Social Issues Immigration Act of 1924 May 26, 1924
During the Harding administration, a stop-gap immigration measure was passed by Congress in 1921 for the purpose of slowing the flood of immigrants entering the United States. A more thorough law was signed by President Coolidge in May 1924. It provided for the following:
- The quota for immigrants entering the U.S. was set at two percent of the total of any given nation's residents in the U.S. as reported in the 1890 census;
- after July 1, 1927, the two percent rule was to be replaced by an overall cap of 150,000 immigrants annually and quotas determined by "national origins" as revealed in the 1920 census.
College students, professors and ministers were exempted from the quotas. Initially immigration from the other Americas was allowed, but measures were quickly developed to deny legal entry to Mexican laborers. The clear aim of this law was to restrict the entry of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe, while welcoming relatively large numbers of newcomers from Britain, Ireland, and Northern Europe. The 1921 law had used the 1910 census to determine the base for the quotas; by changing to the 1890 census when fewer Italians or Bulgarians lived in the U.S., more of the "dangerous' and "different" elements were kept out. This legislation reflected discriminatory sentiments that had surfaced earlier during the Red Scare of 1919-20.
Immigration Statistics, 1920-1926
|
Year
|
Total
Entering U.S.
|
Country of Origin
|
|
Great
Britain
|
Eastern
Europe*
|
Italy
|
|
1920
|
430,001
|
38,471
|
3,913
|
95,145
|
|
1921
|
805,228
|
51,142
|
32,793
|
222,260
|
|
1922
|
309,556
|
25,153
|
12,244
|
40,319
|
|
1923
|
522,919
|
45,759
|
16,082
|
46,674
|
|
1924
|
706,896
|
59,490
|
13,173
|
56,246
|
|
1925
|
294,314
|
27,172
|
1,566
|
6,203
|
|
1926
|
304,488
|
25,528
|
1,596
|
8,253
|
| *Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey. |
| U.S. Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1957 (Washington, D.C., 1960), p. 56. |
A provision in the 1924 law barred entry to those ineligible for citizenship — effectively ending the immigration of all Asians into the United States and undermining the earlier "Gentlemen's Agreement" with Japan. Efforts by Secretary of State Hughes to change this provision were not successful and actually inflamed the passions of the anti-Japanese press, which was especially strong on the West Coast. Heated protests were issued by the Japanese government and a citizen committed seppuku outside the American embassy in Tokyo. May 26, the effective date of the legislation, was declared a day of national humiliation in Japan, adding another in a growing list of grievances against the U.S.
See other domestic activities during the Coolidge administration.
Off-site search results for "Immigration Act of 1924"... Historical Documents and Speeches - The Immigration Act of 1924 ... Additional Resources Related Topics The Immigration Act of 1924 The Immigration Act of 1924 created a permanent quota system (that of 1921 was only temporary), reducing the 1921 annual quota from 358,000 to 164,000. IImmigration Act of 1924 The Immigration Act of 1924 created a permanent quota system (that of 1921 was only temporary), reducing the 1921 annual quota from 358,000 to 164,000. IImmigration Act of 1924 created a permanent quota system (that of 1921 was only temporary), reducing the 1921 annual quota from 358,000 to 164,000. In addition, the Act ... http://www.historicaldocuments.com/ImmigrationActof1924.htm
Immigration Law of 1924 ... act of Congress approved May 26, 1924, entitled "An act to limit the immigration of aliens into the United States, and for other purposes" that "The annual quota of any nationality shall be two per centum of the number of foreign-born ... http://www.civics-online.org/library/formatted/texts/immigration1924.h ...
Immigration Act Of 1907 ... Federal courts, and digest thereof, for the use of the Commissioner General of Immigration, and the salaries and expenses of all officers, clerks, and employees appointed to enforce said laws. The tax imposed by this section shall be a lien ... http://www.historycentral.com/documents/immigrationact.html
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