Ethnic Groups Immigrating to North America During the Early United States (1780s–1820s)

In the formative decades of the United States (roughly 1783–1820), immigration was modest compared to later waves but laid the demographic foundation. The majority came from Northwestern Europe, with distinct regional patterns:

Primary Source Regions

1. The British Isles (Dominant)

• English: Continued as the largest single group, settling across all regions.
• Scots-Irish (Ulster Scots): Presbyterian migrants from northern Ireland. The largest non-English group. Pushed into the Appalachian backcountry (Pennsylvania, Virginia, Carolinas, Kentucky, Tennessee), shaping frontier culture.
• Scottish (Highlanders): Smaller numbers, often post-Culloden (1746) or Clearances refugees. Settled in North Carolina (Cape Fear), New York, and later Canada.
• Irish (Catholic): Pre-Famine trickle. Mostly skilled artisans, merchants, or indentured servants in port cities (Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore).

2. German States (Largest Non-British Group)

• Palatines, Hessians, Rhinelanders, Swabians: Driven by war, taxation, and land scarcity. Settled heavily in Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Dutch country), Maryland, Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, and the Carolinas. Brought distinct farming practices, language, and sectarian diversity (Lutheran, Reformed, Mennonite, Amish, Moravian).

3. The Low Countries

• Dutch: Legacy of New Netherland; continued trickle of merchants, artisans, and farmers to New York, New Jersey.
• Flemish / Walloon: Small numbers, often absorbed into Dutch or French communities.

4. France

• Huguenots: Earlier (late 1600s) refugees; established in NY, SC, VA.
• Royalists / Clergy: Fleeing the French Revolution (1790s). Settled in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and frontier towns (e.g., Gallipolis, OH; French Azilum, PA).
• Acadians (Cajuns): Expelled from Nova Scotia (1755); many resettled in Louisiana (Spanish territory then) but some drifted to northern ports.

5. Southern Europe (Minor but Notable)

• Spanish: Primarily in Florida, Louisiana, and the Southwest (already under Spanish/Mexican rule). Some merchants in New Orleans, New York.
• Italians: Very few. Mostly skilled artisans (glassmakers, musicians, merchants) in port cities. Mass Italian immigration began post-1880.

6. Eastern Europe (Negligible Pre-1820)

• Russians, Poles, Czechs: Virtually absent as voluntary immigrants. A handful of Polish nobles (e.g., Kosciuszko, Pulaski) came as Revolution volunteers. Russian fur traders operated in Alaska (Russian America), not the U.S. proper. Significant Eastern European immigration began 1880s+.

7. Africans (Forced Migration)

The transatlantic slave trade continued legally until 1808. Enslaved Africans (primarily from West/Central Africa: Senegambia, Gold Coast, Bight of Benin, Bight of Biafra, West Central Africa) were the largest single coerced "immigrant" group, essential to the plantation economies of the South.

Key Context

• Total immigration 1790–1820: ~250,000–300,000 (vs. 30M+ 1820–1920).
• Natural increase (high birth rates) drove most population growth.
• Immigration was largely unrestricted until the 1875 Page Act / 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.