Mrs. Ruland's U.S. History Class Project
Immigration Restrictions
At its beginning, the United States was a place of refuge for the persecuted, repressed and downtrodden. Known as the "Melting Pot," people from all over the world came to America's shores, ready to begin a new life of opportunity and equality. However, as the country developed an identity of its own and became more heavily involved in foreign affairs, animosity towards certain groups grew, resulting in periodic waves of nativism. Nativism is extreme loyalty to ones own country. As a result, legislation was passed to restrict the high amounts of immigrants. Below you will find links to information on instances in which legislation was passed to reduce immigration.
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882:
This .gov source provides an accurate insight on the events and effects of the Chinese Exclusion Act. It simplifies the reading of the entire Chinese Exclusion Act down into a few paragraphs. The web site also gives information on the Geary Act which extended the effects of the Chinese Exclusion Act.
This source gives a brief history of Chinese immigration to the United States and the hostility they received. Whites considered themselves superior and felt as though they were taking jobs from Americans, and so the Chinese were heavily discriminated against. There is a concise description of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, along with the Geary Act that renewed it, and the subsequent policies prolonging the unfair immigration restriction.
Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907-1908:
This wikipedia source gives a summary of the overall events of the Gentlemen's agreement. It includes the causes of it and the response of Japanese citizens. Keep in mind however, that wikipedia allows anyone to change the information listed on it.
Immigration Act of 1924:
In this resource the salient points of the law are outlined, and then there is a passage from Senator Reed, one of the authors of the law. It gives a different perspective on the Immigration Act of 1924 and has undercurrents of nativism and obvious prejudice.
This article describes the Immigration Act of 1924 in greater detail, and then has primary resources giving the exact statutes of the law and maps to give a visual representation of the restrictions on countries in Europe. with the results and how it affected the country. It then outlines the law and how it will work.
Immigration Act of 1965:
This is an overview of the Immigration Act of 1965, and how it was a product of the civil rights movement and other issues at the time. The article has details of the law, and how it has been received and modified over the years. Also, it remains a foundation for today’s immigration policies.
Immigration Act of 1990:
This article briefly sums up the Immigration Act of 1990 and the new issues addressed with it, such as new nonimmigrant admission categories and other revisions.
This article describes the environment in which the law was created and deals mainly with immigrant visas and the terms of employment covered in this new immigration act.
For Other Immigration Info:
This site has a multitude of links to other web sites concerning the immigration of different ethnic groups etc. over the years. If you would like to learn more about U.S. immigration history, visit one of these web sites
Last updated March 28, 2008
© Marcella Ruland 1998-2008, All rights reserved
