Essay On 20th Century Immigration Policy

Did the benefits of the immigration boom in the late 1800s outweigh the drawbacks? During the 1800s, many people migrated to urban areas because they wanted jobs and land. Many people thought that migrating to urban areas would be like a perfect dream, however they were disappointed when they realized that the benefits of migration did not outweigh the drawbacks. During the late 1800s, millions of immigrants were coming to the United States. Most of the immigrants came from Europe.

An unintended reform: The 1965 Immigration Act and third world immigration to the United States. Journal of American Ethnic History, 3(1), 9-28. Retrieved from

• Industrial cities grew due to the vast number of immigrants arriving from all over the world and industrial booming, which provided jobs to many arrived immigrants and the living American’s in the cities. Around 60 million immigrants arrived to America in between 1800’s t0 1900’s. Many were Chinese, Japanese and southern Europeans (also known as new immigrants).

Although European immigrants poured into America driven by more political

Throughout the 1920 to 1970s, there were shifts in immigration policies that reflect the changes of American ideology; however, there were some aspects that fundamentally remain the same. Main factors that shifted American ideology, which then shifts immigration policies, was the rise of nativism and the aftermath of WWII, yet the classification of wanted and unwanted immigrants was still present. In the 1920s there was an increasing number of immigrants entering the U.S which unsettled most old-stock Americans and led to the rise of anti-immigrant sentiment. Congress acted and passed the National Origins Act in 1924. The purpose of the national origins act was to reduce the number of immigrants specifically immigrants coming from southern

Americans had rarely accepted outsiders as equals, and that was the case with immigrants coming to the U.S in the 1840s to the 1920s. A time in America where immigrants were not considered inferior to native white Americans did not exist. The hatred of anything non-American, especially with the coming of World War I in 1914, would only cause more Americans to despise immigrants. Part of this was rooted simply in racism, which existed towards groups other than African Americans, but much of it was simply that Americans considered themselves the chosen people while everyone else was below them. Thus, despite immigrants being accepted into America, those immigrants were still treated far worse than white citizens between the 1840s and 1920s, for the prejudice against them was obvious even in the laws created.

Immediately following the end of World War I and the United States’ “return to normalcy” under President Warren G. Harding, the 1920s marked the beginning of an exciting new era in American history. Rapid economic growth fueled by easy credit and a booming stock market brought prosperity and leisure to large swaths of the citizenry. Sales of consumer goods such as automobiles, telephones, and radios spiked as the average household suddenly possessed both the disposable income and spare time in which to broaden their intellectual, political, and cultural horizons. However, these expansions of liberty were not uniform for historically minority and marginalized groups. Women, African Americans, and immigrants all achieved various degrees of success

The 1920s was an era in the history of America in which economic, social, and political change coursed through our country. A dramatic population shift occurred during this decade in which, for the first time, more people lived in cities than in rural areas. This shift contributed to a large increase in ethnic and religious diversity in America’s cities. During this time, the economic engine of America brought consumer culture and advancement in technology, resulting in our economy becoming the envy of the world. However, the American people and the government were extremely fearful during this period and strived to find a way to ensure the safety of themselves and our nation.

During the 1920’s the feeling towards immigration and immigrants changed in the United States. Immigration became restricted, with lots of rules for immigrants to follow. Perhaps one of the biggest changes was that borders were shut down to mass migration in the 1920’s. Americans were concerned about immigrants taking their jobs for less pay. There was an overwhelming feeling of Nativism, opposing immigration in favor of natives to the country, across the land.

Immigration Reform: Yes, or No Currently, there is constant dispute over the United States immigration system, pertaining to whether or not it should be reformed and if so how should it be done. Large uncontrolled immigrant population has begun to flourish in this nation due to flaws in the system. Another issue that has arisen in result of this faulty system is unsafe living conditions for both citizens and immigrants moving here. Adding to this, another controversial topic falling within the reforming of the system is its effect on employment rates.

On October 21st at the noon lecture we had one of our freshmen year experience professors address the issue of immigration. Professor Daniel Malpica started the lecture by stating why immigration is important. He had gave us many reasons but the most important idea that I took from the list was how immigration has changed the face of the United States. It has been said that 13.5% of the United States’ population is made of up immigrants. Throughout the lecture we began to distinguish the differences and similarities between “Old” immigration and “New” immigration.

Immigration and The American Dream Immigrants from the mid 19th century and early 20th century consisted of mainly Southern and Eastern Europe, Asia, and elsewhere. Immigrants motivations, experiences, and impacts shaped what an immigrant had to go through being a different person from another country. Although Americans dislike foreigners who came to the United States, immigrants had a role in political, economic, cultural, and social aspects of immigrants because of their motivations, experiences, and impacts in America. New Immigrants did not have it easy and went through obstacles natives, political figures, bosses and others had thrown at them.

Living in the 1920s was a struggled with attitudes of racism and discrimination towards immigrants whom people blamed for many social and economic problems. Both in modern times and in the 1920’s there was a lot of discrimination against immigrants entering the United State. The United State at first had welcomed immigrants into the country to help develop its growing potential; however, this policy changed when the immigrant population dramatically increased. They started to not like it and think that the economic problem and the issues they had been because of immigrants and African Americans are causing these economic problems.

Not every immigrant get into the country using the legal means. There are those who get into the country on student visas and start working contrary to the visas they hold. There are others who get into the country illegally with no genuine United States visa. The immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 focusses on the matter of illegal immigration through placing major fines on the employers of those immigrants who hire them. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 allowed a number of barriers to immigration.

America’s Diverse Population In the nineteenth century, rates of immigration across the world increased. Within thirty years, over eleven million immigrants came to the United States. There were new types of people migrating than what the United States were used to seeing as well. Which made people from different backgrounds and of different race work and live in tight spaces together; causing them to be unified.