The Drift of Population to the Cities.—The distribution of the people has also been influenced by the growth of large cities. In 1790 there were only five communities with populations exceeding 8000, namely New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, and Charleston. Taken altogether they had only 130,000 inhabitants, that is to say only one person in every thirty lived in these towns. But so rapidly did the various towns and cities spring up all over the country that by the time of the Civil War there were nearly 150 with populations above 8000, and today there are nearly a thousand. Not a single American city had 70,000 population in 1790; today there are more than a hundred such cities.
The chief causes of city growth.
This remarkable drift of population into the towns and cities, which began early in the nineteenth century and has continued ever since, shows no signs of slackening. It is due to many causes, including the great demand for industrial labor in the cities, the attractiveness of city life to the young men and women of the country districts (see p. [351]), and the tendency of the immigrants to locate in the crowded centers. Wherever industry and commerce thrive, there cities will be built and will grow. Half the population of the United States is now living in towns and cities of over 2500 population. If the drift to the cities continues at its present rate of progress, ninety per cent of the people will be living in the cities and towns by 1980 and only ten per cent in the country districts. That is already the case in England.[[10]] One Englishman in every seven lives in London. That seems to be a very striking fact until we remember that one American in every ten lives in New York, Chicago, or Philadelphia. New York City has nearly six millions now; in fifty years, at its present rate of growth, it will be an urban giant of fifteen millions or more.
Why most immigrants go to the cities.
Why do the immigrants go to the cities rather than to the country districts? The chief reason is that most immigrants come to the United States to find work, and work is most easily found in the large cities. The great majority of immigrants have learned no trade before they come to America, hence they must seek jobs which require no great amount of skill or training. Another reason is that the immigrants want to be near others who speak their own language. In every large city these foreign colonies or settlements are created—Italian, Polish, Jewish, and so on. The newcomer naturally prefers to live in one of these colonies until he learns the English language, but having become accustomed to the city he rarely leaves it. Among the many millions of immigrants who have come to America during the past fifty years the great majority have gone to the cities, particularly to the large cities. New York City, for example, contains today more than two million people who were not born in this country. Nevertheless, the cities have not been built up by the immigrant alone. Large numbers of native Americans have left the rural districts and have helped to swell the population of the urban centers.
The Ebb and Flow of Immigration.—The United States has been the melting-pot of the nations. No other country has ever welcomed to its shores so many millions of people from all parts of the earth. One hundred years ago there were relatively few foreign-born persons in the country. But waves of immigration soon began to come and the number of incoming aliens, which was less than ten thousand in 1790, rose to more than four hundred thousand in some of the years preceding the Civil War. The immigrants during this period were for the most part from England, Ireland, and Germany. During the Civil War the influx subsided, but when the war was over it quickly began to swell once more and it continued, with various ups and downs, to the outbreak of the World War in 1914.
Where the immigrants have come from.
In some years, during this period since 1865 the number of immigrants has been as low as 200,000; in other years it has run above a million. Nearly every European race has been represented in this influx, although some have come in much larger numbers than others. Down to about 1880 most of the newcomers were from Ireland, England, Scotland, Germany, the Scandinavian countries, and the other regions of Northern Europe. But since that date the source of immigration has been steadily shifting. During the past forty years a much larger proportion has been coming from Italy, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Greece, and some of the smaller countries.[[11]] This has brought in many millions of people who are not of Celtic or Teutonic stock.
Effects of the war on immigration.
Upon the outbreak of the great European conflict in 1914 the flow of immigration subsided quickly and while the war lasted it practically ceased altogether. This was due in part to the reluctance of European countries to let their people leave, and in part due to the lack of shipping, since all available vessels were engaged in carrying troops, munitions, and supplies. Immediately after the close of hostilities, however, the exodus from Europe recommenced, and in the year 1920 the figures of immigration once more rose into the hundreds of thousands. In spite of the strict regulations imposed by the United States government, enormous numbers of people in Poland, Italy, Hungary, and various other countries began applying for permission to migrate. The American consular offices in Europe were besieged by long lines of people waiting all day for passports to the Promised Land. In the face of this threatened flood Congress felt impelled to place all immigration under strict limitation, as will be explained a few paragraphs later.