Changes

The high point of lawful immigration to the United States was 1905-14, when more than a million legal immigrants entered in each of six separate years.  Most were from southern and central Europe.  By origin the percentage immigration to the United States from 1890 to 1917 was:

The high point of lawful immigration to the United States was 1905-14, when more than a million legal immigrants entered in each of six separate years.  Most were from southern and central Europe.  By origin the percentage immigration to the United States from 1890 to 1917 was:

Central, Southern and Eastern Europe – 70%

:Central, Southern and Eastern Europe – 70%

<br>Northwest Europe – 20%

:Northwest Europe – 20%

<br>Central and South America – 3%

:Central and South America – 3%

<br>Canada and Newfoundland – 4%

:Canada and Newfoundland – 4%

<br>Asia – 3%

:Asia – 3%

That very high percentage of immigration from European countries other than England and Ireland caused alarm among many Americans of English descent.  By the 1920s, the United States was increasingly concerned about anarchists and communists entering from southern and eastern Europe.  Recall that President McKinley was assassinated in 1901 by an anarchist whose family had immigrated from Eastern Europe, and the American trial of anarchists from Italy named Sacco and Vanzetti for senseless murders had gripped our nation in 1920-21 and during the lengthy appeals afterward.  The Red Scare of 1919-20 further alarmed Americans about immigration from Eastern Europe.  After the great wave of immigration leading up to World War I, Americans wanted to limit it.  The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 limited immigration to 3% of that originating country’s immigration levels in 1910.

Hence from 1890 through 1917, immigration was mostly from central and southern Europe, and also many from Eastern Europe.   

The Immigration Act of 1924 (also known as the National Origins Act) reduced the 3% further, to 2%, and changed the baseline from 1910 to 1890 in order to give preferences to immigrants from Great Britain, Germany and Ireland.  Immigration from Italy, Russia and Asia was thereby sharply reduced.  Strict quotas were enforced, but applied to unskilled laborers rather than professionals.  President Calvin Coolidge signed the bill into law.

That very high percentage of immigration from European countries other than England and Ireland caused alarm among many Americans of English descent.  By the 1920s, the United States was increasingly concerned about anarchists and communists entering from southern and eastern Europe.  Recall that President McKinley was assassinated in 1901 by an anarchist whose family had immigrated from Eastern Europe, and the American trial of anarchists from Italy named Sacco and Vanzetti for senseless murders had gripped our nation in 1920-21 and during the lengthy appeals afterward.  The Red Scare of 1919-20 further alarmed Americans about immigration from Eastern Europe.  After the great wave of immigration leading up to World War I, Americans wanted to limit it.   

From 1890 through 1917, immigration was mostly from central and southern Europe, and also many from Eastern Europe.  There was opposition to immigration from these parts of Europe, which were more Catholic and Jewish than northern Europe (where prior immigration was from).  In 1921, the Emergency Quota Act passed to limit immigration to 3% per year of each nationality living in the United States as of 1910.  This had the effect of favoring immigration from Anglo-Saxons (Britain) and northern Europe, which were more Protestant.

The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 limited immigration to 3% of that originating country's immigration levels in 1910.  This had the effect of favoring immigration from Anglo-Saxons (Britain) and northern Europe, which were more Protestant.  This reflected the opposition to immigration from parts of Europe that were more Catholic and Jewish.

In 1924, the National Origins Act passed to restrict immigration.  There was American outrage at the violence and threats to American freedoms from the anarchists and Bolsheviks (communists), which tended to come from southern and eastern Europe.  This law sharply restricted immigration from southern and central Europe and Asia.

The Immigration Act of 1924 (also known as the National Origins Act) reduced the 3% further, to 2%, and changed the baseline from 1910 to 1890 in order to give preferences to immigrants from Great Britain, Germany and Ireland. Immigration from Italy, Russia and Asia was thereby sharply reduced.  Strict quotas were enforced, but applied to unskilled laborers rather than professionals.  President Calvin Coolidge signed the bill into law.

In 1946 immigration from India was allowed up to an annual quota, and in 1952 immigration from Asia was allowed again for the first time since 1917.

Just after the end of World War II, in 1946, immigration from India was allowed up to an annual quota, and in 1952 immigration from Asia was allowed again for the first time since 1917.

In 1965 the Immigration and Nationality Act abolished quotas for each foreign country and instead established an overall limit on visas for immigrants in the eastern hemisphere, and in 1968 a limit on visas from the western hemisphere was also established on a first-come, first-serve basis.

In 1965 the Immigration and Nationality Act abolished quotas for each foreign country and instead established an overall limit on visas for immigrants in the eastern hemisphere, and in 1968 a limit on visas from the western hemisphere was also established on a first-come, first-serve basis.