U.S. History & Government

U.S. Immigration Policy

U.S. Immigration 1830-2000

National Origins Acts (Quota Acts) “Open” Immigration Gentlemen’s Agreement Chinese Exclusion Act Immigration & Nationality Act

Why do people immigrate?

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Push Factors: Reasons why migrants leave their homelands.

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Pull Factors: Reasons why migrants are attracted to certain areas.

Three Waves of U.S. Immigration

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First Wave (Old Immigrants) 1840-1860

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Second Wave (New Immigrants) 1880-1920

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Third Wave (Newest Immigrants) 1965 Present

First Wave (Old) Immigrants

 Arrived: 1840-1860

A Nativist Political Cartoon

 Origins: Ireland & Germany  Most were Catholic  Push Factors: Potato Famine, Religious & Political Persecution and Instability  Pull Factors: Jobs in northeastern factories

Discrimination Against Asians

 Chinese laborers recruited for railroad construction in the West  CA excluded from mining  Chinese Exclusion Act (1882): Prohibited Chinese & Korean Immigration to U.S.

 Gentlemen’s Agreement (1907): Japan would not allow its citizens to migrate to the U.S.

By Thomas Nast (1882)

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Second Wave (New) Immigrants

Arrived 1880-1920  Origins: Southern & Eastern Europe  Diverse Languages & Religions (Catholic, Jewish, & Eastern Orthodox)  Push Factors: Religious persecution, economic & politicl instability  Pull Factors: Jobs created by industrialization

Second Wave Immigration 1880-1920

Third Wave (Newest) Immigrants

 Arrived 1965-Present  Origins: Everywhere... (Esp. Latin America, Asia, Eastern Europe)  Push Factors: Lower standard of living, ethnic or religious persecution  Pull Factors: Jobs & economic prosperity

A Naturalization Ceremony for New Citizens

Nativism

 Nativism: Anti-Immigrant Feelings  The Know Nothings: Anti Immigrant Group in the 1850s… mainly targeted Irish & Germans  Anti-Chinese discrimination & violence in the 1880s  The Ku Klux Klan: In the 1920s, northern faction mainly targeted immigrants (mainly Catholics & Jews)  The Quota Acts were clear examples of Nativist legislation.