higher history usa immigration essay

Restricting entryDuring 1907, 1.25 million people were processed on Ellis Island. As the number of immigrants increased, some Americans began to doubt the government's Open Door policy. Traditionally, the immigrants had tended to come from northern and western Europe – Britain, Ireland, Germany. Between 1900 and 1914 13 million arrived, mainly from southern and eastern Europe – Italy, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Western Poland and Greece. People started feeling angry towards these 'new' immigrants because:Jews queueing to be processed on Ellis Islandthey were often poormany were illiteratemany were Roman Catholics or Jews, therefore from a different cultural and religious backgroundthe trauma of the First World War and the fear of Communism during the Red Scare [Red Scare: Concern regarding the spread of communist and socialist ideas. ] in 1919, worried many Americans.As a result, the US Congress passed three laws to restrict immigration and each law in turn was more severe than the previous one.Literacy Test, 1917 – Immigrants had to pass a series of reading and writing tests. Many of the poorer immigrants, especially those from eastern Europe, had received no education and therefore failed the tests and were refused entry. The Emergency Quota Act, 1921 – A law which restricted the number of immigrants to 357,000 per year, and also set down a quota - only 3 per cent of the total population of any overseas group already in the USA in 1910 could come in after 1921.The National Origins Act, 1924 – This law reduced the maximum number of immigrants to 150,000 per year and cut the quota to 2 per cent, based on the population of the USA in 1890. The act was aimed at restricting southern and eastern Europeans immigrants. It also prohibited immigration from Asia and this angered the Chinese and Japanese communities that were already in the USA.The Open Door was now closed to.
Immigration This essay explores the history of Latino immigration to the U.S. with particular emphasis on issues of citizenship and non-citizenship, political controversies over immigration policy, and the global economic context in which regional migration and immigration have occurred. An Historic Overview of Latino Immigration and the Demographic Transformation of the United States David G. GutiérrezImmigration from Latin America—and the attendant growth of the nation's Hispanic or Latino population—are two of the most important and controversial developments in the recent history of the United States. Expanding from a small, regionally concentrated population of fewer than 6 million in 1960 (just 3.24 percent of the U.S. population at the time), to a now widely dispersed population of well more than 50 million (or 16 percent of the nation's population), Latinos are destined to continue to exert enormous impact on social, cultural, political, and economic life of the U.S.[1]Although space limitations make it impossible to provide a comprehensive account of this complex history, this essay is intended to provide an overview of the history of Latino immigration to the U.S. with particular emphasis on issues of citizenship and non-citizenship, the long running political controversies over immigration policy, and the global economic context in which regional migration and immigration have occurred. The essay suggests that the explosive growth of the nation's pan-Latino population is the result of the intricate interplay of national, regional, and global economic developments, the history of U.S. military and foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere, the checkered history of international border enforcement and interdiction efforts, and, not least, the aspirations of Latin American migrants and potential migrants themselves. Foundational Population Movements: Mexico.
Throughout American history, wartime necessity has often opened new political and social avenues for marginalized groups. This familiar scenario played out after the United States intervened in the First World War in April 1917. By participating in the war effort, women suffrage activists made a compelling, and ultimately successful, case for voting rights: After all, how could America protect democracy abroad without extending it to half the population at home? Likewise, Black Americans furthered their claim for racial equality at home by their contributions on European battlefields and on the home front filling industrial jobs. /tiles/non-collection/b/baic_cont_2_NARA_wwi_troops_ARC_533486.xml Image courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration African-American troops of the 351st Field Artillery gather on the deck of the U.S.S. Louisville in February 1919 during their return voyage home from Europe. Congress passed the Selective Service Act on May 10, 1917, which required all able-bodied men ages 21 to 31 to register for military duty.114 On registration day, July 5, 1917, more than 700,000 black men enrolled. By war’s end, nearly 2.3 million had answered the call. In less than two years, more than four million draftees swelled the ranks of the U.S. military. Of these, 367,000 were African Americans who were drafted principally into the U.S. Army. Segregation in military service reflected the segregation in civilian life. Blacks were barred from the Marine Corps and the Army Air Corps, and in the U.S. Navy they were assigned only menial jobs. African Americans had to fight to establish a black officer training program.115 On the battlefield, many infantry units in the all-black 92nd U.S. Army Division distinguished themselves.116Arguably the most profound effect of World War I on African Americans was the acceleration of the multi-decade mass movement.