As early as the 1500’s there were already immigrants settling into what we know today as, America. The Spanish were also one of the earliest groups to migrate into America. They began establishing settlements in Florida, Texas, and California (“U.S. Immigration,” 2009). Over 200,000 Spanish immigrants came as the first big wave with the intention to expand …show more content…
The establishment of Jamestown in 1607 was the beginning of English immigration. After the settlement, England had sent over an estimate of 8,000 to 9,000 immigrants (Alchin, n.d.-a). One-way for immigrants to make their way to the New World (America) was through the Headright System. Those that paid their own way to the New World were granted with 50 acres once arriving (Alchin, n.d.-a). Within those years, the English also started to migrate in large numbers that included Africans as well. The first number of Africans was an estimate of 20, who were brought to Jamestown unwillingly. By 1690, estimates of 6,000 were in the colonies (Alchin, …show more content…
By 1790, the first immigration law was introduced. The Naturalization Act of 1790 introduced the concept of any immigrant being a white free person could apply to be a citizen of the United States, but only if they had lived in the U.S. the past two years. However, in 1795 it changed from two years to five years. (Glass, 2012). In 1790, America had a close population of four million and by the very end of the 1700’s it had increased to over five million people (“U.S. Population,”