Migration + Settlement Thematic Timeline by ADIA ADKINS

1500's-1800's

aadkins0015 — 2025-04-29 17:33:37 UTC

Middle Passage

aadkins0015 — 2025-04-29 17:33:37 UTC

It was a transatlantic system where European ships carried goods to Africa, traded for enslaved Africans, who were then transported across the Atlantic to the Americas.

1840s-50s

aadkins0015 — 2025-04-29 17:33:37 UTC

"Old" Immigration

aadkins0015 — 2025-04-29 17:33:37 UTC

The first big wave of immigrants to come to the U.S. Predominantly came from northwestern Europe, including Ireland, Germany, and Great Britain. Often Protestant and literate, faced discrimination and prejudice, but also contributed significantly to the nation's cultural and economic landscape.

1862

aadkins0015 — 2025-04-29 17:33:37 UTC

Homestead Act

aadkins0015 — 2025-04-29 17:33:37 UTC

Signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln it granted 160 acres of public land to individuals who resided and cultivated it for five years. Promoted westward expansion and provided land ownership opportunities for many, including farmers, immigrants, and African Americans.

1910-1940

aadkins0015 — 2025-04-29 17:33:37 UTC

Great Migration

aadkins0015 — 2025-04-29 17:33:37 UTC

The African American population had moved from the South to the North, looking for better opportunities. Their movement to the North brought an influence to the arts which caused a movement, the Harlem Renaissance.

1930's

aadkins0015 — 2025-04-29 17:33:37 UTC

Mexican Repatriation

aadkins0015 — 2025-04-29 17:33:37 UTC

Mexican Americans had suffered through discrimination, especially through the New Deal programs. The competition for jobs forced thousands of Mexican Americans to return to Mexico.

1940's-50's

jherrerai0001 — 2025-04-29 17:47:35 UTC

"White Flight"

jherrerai0001 — 2025-04-29 17:47:45 UTC

Large scale migration by whites from city neighborhoods to the suburbs. This phenomenon was fueled by several factors, including post-war suburban housing booms, the rise of the automobile, and fear of races mixing.

1942-1964

aadkins0015 — 2025-04-29 17:49:16 UTC

Bracero Program

aadkins0015 — 2025-04-29 17:49:27 UTC

An agreement between the U.S. and the Mexican government that allowed Mexican citizens to take temporary agricultural work in America. The main purpose was to fill agricultural labor shortages in the U.S. during and after WW2.

1950's-1980's

aadkins0015 — 2025-04-29 17:50:09 UTC

Sunbelt Migration

aadkins0015 — 2025-04-29 17:50:34 UTC

Millions of Americans had begun to move for better climate, lower taxes, and economic opportunities in defense related industries. Many GI's (former member of U.S armed force) had been attracted to these states that went from California all the way to Florida.

1965

aadkins0015 — 2025-04-29 17:51:06 UTC

Immigration Act

jherrerai0001 — 2025-04-29 17:51:29 UTC

Ended ethnic quota acts of the 1920s, favoring Europeans and opened the United States to immigrants from all parts of the world.

1942

jherrerai0001 — 2025-04-29 18:00:50 UTC

Japanese immigrants had been removed from the U.S. government and had been sent to military zones. In which they contained long-term camps that had harsh conditions and no medical care.

Atlantic Slave Trade 1600's-1900's

aadkins0015 — 2025-05-01 17:49:07 UTC

A harsh system where millions of Africans were forcibly transported across the Atlantic to the Americas, primarily to work on plantations.

Annexation of Hawaii

jherrerai0001 — 2025-05-01 17:50:37 UTC

Hawaii was a sovereign Kingdom of Hawaii from 1795 to 1893. Native Hawaiian monarchs, including the Kamehameha dynasty, ruled the islands. The monarchy was overthrown by American and European businessmen in 1893, leading to Hawaii's annexation by the U.S. in 1898.

Headright System

jherrerai0001 — 2025-05-01 17:56:47 UTC

Virginia had attempted to attract immigrants through land offers of 50 acres of land. But only to the immigrants who paid for their own passage or their owner who paid for their passage.

Irish Immigration (1820s-1840s)

gmirandat0001 — 2025-05-01 17:57:15 UTC

90% of immigrants came from Ireland, England, and Germany. The largest of them were the Irish immigrants. About 60k immigrated in the 1830s and increasingly grew to 235k in the 1840s. Due to the potato famine in Ireland, the number of Irish immigrants increased to 845,000.