Miller Center  American President  A Reference Resource  The
American Franchise  The nation's population had leaped from 76
million people in 1900 to 92 million people in 1910—a 21 percent
increase. Nearly 9 million immigrants were included in that
population surge, the largest number of newcomers in any decade
of the nation's history. Almost 60 percent of these immigrants
came from Italy, Russia, and the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. They
were poorer and less well educated than earlier arrivals from
northern and western Europe. Their religious traditions clashed
with America's dominant Protestantism. Most of the new
immigrants settled in cities, which explains partly the shift in
the rural/urban ratio in the nation. By 1920, more Americans
lived in urban places than in rural areas.  Changes in the
Political Scene  When William Howard Taft entered the White
House in 1909, 65.4 percent of the eligible voters in the nation
had voted. In 1912, the ratio of voter participation had dropped
to 58.8 percent—a continuat