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Abstract
The objective of the thesis is to examine the evidence for and extent of convergence in white ethnic fertility in the U.S. from 1890-1975.
Analysis of the foreign-born component of white ethnic completed fertility indicates convergence occurred at high fertility levels at the outset of the period, followed by divergence during declining fertility in the 1920's and 1930's, and reconvergence at lower levels in 1960 and 1970. Convergence is observed also for selected white ethnic groups betwen the 1940's and 1960's, with some evidence of divergence reappearing in the early 1970's. More detailed analyses indicate foreign-born fertility changes originated in declining urban foreign-born fertility. Marriage cohort and period analyses of characteristics underlying the later years of the transition indicate the contribution made by ethnic U.K. fertility, in particular, to the U.S. "baby boom."
In most groups, nationality background/ethnicity is less influential than religious or educational factors in affecting differential fertility. To a lesser extent, this is true also of occupational status. Of the factors considered, changes in Catholic fertility are the most influential in affecting the observed pattern of convergence in white ethnic fertility. Demographic factors, such as changes in age at marriage, have had little on foreign-born fertility declines. Also, lower foreign-born fertility relative to fertility in the country of origin, suggests factors endemic to the immigrant experience influence this component of white ethnic fertility.
