Immigration and Quota Laws Overview

Immigration and Quota Laws 1907-1952

• Average Annual Inflows (1907-1914):

  • 176,983
  • 685,531
  • 198,082

• Quotas Under Act of 1921:

  • 158,367
  • 140,999

• Quotas Under Act of 1924:

  • 21,847

• National Origins Provision of 1929:

  • 132,323
  • 20,251

• McCarran-Walter Act of 1952:

  • 125,165
  • 29,492

• Effects of Quota Laws:

  • Isolationists and nativists managed to significantly restrict immigration to the U.S. during the early 1920s.
  • The Immigration Act of 1924 imposed strict quotas, especially targeting European immigrants and completely excluding the Japanese.
  • Aimed to preserve the American racial composition, which was predominantly northern European.