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.S.laborforce.98 Who Were the Immigrants? 99table 5.1.Age and Gender of the Immigrants, 1820 1860Percent Percent Under Percent Percent Age 45Years Male Age 14 Age 14 44 and Older1820 1826 75 9 78 131827 1831 68 26 64 101832 1835 66 27 63 101836 1845 61 22 68 101846 1854 59 23 67 101855 1860 57 19 71 10Source: Calculated from Carter et al., Historical Statistics, Series Ad222 Ad230.Information on Age and GenderData on the gender and age of the total immigrant stream are avail-able from the Passenger Lists for the 1820 60 period (Table 5.1).Themale proportion always exceeded half.Because males were the primaryworkers, and immigration was designed to increase one s income, thelarge presence of males is not surprising.The percentage male, however,declined consistently, from 75 percent in the early 1820s to less than60 percent after 1845.Presumably, this fall reflects an increasing familyorientation to immigration over the antebellum period.More familieswere able to immigrate together because of the decline in fares, or in achain-migration fashion as remittances became more important, factorspreviously discussed in Chapter 3.The change may also reflect in partthe increasing presence of Irish immigrants in the total, as females were amore important component of Irish immigration than for other countries.The data in Table 5.1 also show an interesting change in the agestructure of the immigrant stream beginning in the mid-1820s.Duringthe first part of the decade, few children immigrated.Given the high faresprevailing at the time, the lack of children in the immigrant stream is notsurprising.3 As fares declined, children generally constituted 20 to 25 per-cent of the immigrant stream.The rapid population growth occurring inEurope, however, meant that more than 25 percent of the population wereless than fourteen years old.Thus, children were less likely to immigratethan adults, a result that again is a reasonable expectation of immigration3The percentage under age fourteen is extremely small for the years 1821 through 1824(1% or less of each year s total), so one has to wonder if another reason for the lowpercentage is sloppy recordkeeping. 100 Mass Migration Under Sailbeing driven by economic factors: children would not immediately earna higher income in the United States.During all periods, well over halfof the immigrant stream was composed of adults between the ages offourteen and forty-four.4 These individuals were the ones most likelyto benefit from immigrating, because their relative youth meant theyhad more years in which to earn higher wages in the United States.Inturn, older workers were much less likely to leave Europe, because theirpotential gains were much smaller.These data on gender and age indicate a change in the composition ofthe immigrant stream beginning in the latter part of the 1820s.During thefirst few years in which comprehensive records were kept, working-agemales predominated.After 1826, although the male percentage continuedto decline, little additional change occurred in the age structure of theimmigrant stream.Overall, the changes that occurred are consistent withthe discussion in Chapter 3: economic considerations were paramountin the immigration decision, fares declined throughout the 1820s, andremittances became a more important means of funding immigration.Data on Occupations and Their UseThe data on the occupations of the arriving immigrants are more con-troversial and the remainder of this chapter is devoted to this discussion.Researchers have taken information on immigrant occupations from avariety of passenger manifests.During the colonial and early nationalperiods, surviving manifests are not abundant.A sufficient number existto provide estimates for Germany and Britain, but not for Ireland.After1820, the Passenger Lists can be used because, as discussed in Chapter 2,these included a column to record the occupation of every immigrant [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.S.laborforce.98 Who Were the Immigrants? 99table 5.1.Age and Gender of the Immigrants, 1820 1860Percent Percent Under Percent Percent Age 45Years Male Age 14 Age 14 44 and Older1820 1826 75 9 78 131827 1831 68 26 64 101832 1835 66 27 63 101836 1845 61 22 68 101846 1854 59 23 67 101855 1860 57 19 71 10Source: Calculated from Carter et al., Historical Statistics, Series Ad222 Ad230.Information on Age and GenderData on the gender and age of the total immigrant stream are avail-able from the Passenger Lists for the 1820 60 period (Table 5.1).Themale proportion always exceeded half.Because males were the primaryworkers, and immigration was designed to increase one s income, thelarge presence of males is not surprising.The percentage male, however,declined consistently, from 75 percent in the early 1820s to less than60 percent after 1845.Presumably, this fall reflects an increasing familyorientation to immigration over the antebellum period.More familieswere able to immigrate together because of the decline in fares, or in achain-migration fashion as remittances became more important, factorspreviously discussed in Chapter 3.The change may also reflect in partthe increasing presence of Irish immigrants in the total, as females were amore important component of Irish immigration than for other countries.The data in Table 5.1 also show an interesting change in the agestructure of the immigrant stream beginning in the mid-1820s.Duringthe first part of the decade, few children immigrated.Given the high faresprevailing at the time, the lack of children in the immigrant stream is notsurprising.3 As fares declined, children generally constituted 20 to 25 per-cent of the immigrant stream.The rapid population growth occurring inEurope, however, meant that more than 25 percent of the population wereless than fourteen years old.Thus, children were less likely to immigratethan adults, a result that again is a reasonable expectation of immigration3The percentage under age fourteen is extremely small for the years 1821 through 1824(1% or less of each year s total), so one has to wonder if another reason for the lowpercentage is sloppy recordkeeping. 100 Mass Migration Under Sailbeing driven by economic factors: children would not immediately earna higher income in the United States.During all periods, well over halfof the immigrant stream was composed of adults between the ages offourteen and forty-four.4 These individuals were the ones most likelyto benefit from immigrating, because their relative youth meant theyhad more years in which to earn higher wages in the United States.Inturn, older workers were much less likely to leave Europe, because theirpotential gains were much smaller.These data on gender and age indicate a change in the composition ofthe immigrant stream beginning in the latter part of the 1820s.During thefirst few years in which comprehensive records were kept, working-agemales predominated.After 1826, although the male percentage continuedto decline, little additional change occurred in the age structure of theimmigrant stream.Overall, the changes that occurred are consistent withthe discussion in Chapter 3: economic considerations were paramountin the immigration decision, fares declined throughout the 1820s, andremittances became a more important means of funding immigration.Data on Occupations and Their UseThe data on the occupations of the arriving immigrants are more con-troversial and the remainder of this chapter is devoted to this discussion.Researchers have taken information on immigrant occupations from avariety of passenger manifests.During the colonial and early nationalperiods, surviving manifests are not abundant.A sufficient number existto provide estimates for Germany and Britain, but not for Ireland.After1820, the Passenger Lists can be used because, as discussed in Chapter 2,these included a column to record the occupation of every immigrant [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]