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Article: Immigration (Issue)
- Article from:
- Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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IMMIGRATION
(ISSUE)
Immigration is the influx of people to a country or region which is different from their country of birth. In the United States, immigration has been a basic part of life at least since the settlement of Jamestown in 1607 and remains part of American life today. One of the truisms of U.S. history, then, would seem to be that all Americans are immigrants or the descendants of immigrants.
While the early white settlers of America were largely English, there were significant numbers from other areas including Ireland, Scotland, and Wales in the British Isles, various German states, French Huguenots, as well as Dutch and Swedes who were absorbed when their settlements ...