The Chinese also decreased in number, as might be expected from
the policy of exclusion; in 1910 there were 71,531 and in 1920
61,686. The number of Japanese, however, increased from 72,157
to 111,025, or 53.86 per cent. About 30,000 of this increase is credited
to California and a little over 4,000 to the state of Washington.
Foreign-born.—The foreign-born white pop., owing to the check in immigration resulting from the World War, increased but slightly, from 13,345,545 to 13,712,754, or 2.7% between 1910 and 1920, as against an increase of 30.7% between 1900 and 1910. The numerical increase in this group of the pop., 367,209, was much smaller than in any preceding decade since 1850. This element increased between 1910 and 1920 in 20 states and the District of Columbia, and decreased in 28 states: in the previous decade there was a gain in every state except five. Arizona and Texas showed the largest rate of increase, 67% and 50% respectively, due to Mexican immigration. Table 1 shows the foreign-born whites for the four states having over 1,000,000 of this element in 1920. In 1910 the foreign-born whites constituted 14.5% of the total pop. of the United States and in 1920, 13 per cent. The nativity of the white pop. in 1920 is shown in Table 2. Little over one-half of the total white pop., 55.3%, was native-born with native-born parents. In New England only 30.8% were in this group; and in Massachusetts less than one-third, 31.9%. According to the post-war map, the countries from which had come the largest numbers of foreign-born whites who were in the United States in 1920, were Germany, 1,686,102; Italy, 1,610,109; Russia, 1,400,489; Poland, 1,139,978; Canada, 1,117,878; Ireland, 1,037,233; England, 812,828; Sweden, 625,580; Austria, 575,625.
Table 1. Foreign-born Whites.
State | 1920 | 1910 | 1900 | Per cent increase 1910-20 |
Per cent increase 1900-10 |
Illinois | 1,204,403 | 1,202,560 | 964,635 | 0.2 | 24.7 |
Massachusetts | 1,077,072 | 1,051,050 | 840,114 | 2.5 | 25.1 |
New York | 2,783,773 | 2,729,272 | 1,889,523 | 2.0 | 44.4 |
Pennsylvania | 1,387,298 | 1,438,719 | 982,543 | −3.6 | 46.4 |
Table 2. Nativity of Whites, 1920.
Number | Per cent | |
Native parentage | 58,421,957 | 55.3 |
Foreign parentage | 15,694,539 | 14.8 |
Mixed parentage | 6,991,665 | 6.6 |
Total native-born | 81,108,161 | 76.7 |
Foreign-born white | 13,712,754 | 13.0 |
Total white | 94,820,915 | 89.7 |
Negro | 10,463,131 | 9.9 |
Other non-white races | 426,574 | 0.4 |
Total pop. | 105,710,620 | 100.0 |
The following figures show the total number of foreign-born whites in certain states, with the foreign country which had furnished the largest number in that state: California, 681,662 (Italy, 88,502); Illinois, 1,204,403 (Germany, 205,491); Massachusetts, 1,077,534 (Ireland, 183,171); Michigan, 726,635 (Canada, 164,502); Minnesota, 486,164 (Sweden, 112,117); New Jersey, 738,613 (Italy, 157,285); New York, 2,786,112 (Italy 545,713); Ohio, 678,697 (Germany, 111,893); Pennsylvania, 1,387,850 (Italy, 222,764); Texas, 360,519 (Mexico, 249,652); Wisconsin, 460,128 (Germany, 151,250).
In connexion with the problems of Americanization the statistics of citizenship of the foreign-born whites are of interest. In 1920 12,498,334, or 94% of this element, were 21 years of age and over; 6,928,027 were men and 5,570,307 were women. Table 3 shows the number in 1920 naturalized, those who had taken out first papers, aliens and those for whom no reports were obtained.
Table 3. Naturalizations, 1920.
Men | Women | |||
Number | Per cent | Number | Per cent | |
Naturalized | 3,314,577 | 47.8 | 2,893,785 | 52.0 |
First papers | 1,116,698 | 16.1 | 77,558 | 1.4 |
Alien | 2,138,205 | 30.9 | 2,226,690 | 40.0 |
No reports. | 358,547 | 5.2 | 372,274 | 6.7 |
In 1910, 45.61% of the men were naturalized as compared with 47.8% in 1920, and only 8.6% had taken out first papers, as compared with 16.1% in 1920.
Statistics of immigration are often inaccurately used, no allowance being made for departures. Increasing facilities in ocean transportation, and the higher wages received by immigrants, enabling them to travel, led to a constant stream of departures in the decade 1910-20. In order to determine the net increase of pop. by immigration, it is necessary, therefore, to determine both arrivals and departures. Table 4 compiled by the Bureau of Immigration, shows the changes for the 11 years 1910-20.
Table 4. Immigrants, in thousands.
