THE FOREIGNER IN AMERICAN CIVILIZATION. 393 



preponderance until 1854, when they were surpassed by the Ger- 

 mans. The year 1847 marks the beginning of an important epoch 

 in the history of immigration; during this year the foreign arrivals 

 numbered 234,968, and in 1849 the number had risen to 297,024; 

 then it advanced with startling rapidity to 460,474 in 1854, and in 

 the following year fell off just one half. This movement was in- 

 duced by three causes: the Irish famine, commercial depression in 

 Germany, and the discovery of gold in California. That this was 

 in part a " boom movement," and that many of the immigrants 

 returned to their homes nourishing disappointed hopes, can not be 

 doubted, yet, while a large number of these arrivals formed no per- 

 manent element in the American state, they served a purpose by 

 opening up the great region to the west of the Mississippi, a land at 

 that time almost unknown except to a few native American pioneers; 

 in fact, it becomes apparent that in every new and unexplored sec- 

 tion the native Americans constituted the advance guard of civiliza- 

 tion, leaving the foreigners to come in later, when the primeval 

 wilderness was but a tale of the past. During this period of a little 

 over six years there crossed the borders into this country over two 

 and a quarter millions of persons, at a time, too, when the entire 

 population did not exceed 23,200,000; and of these alien arrivals 

 fully eighty per cent were from Ireland and Germany. Twice have 

 the arrivals from Germany overbalanced those of all the English- 

 speaking people: once in 1867 to 1868, and again in 1881 to 1885. 

 Shortly after the middle of the century the arrivals from Ireland 

 and those from Great Britain approached an equality, and in the year 

 1868 the Scandinavian influx began. In the decade between 1880 

 and 1890 three new elements, the Russian, Austrian, and Italian, 

 also began to arrive in considerable numbers. Since the Revolution, 

 the English-speaking immigrants entering this country have pre- 

 ponderated over all others, having reached a total of 8,016,402,* f 

 almost half of whom were Irish; those from the United Kingdom 

 alone have numbered 6,964,815; f the arrivals from Germany have 

 been 5,003,490; f from Scandinavia, 1,192,131; f from Russia, 

 749,039; f from Austria, 821,663; f and from Italy, 818,011.f 

 But while the movement from the latter countries is increasing, that 

 from' those first mentioned shows signs of diminution. From China 

 over 300,000 persons have arrived, and from France, 388,000, but 



* Since July 1, 1885, no record has been kept of immigrants from British North 

 America. 



f These returns are corrected to September 30, 189*7. The figures include all alien 

 passengers to December 31, 18G7, and immigrants only from that time to the first-men- 

 tioned date. Prior to 1820 no records were kept of the immigrant arrivals, and my esti- 

 mate can be only approximately correct. 



