The Immigration Act

When was the first Immigration act passed?

The Emergency Quota act was passed in 1921 by President Warren Harding, serving as the first ever major legal limitation in immigrant numbers across the US

What were the terms of the Emergency Quota act?

→ Limited the number of immigrants from each nationality, with each nationality annually being allowed 3% of its population in the US during the 1910s.

→ European immigrant numbers were barred at 357,000

→ It aimed to manage the ethnic composition of people within the US whilst favouring the Western and Northern Europeans

When was the second Immigration act passed?

The formal Immigration act was passed in 1924 by President Calvin Coolidge (also called the Johnson-Reed Act)

What were the terms of the Immigration Act of 1924?

→ The annual quota of immigrants of each nationality allowed in the US were capped at 2% of their presence in the US during the 1890s.

→ All immigrants from the Asian continents were barred from entering the US entirely

What did the Republicans aim to achieve through the Immigration Acts?

→ The republicans believed that it was their duty to protect the moral intergrity and progression of American from the lawless and unruly nature of communities they believed to be ‘second class’ which they viewed as threats to the system

→ Promote an ‘all-white community’

→ Limit the influence and presence of Japan/China/Southern and Eastern Europe to protect against conflicting ideologies

Why was the first Emergency Quota Act passed?

→ A senetor of Alabama produced a speech in 1921 highlighting the concerns of the American people towards their jobs and opportunities being hoarded by ‘untrustworthy’ and ‘fake’ citizens who they believed had no place in the country

→ The Act was passed to control outsider influence on the US and protect the lives of American citizens.

What were the impacts of the Immigration acts?

→ By the 1929, the annual immigration intake of the US had dropped to 150,000 people

→ By 1929 the percentage of Southern/ Eastern Europeans out of all immigrants had dropped to only 16% while the Northern and Western immigrants skyrocketed to 85%

→ The intake of Southern/Eastern Europeans, japanese and chinese immigrants had become almost zero by the 1930s

What is the ironic impression and effect of the Immigration Acts?

→ The stature of liberty and American dream offers a symbol of hope and refuge for the oppressed to find a life of their own, a chance for a new life

→ Yet the Immigration acts are basically supressing the hopes of the oppressed having the complete opposite effect than what was intended by the forefathers of the US. Oppressing ethnic minorities and only accepting the ‘white oppresed’