History Day

CHI: "Until the nineteenth century, the non-Native American population of Connecticut was largely English in its origins. Beginning in the early 1800s, industrial and agricultural opportunities began to bring immigrants from other areas of northern Europe as well as Canada; by 1860, the Irish were the predominant foreign-born group. This changed with the arrival of immigrants from eastern and southern Europe, who began arriving in large numbers by the end of the century—a development that continued into the early twentieth century. In the post-World War I years anti-immigrant sentiments grew throughout the nation, resulting in restrictive immigration laws that only began to be eased in the decades after World War II. The late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries have seen new infusions of immigrants to Connecticut from many regions of the world, including Latin America. The Immigration featured topic provides a sampling of items that reflect the various groups who arrived in Connecticut over the course of more than two centuries, the circumstances they confronted, and ways in which they adapted to their new lives. To find more resources on immigration in Connecticut and any related topics, use the topic headings and other keywords within records to extend your searches--terms such as “naturalization,” “immigra*,” “foreign-born,” (enclosing phrases in quotes, and using an * to allow for singular, plural or other forms), and the names of individuals, groups, or organizations."

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Summary page at http://www.census.gov/library/publications/2002/dec/censr-3.html

.Connecticut History Illustrated (CHI): "In the first two centuries after the arrival of Europeans, in addition to those who remained of the original native American inhabitants, the Connecticut population was primarily composed of settlers of English origin and enslaved and free persons originally from Africa. Beginning in the early 1800s, industrial and agricultural opportunities brought new groups to the state. The first arrivals were from northern Europe, particularly Ireland, followed later in the century by southern and eastern Europeans. All of these developments resulted in dramatic demographic changes. Restrictive immigration laws, particularly in the post-World War I period, stemmed the flow of immigrants for a time, but internal migration of African Americans in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries further diversified the population, as did the post-World War II arrival of Puerto Ricans, and later infusions of immigrants from Latin America and the Middle East. The Cultural Diversity featured topic provides a sampling of items that reflect the rich ethnic and religious mix, as well as other sources of diversity, that characterizes the state’s population. To find more resources on cultural diversity in Connecticut and any related topics, use the topic headings and other keywords within records to extend your searches--terms such as “intercultural,” “immigra*,” “ethnic groups,” (enclosing phrases in quotes, and using an * to allow for singular, plural or other forms), and the names of individuals, groups, or organizations. Exploring the collections to which individual items belong can be another way to find more items of interest."