English+Immigration+to+America+in+the+1800s

In the 1800s around 2 million English immigrants came to America. The common factors that pushed the English to America were religious persecution and an exploding population. The only church in England during the 1800s was the Church of England, so other denominations of religion were persecuted. America was a beacon of religious freedom for the British so they came here. England had and was acquiring massive amounts of land and people, so the population was exploding. More people means more competition for jobs, so people who couldn’t get jobs left England. Some of them came to America. Common factors that pulled British immigrants to America were land and a fresh start. British farmers came here for land because it was plentiful and either cheap or free. British criminals and ne’er-do-wells came here for a fresh start because in England they couldn’t get jobs. Here they could farm on land that was free. During the 1800s the British settled mostly in New England, although some headed west in search of free land and opportunity. Many British immigrants came to New England but later went west in search of gold and opportunity. The British were seldom-unskilled laborers. Most often, the British were farmers or had a more skilled profession such as doctor, lawyer, or postmaster. The British found a lot of economic opportunity in the United States and took advantage of it.