Migration from Northwestern Europe to the US 1820-1957

Over 13 million people legally migrated from Northern and Western Europe to the United States between 1820 and 19257. The majority of these migrants came from the British Isles, with over 4.6 million migrants coming from the island of Ireland, and over 4.5 million from Great Britain. After this there were just under 2.5 million immigrants from Scandinavia, and almost 1.5 million from the rest of Northwest Europe. The period with the highest levels of migration from Northwest Europe to the US was in the 1880s, as the Long Depression, increased industrialization and harsh winters continued to weaken Europe's agricultural sector, prompting many (mostly young men and their families) to migrate to the US in search of economic opportunities there. The period around 1850 also saw increased migration from Northwest Europe to the US, however the majority of this was due to the Great Famine in Ireland, which caused the death of over one million people due to starvation or famine-related illnesses, while another one million people migrated abroad to escape the hardships brought by the famine. The early 1930s saw the period with the lowest levels of emigration from Europe to the US, as the Great Depression made it difficult and impractical to migrate to the United States.

自1820年至1925年，超过1300万人从北欧和西欧合法移民至美国。其中，大部分移民来自不列颠群岛，超过460万人来自爱尔兰岛，另有450万人来自大不列颠。紧随其后的是来自斯堪的纳维亚半岛的近250万移民，以及来自西北欧其他地区的约150万移民。19世纪80年代是西北欧移民至美国的最高峰时期，当时长期的经济衰退、工业化的加速以及严寒的冬季持续削弱了欧洲的农业部门，迫使众多（主要是年轻男子及其家庭）迁徙至美国以寻求经济机遇。1850年左右，西北欧移民至美国的数量也有所增加，但这一现象的主要原因是爱尔兰大饥荒，导致超过100万人因饥饿或与饥荒相关的疾病而死亡，另有100万人移民海外以逃离饥荒带来的苦难。20世纪30年代初，随着大萧条的影响，欧洲移民至美国的数量降至最低，迁移至美国变得困难且不切实际。