The North: Immigration: Irish, Germans, Nativists (jan 1, 1820 – jan 1, 1855)

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In 1820, around 8,000 immigrants came from Europe to the United States however, in 1832, the United States saw an increase of immigrants from 8,000 to 50,000 and then again, another massive increase in 1854 where it reached as high as 428,000 in a single year. During this time period, half of the immigrants were Irish (almost 2 million) that were driven to America because of the failure of the Potatoe crop and a great famine and faced strong discrimination because they were Roman Catholic religion. Many Irish entered politics joining the Democratic party usually because of their strong feelings disliking the British. Another European group that came to the United States were the Germans (more than 1 million) and migrated west ward population rural areas and looked to buy cheap land out west. They had considerable skills as farmers and artisans. When they got into politics, they supported public education of freedom of slaves. People concerned by the massive influx in immigrants were known as Nativists. These were Protestants who distrusted Roman Catholics which was practiced by the Irish and most Germans. Opposition to the immigrants sparked big riots in big cities and the organization of antiforeign society.

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