Migration from Africa to the US 1820-1957

Historical migration from Africa to the United States is a delicate and complex issue. Although African-Americans make up more than one eighth of the current US population, the majority of their ancestors would most likely trace back to chattel slavery, which was prevalent throughout the Americas from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. Although the slave trade was abolished in the US in 1808, illegal smuggling continued for years after (particularly from the Caribbean, as it was not abolished throughout the British Empire until 1833), and the practice of slavery continued until 1865. Another noteworthy point to remember is that the term "African-American" is generally applied to those with Sub-Saharan roots, and not to those from the predominantly Arabic, North Africa.
The data shown here applies only to free, documented migrants from the continent of Africa to the United States, between 1820 and 1957. In the nineteenth century, migration from Africa to the US was very low, and it was rare that more than one hundred migrants arrived in the US in any given year. Migration did increase in the first half of the twentieth century, however it was still the lowest out of all continents, including Oceania, which had a much lower overall population than Africa.