U.S. Census Office, Proportion of Whites of Foreign Parentage to Total Population (1903)

This choropleth map, included in the 1903 Statistical Atlas of the United States, uses data from the 1900 U.S. Census to show the proportion of each county’s population composed of White Americans born to immigrant parents. During the late nineteenth century, the United States experienced a significant increase in immigration as many people sought economic opportunity and new beginnings. This map reflects the regions in which White immigrants settled and raised families. Particularly high concentrations of White Americans born to immigrant parents appear in states such as North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Similar patterns are visible in Michigan, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The map’s exclusive focus on White Americans born to White immigrants reveals the racial biases of the era and reflects the widespread belief in White superiority that shaped Census categories, data collection practices, and social attitudes at the time.