Many settled in New York City, where the population increased from 200,000 residents in 1830 to 515,000 in 1850. By 1860, New York was home to over one million residents. More than half of the city's population at that time were immigrants and their American-born children. To use the Flash version, mouse over dates to move the timeline. Mouse over images to learn more about them.
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After the Civil War, America's growing industrial economy required the addition of many more workers, and this need was filled once again by immigrants arriving from Europe. Approximately 25 million arrived between 1866 and 1915. While earlier immigrants had come mainly from northern European countries such as England, Germany, and the Scandinavian countries, by the 1880s most new immigrants were arriving from southern and eastern European countries such as Italy, Poland and Russia. Like their Irish predecessors, most of these new arrivals were poor and uneducated. Many were peasants from rural regions who were being pushed out by Europe's industrial revolution.