How did many Irish and German immigrants in the early 1800s contribute to the development of the United States

Very few Irish immigrants entered the U. S. in the early 1800s. According to Harvard University, in the 1820-1830 period, only around 50,000 Irish immigrated. However, they still made an impact in American culture, spreading catholicism in the North, and even the South, and influencing American Folk Music.

German American immigration to the U. S. began with Jamestown, and by the early 1800s, there was already a sizeable German American community in the U. S., especially in Pennsylvania. The current Menonite and Amish communities in Pennsylvania are direct descendants of those early German settlers.

According to the Yearbook of Immigration Statistics, from 1820 to 1840, over 100,000 Germans immigrated to the U. S. They began to settle in the midwest, and a large part of them became farmers.

Both Irish and German immigration would explode from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s.