Practice 8　　The United States has long been known as a “melting pot”, because many of its people are descended from settlers who came from all over the world to make their homes in the new land. The first immigrants in American history came from England and the Netherlands. Attracted by reports of great economic opportunities and religious and political freedom, immigrants from many other countries flocked to the United States in increasing numbers, reaching a peak in the years 1880—1914. Between 1820 and 1980 the United States admitted almost 50 million immigrants.　　Some 1,360,000 American Indians, descendants of North America's first inhabitants, now reside in the United States. Most live in the West, but many are in the south and north central areas. Of the more than 300 separate tribes, the largest is the Navaho in the Southwest.　　Black people were first brought to America from Africa as slaves. Their descendants now make up nearly 12 percent of the population. They once lived mainly in the agricultural South but now are scattered throughout the nation.