Nativism & Chinese Exclusion act

What Really Happened

Nativism & Chinese Exclusion act

1882: Chinese Exclusion Act passed

•Stopped Chinese immigration

•Chinese couldn’t become citizens•Renewed until WWII

1894: Immigration Restriction League

•Nativists wanted literacy tests (required immigrants to read and write)

1902: Gentlemen’s Agreement with Japan

•Japanese workers not allowed in U.S.

Signing the AgreementJapanese immigrants had replaced Chinese; were strong in agriculture

1913: Alien Land Act

•Asians in CA couldn’t own agriculture land

Election Poster for Supporter ofAlien Land Act

1914 - TODAY

RECENT IMMIGRATION

Learning Targets

1. Understand and describe the main trends of recent immigration.

1. Summarize recent immigration trends.

1. Compare and contrast historical immigration trends with recent immigration trends.

1914 –1965: LIMITING IMMIGRATION

1. 1914-1918: WWI • strong anti-immigrant feelings• literacy tests required in 1917

Anti-German Riot in U.S. 1915 Led to “Americanization”

2. 1924: National Origins Act•law that discriminated against S & E Europeans

165,000 per year vs. 350,000 in 1921

Took 2% from 1890 (Germany 51,000, Italy 4,000, Egypt 100)

Italy went from 42, 058 to 3, 845“America must be kept for Americans!”

Pres. Coolidge

1914 –1965: LIMITING IMMIGRATION

1914 –1965: LIMITING IMMIGRATION

KKK March in D.C. in 1925

KKK Growth•1920- 5,000•1925- 5 million

3. 1925: KKK reaches 5 million

1914 –1965: LIMITING IMMIGRATION

4. 1930s -1945: low immigration due to Depression & WWII

500,000 Mexican workers deported due to worries about jobs.

1914 –1965: LIMITING IMMIGRATION

5. 1948: Displaced Persons Act•allowed homeless of WWII to immigrate to U.S.

400,000Jewish survivors and refugesarrive in U.S.

1960s: REFORMING IMMIGRATION LAWS

1.1960s: quotas questioned; are they fair?2.1965: Immigration Act• Set annual limits for ALL countries to make laws fair

170,000 Eastern Hemisphere120,000 Western Hemisphere

Johnson signs at Liberty Island

REACTIONS TO 1965 IMMIGRATION ACT

Opponent of the bill :"We estimate that if the President gets his way, and the current immigration laws are repealed, the number of immigrants next year will increase threefold and in subsequent years will increase even more ... shall we, instead, look at this situation realistically and begin solving our own unemployment problems before we start tackling the world's?"

Republican Vice Presidential candidate Rep. William E. Miller of NY

The New York Times, Sept. 8, 1964, p. 14

Supporters of the bill: "With the end of discrimination due to place of birth, there will be shifts in countries other than those of northern and western Europe. Immigrants from Asia and Africa will have to compete and qualify in order to get in, quantitatively and qualitatively, which, itself will hold the numbers down. There will not be, comparatively, many Asians or Africans entering this country. ...Since the people of Africa and Asia have very few relatives here, comparatively few could immigrate from those countries because they have no family ties in the U.S."

Democratic Rep. Emanuel Celler of NYCongressional Record, Aug. 25, 1965, p. 21812

1965-TODAY: REFUGEES INCREASE

1. Refugee: Someone who flees a country b/c of persecution

2. 1980 Refugee Act•President can admit refugees in an emergency

Vietnamese Refugee quote, "It was horrible. Because the first time when we... First time it was seven days and we met seven times Thai pirates. And they jump onto the boats with all kinds of knives and axes and everything. So they took everything, whatever we bring along. Gold, money, but luckily they did not kill anyone."

1965-TODAY: ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION INCREASES

1. Illegal Immigrants: enter the U.S. w/o gov’t approval

• i.e. Mexicans crossing the border

In Mexico, make $3 a day vs. $10 in U.S.

1965-TODAY: ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION INCREASES

2. 1986: Immigration Reform and Control Act•penalties on employers who hire illegal immigrants; little impact

Fines:• $100 - $1, 100 per individual for illegal•$250 - $11,000 per violations for continuing to employ illegals• $3,000 for perpetual violators and up to 6 mths in prison

1965-TODAY: ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION INCREASES

3. 1996: Immigration Act•doubled border control forces & added

fences U.S. Mexican Border in New Mexico

Differences Similarities Differences

Historical Recent Immigration Immigration

REFLECTION

IMMIGRATION TODAY

1. 2003: Department of Homeland Security • in response to 9/11

1. Legal• preference to family and skilled workers• long wait time

2. Refugees• need more spots• can be sent back

3. Illegal• U.S. security/border control• estimated 10 million

IMMIGRATION ISSUES TODAY