IMMIGRATION TERMS SHEET

Vocabulary flashcards covering key immigration terms, events, and policies from the provided lecture notes.

Jamestown

First permanent English colony in North America (1607) located in Virginia; founded under King James I; tobacco as a cash crop; leadership of John Smith; marked the beginning of sustained English settlement.

Irish Potato Famine

Potato blight in Ireland (1845–1849) causing mass starvation and death; triggered large-scale Irish immigration to the United States.

Chinese Exclusion Act

U.S. federal law (1882) banning Chinese labor immigration; first major nation-specific restriction; extended and deepened discrimination; repealed in 1943.

Mexican Repatriation

Policy in the 1930s encouraging or pressuring Mexican and Mexican-American residents to return to Mexico during the Great Depression.

Indentured Servants

Labor system where migrants worked for a set period in exchange for passage and basic needs; common in colonial times and often harsh or exploitative.

Nativism

Belief that native-born Americans are superior to immigrants, leading to anti-immigrant sentiment and policies.

Gentlemen’s Agreement

1907–1908 informal pact between the U.S. and Japan to limit Japanese emigration to the U.S.; in exchange, discriminatory policies in the U.S. were reduced.

Bracero Program

1942–1964 U.S.–Mexico guest worker program allowing Mexican laborers to fill temporary agricultural and other labor shortages; controversial for worker treatment.

Puritans

Religious group that settled in the Massachusetts Bay Colony (early 1600s) seeking to create a 'purer' church and society; more numerous than the Pilgrims.

Ellis Island

New York processing center (1892–1954) for European immigrants; inspections for health and legality; central to mass immigration processing.

Immigration Act of 1965

Also known as the Hart-Celler Act; ended national origins quotas; established hemispheric quotas and preferences for family reunification and skilled immigrants.

Angel Island

Immigration processing center in San Francisco Bay (1910–1940) primarily for Asian migrants; harsher inspections and longer detention compared to Ellis Island.

Middle Passage

The brutal Atlantic voyage of enslaved Africans to the Americas (roughly 6–8 weeks); brutal conditions with high death toll.

Immigration Reform Act of 1986

IRCA; granted legal status to certain long-term undocumented residents; required employer verification of workers; penalties for hiring undocumented workers.

Immigration Reform Act of 1990

Legislation that expanded visa categories, increased numbers, and introduced programs like the Diversity Visa Lottery; restructured immigration priorities.

Immigration Quota Act of 1924

National Origins Act; set numerical quotas by nationality, privileging Northern and Western European groups and restricting others; remained in effect until 1965.

Immigration Phase 1 (1607–1830s)

Early colonial immigration from Great Britain to North America; establishment of colonies like Jamestown and Massachusetts Bay; religious and economic motives.

Immigration Phase 2 (1840s–1870s)

Mass European immigration (Irish, Germans, etc.) driven by famine and economic hardship; rise of nativism and anti-immigrant sentiment; Know-Nothing Party emerges.

Immigration Phase 3 (1880s–1920s)

Mass Southern and Eastern European immigration; restrictive laws rise (1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, 1907–1908 Gentlemen’s Agreement, 1924 Quota Act).

Immigration Phase 4 (1930s–present)

Depression-era and post-1930s developments; earlier labor programs like Bracero; major policy shifts with 1965 Act, IRCA 1986, and 1990 Act.

Tenements

Crowded, often unsanitary urban housing for immigrants and working-class families; small spaces with poor sanitation.

Steerage

Lowest-cost ship confinement used by many immigrants; crowded, uncomfortable travel conditions on the way to the U.S.

Know-Nothing Party

Nativist political movement (1840s–1850s) advocating restrictions on immigration, particularly targeting Irish Catholics and other immigrant groups.