Immigration Colonists (1600s-1775) The greatest single source of newcomers to the New World was not any European country at all but rather Africa, as the slave trade far outpaced European settlement. European settlers in the colonies that later became the United States included many nationalities English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish, German, Dutch, Swedish, Spanish, French but the English predominated. Thus, most immigrants were from Western and Northern Europe. Over half of European immigrants arriving in the 17 th and 18 th centuries arrived as indentured servants. Push/Pull Factors: Primogeniture Religious freedom Gold Joint-stock companies Economic advantages Free land Letters From An American Farmer - Jean de Crèvecœur 1782 The first person to allude to the melting pot. "What then is the American, this new man?" that the American is one who "leaving behind him all his ancient prejudices and manners, receives new ones from the new mode of life he has embraced, the government he obeys, and the new rank he holds. He becomes an American by being received in the broad lap of our great Alma Mater. Here individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men, whose labors and posterity will one day cause great changes in the world." Naturalization Act of 1790 Established the first rules to be followed in the granting of national citizenship. The act limited naturalization to immigrants who were "free white persons" of "good moral character". Indentured servants, slaves, and free blacks were excluded. Good moral character required 2 years of residence in the U.S. and one year in the state of residence, prior to applying for citizenship. Once the local court was convinced of the applicant s good moral character, the immigrant would take an oath of allegiance to support the Constitution of the U.S. and "thereupon such person shall be considered as a citizen of the U.S." The right of citizenship was inherited exclusively through the father. The Act also establishes the United States citizenship of children of citizens, born abroad, without the need for naturalization. The Naturalization Act of 1795 extended the residence requirements to five years. Alien (and Sedition) Acts of 1798 John Adams Presidency 1. The Naturalization Act (replaced the Naturalization Act of 1795) extended the duration of residence required for aliens to become citizens of the United States from 5 years to 14 years. 2. The Alien Act authorized the president to deport any resident alien considered "dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States." It was activated June 25, 1798, with a two year expiration date. 3. The Alien Enemies Act authorized the president to apprehend and deport resident aliens if their home countries were at war with the U.S. Enacted July 6, 1798, and providing no sunset provision. At the time, war was considered likely between the U.S. and France. These acts were passed to prevent radical French and Irishmen from gaining full political rights
First Wave of Immigration (1820-1870) Most immigrants continued to derive from Northwestern Europe, although now large numbers of Irish Catholics began to arrive for the first time, amidst great controversy. Most of the immigrants were from Ireland (escaping the potato famine) and Germany. California Gold Rush 1848-1855 Know-Nothings (1850s) Part of the first wave of immigration. Attracted tens of thousands of immigrants from Latin America, Europe, Australia, and the first substantial Chinese population in the U.S. Immigrants and migrants were known as fortyniners. At its peak, technological advances reached a point where significant financing was required, increasing the proportion of gold companies to individual miners. However, many returned home with little more than they had started with. A movement by the nativist American political faction of the 1850s, Began as secret sects, such as the Order of the Star Spangled Banner, characterized by political xenophobia, anti-catholic sentiment, and occasional bouts of violence against the groups the nativists targeted. It was empowered by popular fears that the country was being overwhelmed by German and Irish Catholic immigrants, who were often regarded as hostile to republican values and controlled by the Pope in Rome. Mainly active from 1854 to 1856, it strove to curb immigration and naturalization. Anti-Chinese Sentiment Anti-Chinese Sentiment By 1860, the Chinese immigrants were the largest immigrant group in CA. They provided cheap labor and did not use any of the government infrastructures (schools, hospitals, etc.) because the Chinese migrant population was predominantly made up of healthy male adults ling in enclaves in cities. As time passed and more and more Chinese migrants arrived in California, violence would often break out in cities such as Los Angeles. Newspapers around the country and