A blogger is supposed to write not appropriate other people's works, but in this instance I'm gonna do it. It's a site called metrocom.com/us and it is a moving graphic showing the countries - by time period - that sent us the most immigrants within that given time.
A teaser - Ireland led the field from 1820 on through to 1850 when the Germans took the lead.
A friend wrote back asking what percentage of the incoming immigrants had been driven out of their own countries and why? Were they more casual about whom they let in back in the day?
The Irish fled the Potato Famine which was apparently horrendous - roads lined with dead bodies - men, women and children "buried" in the ditch.
From my mother's side of the family ... an entire village were Mennonites in Russia near what is now Poland (or vice versa.) They rented their land from the czar who was proposing a massive rent hike. This did not sit well with them; life was hard enough as it was. During the head shaking and general gloom came news of the Kansas land grants - free land! so as to populate the young state.
A vote was taken, money collected and the village elders came over to check it out. Back they went, full of stories of great swaths of lovely land. So the village, as one, said, "Let's go!" And they did.
Now we get to the pertinent part re immigration. My grandfather was 12 at this time and all feared what Immigration would do if they learned the kid had conjunctivitis or "pink eye." So they dressed him as a girl and explained away his reddened eyes as "crying for our lost homes." They got away with it. And they flourished thereafter.
My sister in responding to an e about this mistyped Iceland for Ireland which spurred more curiosity. Few immigrated from Iceland due to their location - distant - and many were listed as Danish due to the fact that Iceland was under Danish rule at the time.
Who knew? Even if you don't care when who came here, the graphics are pretty. I admire the work that went into doing this interesting site.
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