immigration 1917-1980

before WW1, what kind of policy did US operate to immigration? (how earlier immigration affected reactions to immigrants in 1920s)

'open door' policy

how many and what kind of acts were there to restrict the types of immigrants allowed into the country? (how earlier immigration affected reactions to immigrants in 1920s)

only 3 acts - from disabled to anyone who was chinese, and no restrictions were placed on yearly numbers of immigrants or where they came from

traditionally, how did US react to immigrants? (how earlier immigration affected reactions to immigrants in 1920s)

welcomed immigrants

for roughly 100 years after US broke away from british rule, an average of how many immigrants entered US every year? (how earlier immigration affected reactions to immigrants in 1920s)

170,000

how many immigrants arrived in the US in 1882 in comparison to 1907? (how earlier immigration affected reactions to immigrants in 1920s)

1882 - 650,000

1907 - 1.2 million

where did many immigrants come from? (how earlier immigration affected reactions to immigrants in 1920s)

increasingly from southern and eastern europe rather than europe, unlike earlier immigration

what % of immigrants were from southern and eastern europe in 1882 vs 1907? (how earlier immigration affected reactions to immigrants in 1920s)

1882 - 13%

1907 - 81%

not only were there more new immigrants, what could they not do? (how earlier immigration affected reactions to immigrants in 1920s)

integrate into a group of established US citizens with immigrants roots

where did vast majority of the new immigrants tend to live and work? (how earlier immigration affected reactions to immigrants in 1920s)

in the cities that were growing rapidly thanks to industrialisation

what did the dillingham commission investigate?

the impact of immigration on US from 1907 and made its report in 1911

what did the dillingham commission's report of 1911 state?

immigration was beginning to pose a serious threat to US society and culture

who did the dillingham commission distinguish between?

the 'old' immigrants from england, ireland and germany (seen as having adapted to life in US) and the far greater numbers of 'new' immigrants from southern and eastern europe (seen as racially inferior and not adapting)

what did the dillingham commission made no concession for?

the shorter span of time the new immigrants had to adapt

the findings of the dillingham commission were used to justify what?

immigration acts in the 1920s, including the emergency quota act of 1921 which set limits on the number of immigrants

describe the post-war isolationism (why legislate)

the government wanted less contact with the rest of the world and immigration was a controllable point of contact

what did the red scare of 1919-1920 lead to? (why legislate)

fears that many of these same immigrants might be communist, anarchist or worse

what was there a spike in? (why legislate)

unemployment

what were there a lot of in some cities? (why legislate)

riots which made people wonder who were behind those

the years immediately after the war had people in a swirl of hostility to who? (why legislate)

anyone who posed a threat to WASPs and their values:

- anarchists

- black people

- catholics

- communists

- immigrants

how did the government try to control the rising hysteria? (why legislate)

with immigration laws and deportation - thousands of people were deported during the red scare

what happened to thousands of people during the red scare?

they were deported

why were cities in US growing in the 1920s? (impact of immigrants on urban life, 1919-1941)

industry was expanding and needed workers

why were immigrants a significant factor in the growth of US cities in the 1920s? (impact of immigrants on urban life, 1919-1941)

immigrants, especially those who could speak little english, had a tendency to gravitate to towns and cities that already had immigrants from their place of origin - sometimes family or friends, but often just people with a language connection

what city did immigrants reach first?

NYC - many landed at elis island - this city always had a large immigrant population

why was US often called a 'melting pot' ?

due to the various immigrant nationalities living there

how did jesse jackson challenge US being described as a 'melting pot' ?

in ebony magazine in 1970, he described it as a soup with chopped ingredients visible as separate bits - all in the same soup, but not all the sa,e

how did most urban areas break down into informally segregated sections? (US as a 'melting pot')

not just ghettos for black people but separate districts for most ethnic groups of any significant size

'little italy' (US as a 'melting pot')

- many towns and cities had areas nicknamed like this

- constantly topping up with incomers

- these areas kept the italian language, many italian customs and a strongly catholic religious life

'chinatowns' (US as a 'melting pot')

- many towns and cities had areas nicknamed like this'

- although, immigration from china had been banned since 1882

- the chinese community was one of the most rigidly self-isolating because of its significant cultural differences

since what year was immigration from china banned? (US as a 'melting pot')

1882

which community was one of the most rigidly self-isolating due to their significant cultural differences? (US as a 'melting pot')

chinese community

however, as the years passed, what was happening? (US as a 'melting pot')

foreign-born immigrants had american children so the 'old' country and the old traditionals became less important

how many foreign language newspapers were published in the US in 1914 vs in 1960s?

1914 - 1,300

1960s - 75

describe the connection between the company FORD and immigrants

- the site of ford motor works was detroit and it had a large immigrant labour force in 1920

- ford's breakthrough use of mass production techniques led to a rapid growth of car ownership, creating a higher demand and a need for greater production

- most workers in ford's factory came from eastern europe

what were the 3 largest groups in boston's 1920 foreign population?

24% irish

17% canadian

16% italian

what were the 3 largest groups in NYC?

24% russian

19% italian

10% irish

describe the situation of the children that were born in US to immigrant parents

they were more integrated than their parents, depending o the encouragement they had been given to do so

what did many immigrant parents encourage their kids to do and why?

get an education, work hard and improve their lives - after all, every immigrant had come to the US hoping to improve their own lives

although many immigrants may have hoped more on arrival than they found, how did their children improve this?

their children knew the situation and could set the right targets

immigrants, due to their numbers, had an influence on what?

politics - local, state and federal

what could the votes of immigrants do?

change an election result

during the depression, who did many immigrants vote and campaign for and why?

roosevelt who was a democrat - this was due to many workers being exploited at work as a result of the 'laissez faire' republican policy

'laissez faire'

- republican policy

- minimised government intervention within the economy

- granted profit-hungry business owners the utter freedom to run their firms however they wanted

- this often resulted in poor working conditions, long hours and low wages for the workers

1917

immigration act

- lists a number of 'undesirable' immigrants to be excluded, including homosexuals, insane people and criminals

- it also imposed a literacy qualification for anyone over 16 years of age

1921

emergency quota act

- restricted the yearly number of immigrants from any country to 3% of the total number of people from that country living in the US in 1910

1924

johnson-reed immigration act

- changed the quote system to 2% of people from the country of origin in the 1890 census (tipping the balance further in favour of northern europe) until 1st july 1927

- after that, the number of immigrants was to be fixed at 150,000 and the quota was to be based on the 1920 census

1929

national origins formula

- confirms the 150,000 limit

- bans asian immigrants altogether