What country did most people come to America from?

Answer 1

Europeans moved to the Eastern Seaboard at first, before the American Revolution. Afterwards some moved to Canada, depending on their loyalty to Britain. Later waves of Europeans came to America due to conditions in their native lands.. Economic opportunity, religious freedom, famine in Ireland, political upheavals in Russia, pograms against Jews were among the reasons people came. Once the move west began in the 1800s, land grants and sales enticed populations of Germans and other Europeans to promises of ownership of productive farmland by homesteading in the midwest (Nebraska, Texas, Dakotas.

There were several large "waves" of Immigration, where people from a certain country (or, a small region) formed the majority of folks immigrating to the US. Most notable of these was the Irish migration in the mid 19th century, but there were big waves of Italians, Germans, Scandinavians, and others. However, the U.S. experienced a fairly high level of total immigration on a steady basis, with the "waves" being only exceptionally high totals; it's not as if immigration was ever restricted (until the 20th century, that is).

Generally speaking, most European immigrants came to the United States, with a much smaller fraction going to Canada. For the most part, this had to do with both good "PR" (i.e. the United States was seen as more "welcoming" of immigrants than Canada, regardless of the actual circumstances), but also due to significantly better conditions in the United States for immigrants. Not only did the United States have very large immigrant populations already (making it much easier for a new immigrant to feel at home), but also, there was simply more and better land available. Additionally, the vast majority of shipping to North American went to the U.S. coastal cities (Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, and Charleston), with very little destined for Montreal (the sole major Canadian city with an Atlantic port). So, by default, if an immigrant was looking to catch a ship to the New World, he or she almost always ended up on one destined for the United States.

The vast majority of immigrants from Europe arrived in New York City, with Boston being the next most likely destination. I'd estimate that over 90% of all immigrants came through one of those two ports, with most of the rest coming into Philadelphia.

Where they ended up afterwards depends very much on which time period they arrived in. Early on (18th century), most stayed either in the city, or close by, where economic opportunities still existed. Starting in the 19th century, most eventually moved out of their arriving port area, and to whichever region was currently being opened to settlement. At the opening of the 20th century, the rail network made it possible for immigrants to get off their ships and directly onto trains, to be transported throughout the entire country.

Consequently, you have various areas of the country with heavy concentration of a a certain European region's ethnic group. Which areas and which groups were dependent on what regions of the U.S. were being opened at the time. It's impossible to be more specific - you should specify a particular ethnic group if you want more details. Overall, at least some European ethnic group eventually settled in large numbers around any given location in the U.S. - that is, at some time in the past 300 years, a large number of some European immigrants came to virtually all cities in the U.S.

Answer 2

During the first wave of immigration, many people came to America from Ireland and Germany, but after Ellis Island opened in 1892, the immigrant population shifted as more people came to America from Eastern European countries.

Answer 3

Most immigrants settled in America cities. Most of the immigrants had come to America in search of job opportunities which could be found easily in the major cities and towns.

Answer 4

By ships