Immigration Restriction Law of 1924

The immigration act of 1924 was really the first permanent limitation on immigration. This limitation was like a quota system that only aloud two percent instead of the three percent of each foreign born group living in the United states in 1890. Like it say in Document A "Under the act of 1924 the number of each nationality who may be admitted annually is limited to two per cent of the population of such nationality resident in the United States according to the census of 1890." Using the 1890 census instead of newer up-to-date ones they excluded a lot of new immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe that came by in resent years (This is shown awfully well in Document B). This acts annual quota changed from 358,000 in 1921 to 164,000 in 1924 and finally changed to 154,000. Their was a couple of reasons that the United States made this an act; people were prejudice such as the KKK, and Americans lost jobs to new coming immigrants. People also felt that they had a sufficient population and wanted to breed pure Americans.

What Senator Ellison D. Smith was talking about when he said "I think we now have sufficient population in out country for us to shut the door and to breed up a pure, unadulterated American citizenship.....thank God we have in America perhaps the largest percentage of any country in the world of pure unadulterated Anglo-Saxon stockВ….greatest of any nation" (Document I). He was really talking about how he thinks that if so called real Americans breed with other races it will make for a total terrible race of people. He says that Americans are a Great Race, which is so narrow-minded that you would think that we are so much better than other races. He also talks about how we should just close the doors and were fine the way we are but of course during WW I and II, the United States recruited thousands of temporary workers from Mexico to harvest the crops. We had labor short farms and we needed other countries to come help us with workers.

Their was also considerable amount of pressure from such groups as the KKK and other white groups. These were the most prejudice people that were in America at the time. Document J shows says it the best when Hiram W. Evans said "we of the Klan admit that we are intolerant and narrow in a certain sense.....We are intolerant of everything that strikes at the foundation of out race, our country, or our freedom or worship.....We are prejudiced against any attempt to use the privileges and opportunities which aliens hold only through out generosity." He say that they should only have privileges because the white Americans give it to them and that is so wrong to ever say or even believe. The