At the time when Columbus discovered America (0)

At the time when Columbus discovered America, there were about 10 million Native Americans. During the next 200 years , people from several European countries sailed across the Atlantic to settle the New World. Native Americans suffered from the hands of the new settlers .
A many educated people from Ireland, like teachers or doctors , left their country and came to America. They wrote letters to their families , where they said that America was full of new opportunities for everybody .
In the middle of the 19th century many British people started they journey to America from Liverpool . A great number of settlers were the Irish who left their country after the Irish Potato Famine on 1845-1849, when families lost their main food, the potato crop. 
During the journey, many people suffered from illnesses or died. When the boats arrived at Ellis island, new settlers often had to wait a medical examination. As many Irish immigrants were uneducated, the man worked at building bridges, canals and women became maids, cooks. Poor living conditions , lack of food and medical care led to illnesses and an early death.
The population of the USA is more than 300 million. The biggest national groups today are of German ,Irish and English descent. About 30 millions African Americans live in the USA.They are the descendants of Africans brought to America as slaves in the 17th century. For them the USA is a kind of melting pot , where they have become Americans. Others have kept their traditions and culture , so for them their new homeland is like a salad bowl. But perhaps it is better to say that the population of the United States is like a pizza , where we can see different bits and pieces , but together they make something much bigger.