CHAPTER IV — AND STILL THEY COME
1924 — Present: The Ongoing Story of American Immigration
The ongoing final chapter of this story takes us from 1924 through today as the Museum portrays the changes that mark the dynamic rich mixture that we label ’American’ continues to evolve.
While immigration slowed to a trickle after 1924 until the end of World War II, America became the home for refugees from Europe, including Holocaust survivors. During the period, from 1941 to 1987, the U.S. accepted 4.4 million immigrants from Europe, 4.3 million from Asia, 5.5 million from Latin America and the Caribbean, including Mexico.
The Great Depression cut deeply into immigration, and there was even a net emigration from the U.S. during the deepest four years of the Depression. In the post-War years, immigration from Mexico and Puerto Rico became major parts of this story. From 1948 through 1980, some 2.3 million persons were admitted to the U.S. as humanitarian and political refugees, including about 450,000 persons displaced after World War II from 1948 through 1952; 692,000 Cubans from 1962-79; and about 400,000 Vietnamese, Cambodians and Laotians from 1975 -79.
During recent years, dominant immigrant groups have included Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos, Koreans, Indians from India, and Vietnamese. Others have included Caribbeans, Central Americans, Soviet Jews, Dominicans, Haitians, and Africans. Over the last few decades, one of the biggest national stories has been the steady flow of immigrants, both documented and undocumented, from Mexico. This compelling story is still writing itself.
NOTE: The material herein is based largely on two books that tell part of this story, 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann, and Coming to America: A History of Immigration and Ethnicity in American Life by Roger Daniels. Ideas and material from both authors are presented here to give readers a sense of the story. An outline of the story would be developed by the Commission and leading scholars would be expected to develop a detailed outline of the Museum’s story following the establishment of the Museum.
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