The Contribution of Immigration to United States Population Growth: 1790–1970

There is currently widespread interest in the size and rate of increase of the United States population and in the demographic requirements for achieving zero population growth. This interest has focused attention on the implications of current immigration trends for growth. Surprisingly no attempt has been made to estimate the contribution of immigration to the growth of the United States population up to the present time. The primary purpose of this paper is to present such estimates for the 180-year period covered by the decennial censuses of population (1790-1970) and for all intercensal segments of this span which range in length from one decade to 170 years. Given deficiencies in the pertinent demographic data as well as methodological limitations these estimates of course are subject to error. The secondary purpose of this paper is to indicate the relevance of these findings to the contribution of future immigration to United States population growth. (excerpt)