As The Us Was Growing At The End Of The 19th Century How Were The States' Admissions Controlled?

The Immigration Act of 1924 (The Johnson-Reed Act)

Introduction

The Clearing Human action of 1924 express the number of immigrants allowed entry into the U.s. through a national origins quota. The quota provided clearing visas to 2 percent of the total number of people of each nationality in the Usa as of the 1890 national census. It completely excluded immigrants from Asia.

President Coolidge signing the Johnson-Reed Act

Literacy Tests and "Asiatic Barred Zone"

In 1917, the U.Southward. Congress enacted the first widely restrictive immigration law. The uncertainty generated over national security during Globe War I fabricated information technology possible for Congress to pass this legislation, and it included several important provisions that paved the style for the 1924 Human action. The 1917 Act implemented a literacy examination that required immigrants over 16 years old to demonstrate bones reading comprehension in whatever language. It besides increased the tax paid by new immigrants upon arrival and immune immigration officials to do more discretion in making decisions over whom to exclude. Finally, the Deed excluded from entry anyone born in a geographically divers "Asiatic Barred Zone" except for Japanese and Filipinos. In 1907, the Japanese Regime had voluntarily limited Japanese clearing to the United States in the Gentlemen's Understanding. The Philippines was a U.Due south. colony, and then its citizens were U.S. nationals and could travel freely to the U.s.. China was non included in the Barred Zone, simply the Chinese were already denied clearing visas under the Chinese Exclusion Human activity.

Immigration Quotas

The literacy test alone was non enough to prevent most potential immigrants from entering, and then members of Congress sought a new way to restrict immigration in the 1920s. Immigration expert and Republican Senator from Vermont William P. Dillingham introduced a measure to create immigration quotas, which he set at three pct of the full population of the strange-built-in of each nationality in the U.s.a. as recorded in the 1910 census. This put the full number of visas available each year to new immigrants at 350,000. It did not, however, establish quotas of whatever kind for residents of the Western Hemisphere. President Wilson opposed the restrictive human activity, preferring a more liberal immigration policy, and then he used the pocket veto to prevent its passage. In early on 1921, the newly inaugurated President Warren Harding called Congress back to a special session to pass the police force. In 1922, the human activity was renewed for another two years.

Senator William P. Dillingham

When the congressional contend over immigration began in 1924, the quota system was and then well-established that no one questioned whether to maintain information technology, but rather discussed how to adjust information technology. Though there were advocates for raising quotas and assuasive more people to enter, the champions of brake triumphed. They created a plan that lowered the existing quota from 3 to 2 percent of the foreign-born population. They also pushed dorsum the yr on which quota calculations were based from 1910 to 1890.

Some other change to the quota altered the basis of the quota calculations. The quota had been based on the number of people built-in outside of the The states, or the number of immigrants in the United States. The new law traced the origins of the whole of the U.Due south. population, including natural-born citizens. The new quota calculations included large numbers of people of British descent whose families had long resided in the United States. Every bit a event, the percentage of visas available to individuals from the British Isles and Western Europe increased, only newer clearing from other areas like Southern and Eastern Europe was limited.

The 1924 Immigration Human action too included a provision excluding from entry any conflicting who by virtue of race or nationality was ineligible for citizenship. Existing nationality laws dating from 1790 and 1870 excluded people of Asian lineage from naturalizing. Every bit a result, the 1924 Act meant that fifty-fifty Asians not previously prevented from immigrating – the Japanese in particular – would no longer be admitted to the United States. Many in Nippon were very offended past the new law, which was a violation of the Gentlemen's Agreement. The Japanese regime protested, merely the police force remained, resulting in an increase in existing tensions between the ii nations. Despite the increased tensions, it appeared that the U.S. Congress had decided that preserving the racial composition of the country was more of import than promoting expert ties with Japan.

The restrictive principles of the Act could take resulted in strained relations with some European countries equally well, but these potential problems did not appear for several reasons. The global depression of the 1930s, World War II, and stricter enforcement of U.S. immigration policy served to curtail European emigration. When these crises had passed, emergency provisions for the resettlement of displaced persons in 1948 and 1950 helped the United States avoid conflict over its new immigration laws.

In all of its parts, the nearly bones purpose of the 1924 Immigration Deed was to preserve the platonic of U.South. homogeneity. Congress revised the Act in 1952.