War Time Factors In Immigration to the United States

Soldiers on B Deck of the Troop Transport Ship Princess Matoika Looking Aft, 1919.

Soldiers on B Deck of the Troop Transport Ship Princess Matoika Looking Aft, 1919. GGA Image ID # 154af0bd33

Alien Arrivals and Departures Since 1915
DURING the five-year period 1915-1919, the number of aliens arriving in and departing from the United States was as follows:

ALIEN ARRIVALS

1919 1918 1917 1916 1915
Immigrant :
247,358 115,916 152,959 355,767
258,678
Non-Immigrant :
149,804 109,500 58,926 72,904 68,963
Total
397,182 225,416 211,885 428,671 327,641

ALIEN DEPARTURES

1919 1918 1917 1916 1915
Emigrant :
261,718 80,612 67,852 69,725 160,641
Non- Emigrant :
190,808 103,333 68,531 95,059 123,995
Total
392,526 183,945 131,183 164,784 284,636
Net Gain
4,636 41,471 80,702 263,887 43,005
  • Immigration After The First World War (1915)
    What will be the effect of the European war on immigration ? This is a question of portentous interest; a question far more important, in fact, than the effect of the war upon trade and commerce, for the life of America is being profoundly influenced by the alien blood and alien traditions which, in recent years, have come in increasing volume from the Slavic and Latin countries of the south of Europe rather than from the Anglo-Saxon and Teutonic countries of the north.
  • Your Government of the United States Making New Americans (1916)
    For the first time in its history, the United States Government is intelligently concerned with making the right sort of citizen out of its adult immigrant material. It is no longer enough that hordes of aliens shall be added yearly to the heterogeneous and unassimilated population already with. in our boundaries.
  • Immigration and The Great War (1916)
    A CRISIS has been reached in our immigration policy. The war has, for the moment, very largely reduced the flow of aliens to our shores. For the first time in many decades we have breathing space.
Testing Male Immigrants at Ellis Island.

US Faces Great Eugenic Problem - 1917

There is widespread anxiety concerning the "dumping" of cheap European goods on our markets after the war is over. Of infinitely greater importance is the "dumping" of cheap European labor upon our shores after the war is over.

 

  • America In The Making (1919)
    For two years or more, a lively press and a listless people were discrepant features of the United States. They were also the subject of puzzled comment on this side. The New York Herald, the Sun, Tribune, and Evening Post expressed themselves impeccably throughout, and with due wrath against German methods. Yet the American masses were but faintly moved.
  • Important Facts Regarding Recent Immigration
    Under the new immigration law, which went into effect on June 3, 1921, only 77,106 immigrants will be allowed to enter the United States in the next year. The law limits the number to percent of the total of each foreign nationality in the United States in 1910.
Three Young Highlander Immigrants at Ellis Island.

The Menace of The Immigrant Tide - 1920

Frederick A. Wallis, Commissioner of Immigration for the Port of New York, in his first signed story, tells of the great danger in the millions headed for the United States and discusses remedies.

Immigration War-Time Factors Image Library

Books, brochures, articles, and other ephemera provided photographs and Illustrations of the conditions and experiences of immigrants who chose to enter the United States during World War I. Students and Family Historians are welcome to use these photographs to illustrate your reports and family histories.

 

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