Largest Immigration Episodes In United States Of America (Essay Sample)

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The 1924 U.S Immigration Act
The last and the first two decades of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries respectively saw some of the largest immigration episodes in the United States of America. People were moving from the south, east and central Europe to the U.S for many reasons. Moreover, the Asians also moved to the U.S. The situation necessitated institution of legislations to regulate these movements. The Congress had to enact the immigration laws of 1917 as well as that of 1921. However, the immigrants realized loopholes in these regulations and utilized them to their benefits and entered the country. Many arrived as refugees fleeing from war. The Americans noticed this trend and rose complains compelling the Senate to institute further regulations. Consequently, the Immigration Act of 1924: Johnson- Reed Act was introduced. This law changed the trend of immigration. To understand this effect, analysis and criticism of this law are needed
After the restrictions of the Japanese and Chinese immigrants into U.S, the 1917 Immigration Act was introduced to regulate the entry of the other Asian people, especially Indians. This law targeted to prevent entry of people with undesirable characteristics such as alcoholism and illiteracy. Consequently, it introduced the literacy test as a requirement for admission. This test was a real barrier to the ordinary immigrants as portrayed in the picture: The Americanese wall. Also, the tax fee from immigrants increased to eight dollars per person. As such, immigrants aged 16 years and more had to be literate. The law was ineffective since it allowed a man to enter the U.S with his family despite their literacy status as long as he passes the test. Similarly, the recruitment of employees for white farms from Mexico did not apply the law (Norton et al. 629). As a result, immigrants barred from entering the U.S were very few. Thus the law had insignificant outcomes necessitating further legislations (Chin, Romero, and Scaperlanda, 243).
In 1921, the immigration laws were strengthened after realizing the ineffectiveness of the legislation of 1917. The law limited the number of immigrants from a particular nation to only three percent of their total population in the U.S according to the data from the 1910 U.S census (Ngai, 21). Consequently, the maximum number of people allowed in the country was limited to 357,000. This law aimed at minimizing the risk of entry of radicalized populations from Russia as well as Eastern Europe (Ngai, 22).
In 1924, Senator David Reed and Congressman Albert Johnson desired to institute permanent restrictions on the immigration status of undesired parts of the world: radicalized parts. The workers in the U.S were forming unions and fighting for labor rights by this time. The cheap labor from other regions of the world would affect their employment status. Consequently, they proposed the Immigration Act of 1924 which was later enacted into law the same year. This law defined the limitations under the quotas and decreased the immigration quotas to a two percent of their resident population accumulating to about 164,000 people yearly. The percentages were limited to the U.S census of 1890 as opposed to that of 1910 which had very many immigrants. Moreover, each immigrant was required to have a visa to enter the borders as well as within the nation.
The quota system implemented in 1924 was intended to permanently limit the number of persons entering the U.S (Kove and Götzke, 132). The system was initially calculated using the numbers of the alien population of residents in the U.S. However; this new legislation applied the 1890 U.S census to account for all the people represented in the U.S. Consequently, the ratios included the naturalized citizens by birth. As such, large numbers of British settlers were in the U.S residing as natural citizens. This provision increased the total number of the British population in the data and resulted in higher quotas for them (Hayes, 187). Therefore, the western European settlers had a higher hand to obtain a visa for the U.S compared to their southern, central and eastern Europeans. Thus, hindering the south, east, and central Europe from admitting many immigrants into the U.S.
The Jews and Germans were facing a challenging time in the period around the First World War. They had moved to the U.S in large numbers. About two million Jews had entered the U.S in the three decades before 1924. However, the 1924 Immigration Act reduced these values to only about ten thousand people from the SCE. This low number of Jewish immigrants to the U.S later resulted in catastrophic results during the Second World War More than six million Jews were massacred by the Nazi Germans since they lacked an escape opportunity. They could not acquire visas for the U.S when they needed them most.
On the other hand, the use of the 1890 U.S Census data was a hidden motive for the Americans to maintain nativism. The census had the provision of isolating the whites from the Anglo-Saxon: a provision lacking in the 1920 census. As such, using the data from the earlier census in quota provisions was a bias to other races. However, it favored the westerners and northerners of Europe. Larger populations of these groups had entered U.S before 1890. Moreover, they were considered desirable for the white race since they shared descent with Americans while the others were alienated.
This 1924 Immigration Act included definitions that undermined other treaties and agreements. Previously, immigrants from Asia: especially Japan had excluded their settlement in the U.S after they had the Gentlemen’s Agreement. As such, no Japanese settled in the U.S. Therefore; the quota calculations would permanently prevent Japanese immigrants from entering the U.S. despite their free entry agreement (Song and Wu, 57). Such nations developed a different perception towards the U.S since they had preferred to regulate their races despite the violations of other laws. Tensions between these countries increased even with protests from the Japanese. However, these efforts resulted in no gain (Wepman, 261).
Americans had desired to have a homogeneous society with most people of their descent. Many believed that allowing individuals with a similar culture to theirs would enable them to integrate smoothly. They had negative attitudes and perceptions of the other settlers. Therefore, they instituted a law to meet their desires without exposing their intentions.
The implementation of the visa system to identify and regulate the entry of immigrants was introduced in this law. The average cost of acquiring the visa was about fifty dollars. This cost was an infringement to the poor immigrants. The rich were able to afford entry as opposed to their poor counterparts.
Although the Americans were all immigrants from a British origin, after the First World War, they developed a desire for nationalism as well as racial idealism. They wanted to maintain their racial identity and Americanism. They were seeking to define an American. Consequently, they perceived the need to regulate immigration to their advantage. Many viewed immigrants as a threat to their heritage and culture despite having none. The nation was purely built on diverse cultures that strengthened their continuous progress and beauty. These ensured the high standards in the foundation of the U.S (National Humanities Centre, 1).
Many people desired the prosperity of Americans and always wanted to join the country for the benefits. These responses were consistent with the ideas of the founders of America. However, the Native Americans were not prepared to give up their nation to foreigners. Many feared the prosperity of other nations and opted to regulate them. They suggested that their founders had no anticipation of the industrial revolution that transformed the economy. Others suggested that each immigrant was a burden to support and would consequently threaten the economy of America. Conversely, they had imported labor to support their agricultural endeavors previously. In addition, they failed to realize the transformation occurring in the foreigners from their great love for the nation as well.
In a state address of 1922, the president: Warren Harding expressed the need for registration of Americans and the facilitation of the immigration legislations. He emphasized on the need to ensure the minimizing immigration violations and Americanization of the aliens. As such, the president desired to prevent rejection of immigrants on their borders once they arrived. He preferred to prevent such people before they leave their countries. He emphasized the co...