<P> In the early years of the U.S. , immigration was only about 6,000 people a year on average , including French refugees from the slave revolt in Haiti . The French Revolution , starting in 1789 , and the Napoleonic Wars from 1792 to 1814 severely limited immigration from Europe . The War of 1812 ( 1812 -- 1814 ) with Britain again prevented any significant immigration . By 1808 Congress had banned the importation of slaves , slowing that human traffic to a trickle . </P>
at the time of american independence in 1789 the population of the u.s. was dominated by
French Revolution