The impact of immigration, 1917–80: Flashcards
(33 cards)
When did the Dillingham Commission make its report?
What did it find?
What did it ignore, and what were the findings used to justify?
1911.
Immigration was beginning to pose a serious threat to USA society/ culture: the ‘new’ immigrants from Eastern Europe.
The shorter timespan the new immigrants had to adapt. Immigration Acts in 20s: Emergency Quota Act 1921.
What percentage of the US urban population was black between 1910 and 1920?
1.2% and 4.1%
The percentage of people who were foreign born or with foreign-born parents rose by how much between 1910 and 1920?
74% to 85%
How many Mexicans were deported during the Great Depression?
Why was this?
400,000.
Many Mexicans immigrated in the 1920s, some illegally who were easily exploited. Once the Depression hit, many Americans migrated for new jobs, and Mexican workers were deported to make room.
Which Immigration act passed in the 1910s introduced a list of ‘undesirable’ immigrants and imposed a literacy test for those aged 16 or over?
1917
What percentage of people from a particular country were allowed in to the US under the 1921 Emergency Quota Act?
Also how many in total?
3%
357,000
The Johnson-Reed Immigration Act was passed in which year? This act reduced the number of immigrants from a particular country to how much % of the current population of immigrants from that country?
To what did it reduce total number of immigrants per year?
1924, 2%, 1500,000
The National Origins Formula was passed in which year confirming what two pieces of legislation. Which immigration act was it put in place by?
1924.Confirmed 150,000 immigrants per year and banned Asian immigrants all together. Immigration act 1924
Why were cities growing in the 20s?
Trends, what was the city with the largest immigrant population 1920-40
Expanding industry… need for more workers: immigrants. Not all cities… a trend was immigrants tended to go where there were already immigrants of their origin with language connection. NYC had the most as it was usually the city most immigrants reached first. (5.6M- 7.5M)
What were the three largest groups in Boston’s 1920 foreign population?
Irish (24%), Canadian (17%), Italian (16%)
What were the three largest groups of the foreign population in New York in 1920?
Russian (24%), Italian (19%), Irish (10%)
Upon the US entering the war, what percentage of foreign born immigrants were Italian, German and Japanese?
Italian (14%), German (11%), and Japanese (less that 1%)
How many Japanese immigrants/ US Citizens were put into internment camps in the US after the US declared war?
What other nationalities were targeted and seen as enemy aliens?
120,000 despite 75% of them being US citizens.
Germans and Italians had rocks thrown at business windows or lost customers.
Between 1959 and 1962, how many Cubans fled Cuba to the US? Why?
200,000. Fidel Castro elected and USA took in refugees escaping his communist regime.
What was the name of Kennedy’s book that he wrote in 1958 regarding immigration?
Why did he along with others oppose the quota system?
‘A Nation of Immigrants’ (saying current immigration policies mocked the poem on the Statue of Liberty.)
It didn’t allow for refugees.
When did Johnson pass the law that Kennedy was working on before he died? What did it do?
Impact regarding Asian immigrants?
- Abolished quotas.
Immigration from Asia quadrupled, largely due to Vietnam war.
When Saigon fell in 1975, how many immigrants came from Vietnam?
By 1985, how many immigrants came from Communist states?
130,000
700,000
During the 1970s, how many Mexicans entered the country per year? Where did they mostly go?
During the 1970s LA created 645,000 jobs. What proportion of these jobs were taken by Mexicans?
60,000? California/ Texas factories.
1/3
The Immigration and Naturalisation Service (INS) estimated how many illegal immigrants were in the US, and how many were they deporting per year in the mid-1970s.
7,000,000 immigrants; 600,000 per year
The Alien Registration Act in 1940 introduced the ‘green card’ system. This gave people with a green card what right?
The right to work and live indefinitely (assuming they were legal immigrants.)
What was an alternative name to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952? What 3 main things did it do?
McCarran-Walter Act. Retained the limit of 150,000 per year and the quota system… allowed for Asian Immigrants… introduced the preference system.
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 allowed how many immigrants and how many Asian immigrants were allowed as a result of the act?
150,000 and 100,000
When did Operation Wetback begin? How many deported?
- 3.8 million.
The Refugee-Escapee Act was passed to cover people escaping from communist countries. In which year was this act passed?
1957