Admitted | Departed | ||||||
Immigrant | Non- immigrant |
Total | Emigrant | Non- emigrant |
Total | Added to pop. | |
1910 | 1,042 | 156 | 1,198 | 202 | 178 | 380 | 818 |
1911 | 878 | 152 | 1,030 | 296 | 222 | 518 | 512 |
1912 | 838 | 179 | 1,017 | 333 | 282 | 615 | 402 |
1913 | 1,198 | 229 | 1,427 | 308 | 304 | 612 | 815 |
1914 | 1,218 | 185 | l,403 | 303 | 330 | 634 | 769 |
1915 | 327 | 107 | 434 | 204 | 180 | 384 | 50 |
1916 | 299 | 68 | 367 | 130 | 111 | 241 | 126 |
1917 | 295 | 67 | 363 | 66 | 80 | 146 | 216 |
1918 | 111 | 101 | 212 | 94 | 99 | 193 | 19 |
1919 | 141 | 96 | 237 | 123 | 93 | 216 | 21 |
1920 | 430 | 192 | 622 | 288 | 140 | 428 | 194 |
Beginning with 1915 there was a marked decline in immigration, due to the World War. In the five years 1910-4, the total number of immigrants was 5,174,000, and in the succeeding five years ending in 1919, only 1,173,000.
Immigrants may be classified (1) as to race or people and (2) as to country of last residence. The first is of importance as an index of the contribution of ethnic traits and characteristics; and the second as throwing light upon previous training of immigrants in social and political institutions. Tables 5 and 6 show immigration by race and by countries, for a few of the most important groups, for the years 1910 and 1920.
Table 5. Immigrant Aliens, by Race.
Race or people | 1920 | 1910 | ||
Number | Per cent of total |
Number | Per cent of total | |
Croatian and Slovenian | 493 | — | 39,562 | 4 |
Dutch and Flemish | 12,730 | 3 | 13,012 | 1 |
English | 58,366 | 14 | 53,498 | 5 |
French | 27,390 | 6 | 21,107 | 2 |
German | 7,338 | 2 | 71,380 | 7 |
Greek | 13,998 | 3 | 39,135 | 4 |
Hebrew | 14,292 | 3 | 84,260 | 8 |
Irish | 20,784 | 4 | 38,382 | 4 |
Italian, North | 12,918 | 3 | 30,780 | 3 |
Italian, South | 88,882 | 21 | 192,673 | 19 |
Lithuanian | 422 | — | 22,714 | 2 |
Magyar | 252 | — | 27,302 | 3 |
Mexican | 51,042 | 12 | 17,760 | 2 |
Polish | 2,519 | — | 128,348 | 13 |
Portuguese | 15,174 | 4 | 7,657 | 7 |
Ruthenian | 258 | — | 27,907 | 3 |
Scandinavian | 16,621 | 4 | 52,037 | 5 |
Scotch | 21,180 | 5 | 24,612 | 2 |
Spanish | 23,594 | 5 | 5,837 | — |
Table 6. Immigrant Aliens, by Country.
1920 | 1910 | |||
Number | Per cent of total |
Number | Per cent of total | |
Austria | 268 | — | 135,793 | 13 |
Hungary | 84 | — | 122,944 | 12 |
Germany | 1,001 | — | 31,283 | 3 |
Greece | 11,981 | 3 | 25,888 | 2 |
Italy | 95,145 | 22 | 215,537 | 21 |
Russia | 995 | — | 186,792 | 18 |
England | 27,871 | 6 | 46,706 | 5 |
Ireland | 9,591 | 2 | 29,855 | 3 |
Norway | 4,445 | 1 | 17,538 | 2 |
Portugal | 15,472 | 4 | 8,229 | 1 |
Sweden | 5,862 | 1 | 23,745 | 2 |
Turkey in Europe | 1,933 | — | 18,405 | 2 |
Turkey in Asia | 5,033 | 1 | 15,212 | 1 |
British North America | 90,025 | 21 | 56,555 | 5 |
Mexico | 52,361 | 12 | 18,691 | 2 |
It will be observed that in 1920 there was a change in the racial composition of immigration as compared with 1910. The proportion of Italians was about the same, but immigration from eastern European stocks fell off. Immigration from Austria, Hungary, Germany and Russia practically stopped after 1917. Immigration from the northern border, of both English and French Canadians, and from the southern part of Mexico, had greatly increased. Until the World War, Europe was the chief source of immigration to the United States, furnishing 90% of the total. The percentage coming from Europe fell, however, to 60% in 1915, 50% in 1916, 45% in 1917, 28% in 1918 and 17% in 1919. In 1920 it rose to 57%. After the war the return movement to Europe increased, and in 1920 emigration to that continent was in excess of immigration from it. This excess was due to emigration to south-eastern Europe rather than to the northern and western sections. The proportion