Immigration

Question 1

Background info

Answer 1

Between 1850 and 1914 10% of European population left for America
1901-1910 8,800,000 immigrants
1882 the Chinese exclusion act

Question 2

1917 immigration act

Answer 2

All immigrants had to undergo rigorous health checks and literacy checks (any language) added to number of undesirables banned from the country
Including homosexuals criminals epileptics or idiots
Included an Asiatic Barred Zone-much of Asia and Pacific Islands from which people could not migrate

Question 3

First World War

Answer 3

Suspicion of outsiders ‘aliens’ Hungarian and German immigrants
Anti German propaganda-atmosphere of intolerance
Bureau of investigations arrests of trade unions (g-a)
Fears of communist spies

Question 4

Sources of anti-immigration feelings

Answer 4

Competition for jobs after war

Russian revolution fear of communism

Question 5

Russian revolution

Answer 5

Russian immigrants after Bolshevik Revolution. According to Barker and Stewart this “was more directly responsible for the tightening of immigration controls”
Seattle strike of 1919 and rise of trade unions depicted as beginnings of an uprising

Question 6

Influence of Eugenics

Answer 6

1916 Madison Grant published “the passing of the great race” which was a study of eugenics which created a hierarchy and put Nordics at the top
Virginia sterilisation act 1924 (between 1907-63 over 64,000 were forcibly sterilised)
Ellison smith “breed up a pure,unadulterated American citizenship”

Question 7

1921 emergency quota act

Answer 7

Limited immigration to 3% of the total of the number each nationality resident in the U.S. according to the 1910 census

Question 8

1924 quota act

Answer 8

Modified 1921 by making base figure 2% of the 1890 census. Cut the estimated annual immigration number to about 164,000
Stopped all practical immigration from India and East Asia

Question 9

Key points

Answer 9

1917 immigration act 
1921 emergency quota act 
1924 quota act 
1927 revision of the 1924 act 
Red scare 
WASP fears 
Eugenics 
War

Question 10

Extra

Answer 10

2.3 million Jews moved from Russia and Poland

Question 11

Red scare

Answer 11

1919 strikes involved 4 million workers
1919 a bomber blew himself up on attorney general Palmer’s doorstep
16 bombs found in NY post office and a further 18 detected elsewhere

Question 12

Palmer Raids

Answer 12

Group of agents headed by Hoover arrested 5000 with over 1000 prosecuted and 500 deported
Trying to find communists

Question 13

1924 Johnson Reed Immigration Act

Answer 13

Banned any immigration from Japan and capped immigration at 150,000 per year.
Allocated immigration according to the native origin of the existing white population.
This favoured white people from NW Europe.
The law didn’t apply to Mexicans

Question 14

Why did Americans support anti-immigration

Answer 14

Development of labour unions began to ally themselves with international radical groups. By 1920 a series of strikes involved over 4 million workers.
WW1 heightened nationalism and suspicion of foreigners and the Bolshevik Revolution

Question 15

Why did Southern States support immigration control?

Answer 15

They were concerned about their political power being reduced as northern cities became larger (the number of representatives of each state where based on population size)

Question 16

Sacco Vanzetti

Answer 16

Sacco and Vanzetti were Italian radical immigrants
In 1919 an attempted armed robbery took place
In 1920 s+v were arrested and accused of this robbery during which 2 people were killed.
Public opinions were against them and they were found with weapons on them
During the case the Judge was prejudiced against the two men and although a man named Madeiros later admitted that he had committed the crime, S+C were executed in 1927