especially in California started to discredit and blame the Chinese for most things, e.g., white unemployment. The police also discriminated against the Chinese by using the slightest opportunity to arrest them. In addition, the Panic of 1873 caused anti-chinese animosity to become politicized by labor leader Denis Kearney and his Workingman's Party as well as by California Governor John Bigler, both of whom blamed Chinese "coolies" for depressed wage levels. HELP WANTED NO IRISH NEED APPLY Nativists sentiment and competition led to a series of riots in the 1830s between Irish and "native" American work teams competing for construction jobs. Led to some devout protestant employers to discriminate against applicants. ** Most Irish immigrants moved to the cities, whereas German immigrants moved to rural areas. Thus, Irish immigrants were most likely to compete with native Americans for work. Temperance A social response to the increase of immigrants. Groups began to form believing that alcohol consumption led to corruption, prostitution, spousal abuse and other criminal activities. Among others, Lyman Beecher, had started to lecture his fellow citizens against all use of liquor in 1825. The American Temperance Society was formed in 1826 and benefited from a renewed interest in religion and morality Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 One of the most significant restrictions on free immigration in U.S. history. The Act excluded Chinese "skilled and unskilled laborers employed in mining" from entering the country for ten years under penalty of imprisonment and deportation. It denied citizenship to Chinese in the U.S. and forbid further immigration of Chinese. The act was supported by American workers who worried about losing their jobs to Chinese immigrants who would work for less pay and continued with subsequent large labor projects, such as the building of the First Transcontinental Railroad. Living Conditions Slums Ethnic enclaves Tenement housing Crime Disease Poor plumbing Inadequate waste removal
. Second Wave of Immigration (1880-1920) The "New Immigrants" came to the U.S. from homes in Southern and Eastern Europe (Russia and Germany). This influx mostly comprised of Catholics and Jews, generated a massive nativist backlash, which eventually led to strict limitations on immigration in the 1920s. President Teddy Roosevelt President Wilson There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism.There is no such thing as a hyphenated American who is a good American. The only man who is a good American is the man who is an American and nothing else. "Any man who carries a hyphen about with him carries a dagger that he is ready to plunge into the vitals of this Republic whenever he gets ready." Hyphenated American An epithet commonly used from 1890 to 1920 to disparage Americans who were of foreign birth or origin, and who displayed an allegiance to a foreign country. It was most commonly used to disparage German Americans or Irish Americans (Catholics) who called for U.S. neutrality in WWI. Effects of Second Wave of Immigration Jane Addams, Hull House WCTU Political Machines Social Gospel Movement American Eugenics Social reformer who worked to improve the lives of the working class. In 1889 she founded Hull House in Chicago, the first private social welfare agency in the U.S., to assist the poor, combat juvenile delinquency and help immigrants learn to speak English. The purpose of the WCTU was to create a "sober and pure world. the WCTU was very interested in a number of social reform issues, including labor, prostitution, public health, sanitation, and international peace. Many machines formed in cities to serve immigrants to the U.S. in the late 19th century. They would help immigrants find work and housing in exchange for their votes. Boss Tweed was a famous N.Y.C. Democratic Party boss of Tammany Hall. The movement applied Christian ethics to social problems, especially issues of social justice such as excessive wealth, poverty, alcoholism, crime, racial tensions, slums, bad hygiene, child labor, inadequate labor unions, poor schools, and the danger of war. Thought social problems were essentially problems of bloodline. Eugenics advocated selective breeding programs, forced sterilization, and the maintenance of "racial purity" to correct the problems of society. Immigration Legislation Pre-WWI 1882 Federal Immigration Law 1885 Contract Labor Law 1908 Gentleman s Agreement Law that forbade the immigration of criminals, paupers, and the insane; required an immigrant to prove to officials that he/she would not become a problem for the U.S. public. Prohibited the importation of workmen under contract from overseas. Agreement made by Teddy Roosevelt and Japan, which agreed to deny passports to laborers wishing to come to the U.S. In return, California was to agree to repeal a law that segregated schools.
