As the United States commemorates its 250th anniversary, the IIR collaborated with the Immigrant Learning Center, the George Mason University CHSSWeb team, and the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, to create an interactive digital timeline featuring U.S. population data, key immigration policies, and notable immigrants who made lasting contributions to the United States.
The interactive timeline provides U.S. population data from 1770 to 1830 and detailed information including the number and percentage of immigrants living in the United States by decade from 1840 to 2024. Students, scholars, educators, and the public can examine how the demographic composition of immigrants living in the United States has changed over time, including shifts by world region and country of birth. In addition to data, the timeline will feature 83 key immigration policies and events starting with the Naturalization Act of 1790. Eighty notable immigrants who made lasting contributions across various sectors, along with 11 individual collections of songs, interviews, photographs, and music and dance performances from the American Folklife Center will be highlighted. By pairing data with personal narratives, this timeline brings to life the lived experiences behind the statistics.
To access the timeline, click here.