BritishIndia. 225.7. and Japan. 346.8. Consequently. the greatest migration of all times occurred between 1800 and 1830 from the countries of Europe to America. While later in this paper we will take note of certain racial characteristics of the early settlers. it must be remembered. as mentioned above. that there is a difference between colonization and immigration. and hence our first settlers were colonizers and not immigrants. In the first half of the nineteenth century. the largest immigration to this country. and the best class of immigrants. was from Great Britain and Germany. That type of Immigration reached Its peak about 1880. Then commenced the movement of the agricultural proletaria of southern and eastern European countries. especially Italy. AustriaHungary. and the southern nations that once were a part of Russia. This flow of Immigration. and of a type that has made for us a serious racial problem. was first stimulated by the steamship companies. At one time oceans were barriers but the invention of Robert Fulton made of them international highways. The transportation of immigrants from Europe to America was a profitable business for the steamship companies the latter part of the nineteenth century. The immigration movement of the twentieth century was stimulated by industrial leaders of the North. who were in the market for an abundance of cheap labor. It may be true that without such cheap labor we could not have developed our great natural resources as rapidly as we did. nor have built up with equal rapidity some of the great American fortunes of the present day. But anyone with a spark of humor must smile as he hears the Northern capitalist prate about protecting the American laborer and the American standard of living from the competition of cheap foreign goods by means of higher protective tariffs. and then watches the same group as It brings in millions of "Hunks" and "Wops" to take the Jobs of these same American workers at a lower pay and a lower standard of living. And In passing it might be noted that the argument of the same protectionists that high tariffs help American agriculture because of better domestic markets is just about as consistent. In the whole world between the years 1800 and 1930 there have been a total of 62.000.000 immigrants. of which 90 percent have come to the Americas. mostly to the United States. Of those coming to the United States. approximately 33 percent. for one reason or another. have ultimately gone home. Our Nation did not commence keeping accurate records on immigration and emigration until 1820. but between that date and 1930 those records show that our net gain in population from immigration. excluding. of course. children born of foreign parents. has been 26.180.000. In the first decade of the twentieth century the number of immigrants was 8.795.386. in the second. 5.735.811. and in the third. 4.107.209. In 1930 our population was divided as follows: White. including immigrants. 112.775.046. Negro. 11.891.193. mixed. 1.422.533. and the balance was made up of Japanese. Chinese.
Identified stereotypes
Southern and Eastern Europeans are referred to as 'Hunks' and 'Wops' and are described as cheap labor who take jobs from American workers at a lower pay and standard of living.