Red Scare 1919-1921 Began following the Bolshevik Russian Revolution of 1917 and the intensely patriotic years of W.W.I as anarchist and left-wing social agitation aggravated national, social, and political tensions. Newspapers exacerbated those political fears into xenophobia because varieties of radical anarchism were perceived as answers to poverty. The advocates often were recent European immigrants (hyphenated-americans). Moreover, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) backed several labor strikes in 1916 and 1917 that the press portrayed as radical threats to American society inspired by left-wing, foreign agents provocateur. Thus, the press misrepresented legitimate labor strikes as "crimes against society", "conspiracies against the government", and "Plots to establish Communism". Palmer Raids 1919 1924 Nativist Campaign KKK 1915 A series of arrests and deportations by the federal government that targeted Russian and Italian immigrants, were justified as needed to block anti-american plots. The hysteria around blocking anti-american plots was often "radicalized", with deportation ships carrying immigrants and their "alien" ideas back to Italy and Russia. A nativist "Americanization" campaign sought to teach the remaining immigrants the proper character traits for true citizenship. Critics considered the efforts to be forced assimilation. The popularity of Americanization helped reinvigorate the Ku Klux Klan. Its official rhetoric focused on the threat of the Catholic Church, using anti-catholicism and nativism. Its appeal was directed exclusively at white Protestants. They advocated and supported white, Anglo-Saxon protestants or WASPS. Immigration Legislation Passed Post WWI Immigration Act of 1917 1921 Emergency Quota Act Immigration Act of 1924 National Origins Act 1929 Required a literacy test for all new immigrants over the age of 16 entering the U.S. and barred immigration for most of the Asian Pacific Area. Limited the number of immigrants entering the U.S. in any one year to 3% the size of each nationality group which was living in the U.S. in 1910. The maximum annual quota was set at 357,802. Of this total, approximately 56% was allotted to immigrants from Northern and Western Europe. Eastern and Southern Europeans received a quota of 44%. Created a permanent quota system; chopped the 1921 annual quota down to 164,000, reduced the immigration limit from 3% to 2% of each foreign born nationality living in the U.S. in 1890 (instead of 1910) and provided for a future reduction of the quota. It further restricted immigration by basing the numbers of immigrants allowed from a specific region of the world, specifically the Asian-Pacific Triangle. This act is also called the Asian Exclusion Act. This act used 1920 as a quota basis. It virtually cut immigration in half limiting the total to 152,574 persons per year. Relatively high quotas for nations such as England, Ireland, and Germany were usually half filled while thousands from countries like Italy and Poland waited years to make it to the U.S. Third Wave of Immigration 1965-present Began when new legislation lifted many of the restrictions imposed in the 1920s, and continues today. Today's immigration is dominated, for the first time since the colonial period, by non-europeans, with a large majority of immigrants hailing from Latin America or Asia.
Cold War immigration polices set in place to aid persons escaping communist regimes and even allows the federal government to expel subversives; much like the Palmer Raids did during the First Red Scare. Made it possible for some 400,000 WWII refuges to come to the U.S. The act codified and slightly amended existing immigration laws. It permitted the naturalization of Asians and gave the Attorney General authority to expel aliens considered subversive. Act which allowed 214,000 people emigrate into the U.S. from Communist countries in eastern Europe. Established by Kennedy, paved the way for thousands of Cuban refugees to find asylum. 1948 Displaced Persons Act Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 1953 Refugee Relief Act 1961 Cuban Refugee Program Immigration Legislation Passed Post WWII Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 Refugee Act of 1980 Immigration and Control Act of 1986 Immigration Act of 1990 Order elimination of the national origins quota system in favor of a world-wide quota blind to nationality and based on first come, first serve. It set a ceiling of 170,000 persons from outside the western hemisphere, and 120,000 for nations in the western hemisphere. In addition, no more than 20,000 visa per year per nation would be issued and it established an admissions system with ranks of preference to people with specialized skills that were advantageous to the U.S.., spouses of people living in the U.S. and relatives of U.S. citizens Defined refugees as people outside their native countries who are unwilling to return because of fear of persecution. It increased the number of refugees to be admitted annually and empowered the President to admit more refugees in emergency situations. Barred employers from hiring illegal immigrants, made it illegal for an employer to discriminate against illegal immigrants, offered legal status to immigrants who could prove that they had entered the U.S. illegally before 1/1/1982, but made them ineligible for welfare for five years and offered amnesty to illegal immigrants who had worked in the U.S. for 90 days between may 1985 and May 1986 Raised the overall maximum of legal immigrants from 500,000 to 700,000. The number of visas offered to immigrants with special skills (i.e. scientists, ministers, and engineers) doubled, yet the number of visas for low skilled workers dropped. This legislation tries to combat the brain drain by encouraging highly skilled individuals to emigrate to the U.S. Nativism and Xenophobia Overall, nativism and xenophobia, the unreasonable fear of foreigners, shaped U.S. immigration policies form the 18 th century to present.