Ethnic Composition of the United States' Population in 1890

     These images from the 1890 Statistical Atlas of the United States have been digitized by the Library of Congress. In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, some Americans believed that rising rates of immigration by Catholics and Jews from southern and eastern Europe would alter American culture and values. The statistical relationships illustrated in these images were related to perceived demographic changes. 
      These statistics were also important because the Johnson-Reed Act of 1924 restricted immigration into the United States to an annual rate of 2% of the population of each nationality in 1890. Calculations for quotas were based on the national origins of the population, even natural-born United States citizens. Immigrants from Asia were completely excluded under the Johnson-Reed Act. The quotas under the law were altered by emergency provisions for displaced persons after World War II (1948 and 1950) and revision of Immigration Restriction legislation in 1952.


 

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