to slaves and descendants of slaves.

The case of the Amistad in 1839 (fictionalised in a famous Spielberg movie) shows that this was not at all the case in reality: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._The_Amistad I'm sure many slaves were slave-born in that period, but it seems they were still importing people from Africa en masse.

The Amistad wasn't importing slaves to the US. From that wikipedia link...

> The African captives, who had been kidnapped in Sierra Leone and illegally sold into slavery and shipped to Cuba

Re: Show HN: Map of immigration to the U.S. since 1820

#96

Post by cubix »

curtis wrote: post #29
mmanfrin wrote: post #6

Surprised me how much came from Canada -- has that been a thing, or is Canada a proxy for other countries?

I found this surprising as well. However, I'm wondering if there were nearly as many people leaving the U.S. for Canada at the same time. The source data might not be looking at "net" immigration, and for most countries it wouldn't matter, but it might for Canada.

I think so. When I read history from the 19th until the mid-20th century, it's almost like the border didn't exist. People would move back and fourth with little concern.

Re: Show HN: Map of immigration to the U.S. since 1820

#98

Post by Retra »

allendoerfer wrote: post #46
jobesian4lyfe wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's because in the last ten years, America has proven to have a great quality of life. Clean roads, better facilities and plenty of well paying jobs.

Other countries have that, too, some to a better extent. What they don't have is Hollywood and the English language.

The US is also fairly politically stable.

Re: Show HN: Map of immigration to the U.S. since 1820

#99

Post by avn2109 »

notahacker wrote: post #74
dmoy wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

RE: Laos in Minnesota Good chance this is actually a lot of Hmong: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Hmong_in_Minnea... (source: went to school in the 90s in Minnesota, like 30% of my classmates were Hmong) Similar deal with Somali in Minneapolis - once there's critical mass of a given group in a given city, it increases the immigration pull because there's a support network. Right: if you do local stuff i…

I understand the benefits of diasporas settling in one city, just surprised it's one in Minnesota. In the UK the smaller diasporas all seem to end up concentrated in London. My favourite exception to this is Ugandan Asians fleeing Idi Amin, the majority of whom chose to settle in Leicester, a city many of them first heard of through adverts Leicester City Council took out in the Ugandan press addressed to "the many f…

A lot of the Hmong settled in the American North and West because of the CIA's liason with the Hmong, who was a Montana boy by way of Palo Alto.

He thought the Hmong had fought hard against communism and would be massacred by the Viet Cong after the American pullout. So he lobbied hard for Hmong immigration opportunities to the States he knew best, which tended to be Northern and Western.

For this reason, delicious Hmong produce is available in improbable locations, such as the Helena, Montana farmer's market.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Daniels#Refugee_advocate

Re: Show HN: Map of immigration to the U.S. since 1820

#100

Post by dasfasf »

wildmusings wrote: post #61

1965 Immigration Act. That's when we stopped caring about making immigration work for our country, and started caring about doing whatever it takes to not be called racist.

It's neat how you can see immigration policy being enacted though. China goes dark in 1882 (Chinese Exclusion Act), then Russia lights up for the New Immigration near the turn of the century and goes dark in 1924 (Immigration Act of 1924), and then everything opens up in 1965.
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