Immigration Act Of 1924 example essay topic

The immigration act of 1924 was really the first permanent limitation on immigration. This limitation was like a quota system that only aloud two percent instead of the three percent of each foreign born group living in the United states in 1890. Like it say in Document A "Under the act of 1924 the number of each nationality who may be admitted annually is limited to two per cent of the population of such nationality resident in the United States according to the census of 1890". Using the 1890 census instead of newer up-to-date ones they excluded a lot of new immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe that came by in resent years (This is shown awfully well in Document B). This acts annual quota changed from 358,000 in 1921 to 164,000 in 1924 and finally changed to 154,000. Their was a couple of reasons that the United States made this an act; people were prejudice such as the, and Americans lost jobs to new coming immigrants.

People also felt that they had a sufficient population and wanted to breed pure Americans. What Senator Ellison D. Smith was talking about when he said "I think we now have sufficient population in out country for us to shut the door and to breed up a pure, unadulterated American citizenship... thank God we have in America perhaps the largest percentage of any country in the world of pure unadulterated Anglo-Saxon stock... greatest of any nation" (Document I). He was really talking about how he thinks that if so called real Americans breed with other races it will make for a total terrible race of people. He says that Americans are a Great Race, which is so narrow-minded that you would think that we are so much better than other races. He also talks about how we should just close the doors and were fine the way we are but of course during WW I and II, the United States recruited thousands of temporary workers from Mexico to harvest the crops. We had labor short farms and we needed other countries to come help us with workers.

Their was also considerable amount of pressure from such groups as the and other white groups. These were the most prejudice people that were in America at the time. Document J shows says it the best when Hiram W. Evans said "we of the Klan admit that we are intolerant and narrow in a certain sense... We are intolerant of everything that strikes at the foundation of out race, our country, or our freedom or worship... We are prejudiced against any attempt to use the privileges and opportunities which aliens hold only through out generosity". He say that they should only have privileges because the white Americans give it to them and that is so wrong to ever say or even believe.

The really just feared the new immigrants that they would take power over the protestant white males. The other aspect is that the new immigrants were just walking all over American rule and not caring about laws and things. It states in Document F "We must rid our minds of the notion that America is some kind of world institution for the care of nuts; that Americans have no rights that her (America) guests are bound to respect; that her citizenship is open to anyone to accept or reject as his own whims and interests". He talks about how they want the immigrant to be Americanized and change and if they can't speak the language they shouldn't live here and things of that sort. Since part of the thrust of the 1924 law all immigrants now had to obtain a visa from an American consul.

This also means that they select those best suited to American society; this system also permitted an initial screening of immigrants. Immigrants came to American to find jobs and a better life even though their wasn't even enough jobs for everyone. When immigrants got jobs over the Americans they got upset because the immigrants would work for less. This is shown in Document C "American workman is continually underbid in the labor market by vast numbers of alien laborers" In 1929 a change happened to the quota system; now the quota system based on national origin went into effect.

In the 1930's immigration to the United Stated decreased because of a worldwide economic depression. So at that time much of the quotas were not filled. At this time also people came to the United States to flee Germany because of the Nazis. Since American immigration policies failed, they couldn't distinguish between immigrants and refugees in the quota counts.