The influence of the "newer immigration" and its offspring is great enough to carry forward the United States population expansion a little longer, but all signs indicate that, assuming all immigration ceased, the numerical growth of the United States would come to a standstill at the end of two or three generations, probably at a figure not higher than 150,000,000 of population, and no more are needed.

All the greater is the need, then, that this stock should be sound in quality. A memorable step toward this goal was taken by the Federal Supreme Court in 1923, when it held that only white persons and persons of African descent are eligible to citizenship.

In 1790 Congress enacted the first naturalization statute, the terms of which confined its benefits to "free white citizens." The restriction remained in force until extended in 1870 by statute giving the right of citizenship to persons of African descent. At present, then, only Whites and Negroes are eligible for naturalization. Interpreting the statute of 1790, the Supreme Court held that the term "free white" must be understood in its common meaning as used by the framers, and could not include a Hindu (Sikh) or, in another case, a Japanese.

Meanwhile the immigration act of 1924 provides that "no alien ineligible to citizenship shall be admitted to the United States." The Supreme Court decisions in the cases mentioned mean that this law excludes all colored and Oriental races—all, in short, save "free Whites" and Negroes. Another safeguard is thus thrown around the American stock.

The three millions of Whites of 1790 have increased to 109 millions in 1930. Of this number, one-third are either foreign-born or the children of such. One wonders how many of the 109 millions are the undiluted descendants of Colonial stock. While mathematical exactitude cannot be expected in such calculations, the census experts have figured that about one-third of the population is of such ancestry.

There are many others who have one parent Colonial and the other going back perhaps to an immigrant of 1850. Such latter, these experts claim, is the equivalent of half of a Colonial descendant. Two of them together they count as equivalent to one Colonial descendant. By this device the experts calculated that the "numerical equivalent" of the Colonial stock amounts to nearly one-half of the entire white population.

The investigations necessary to put the National Origins provision into effect, and to defend it from partisan criticism, brought out the salient facts concerning the composition of the population today—again, of course, subject to such margin of error as is inevitable. The white population of 1920 was apportioned as follows:

England, Scotland, Wales, and North Ireland39,242,733
Germany 14,833,588
Irish Free State10,378,634
Poland[11] 3,626,692
Italy3,566,396
Russia2,108,283
Sweden2,024,434
France1,970,189
Netherlands1,835,959
Czechoslovakia1,623,438
Norway1,431,292
Austria976,248
Switzerland961,406
Belgium790,928
Denmark735,083
Hungary703,409
Yugoslavia440,518
Finland338,036
Lithuania293,100
Portugal272,104
Greece185,836
Rumania185,423
Spain181,658
Latvia144,844
Turkey138,389
Danzig81,522
All other quota countries262,216
Non-quota countries[12]5,488,757
—————
94,820,915