Immigration

• The USA today is a multicultural society largely due to a large number of people migrating there, mostly from Europe, in the early 1900s
• At the end of the 19th century, the USA encouraged immigration with an Open Door policy, accepting immigrants from various countries to make the country richer
• By 1919, more than 40 million people had arrived in the USA, resulting in a mixture of people from different races, cultures, and religions living in America and speaking different languages
• The term used for this blend of 130 different nationalities was the 'Melting Pot'
• The purpose of the Open Door policy was to make immigration as easy as possible, leading to a mixture of people living in America during this period
• Early immigrants to the USA included Native Americans, Black Americans, Eastern and southern Europeans, Hispanics, and Asian people
• Push and pull factors influenced people to immigrate to the USA, such as escaping poverty, political and economic persecution, promise of religious tolerance, plentiful land, creating a better life, spirit of adventure, and equal opportunity
• Most immigrants travelled by sea, with more than 70% arriving on Ellis Island near New York, where as many as 5,000 people a day arrived during the busiest periods
• The first view immigrants saw as they arrived in America on their way to Ellis Island was the Statue of Liberty
• The USA today is a multicultural society due to a large number of people migrating there, mostly from Europe, in the early 1900s
• Between 1900 and 1914, 13 million immigrants arrived in the USA, mainly from southern and eastern Europe
• Reasons for anger towards new immigrants in the early 1900s:

  • Many were poor
  • Many were illiterate and could not speak English
  • Many were Roman Catholics or Jews, from a different cultural and religious background
  • Fear of communism following the Bolshevik revolution in 1917 and the trauma of World War One contributed to the Red Scare
• • Immigration Act, 1929: made the quotas of the 1924 act permanent, restricted immigration to 150,000 per year
• US Congress passed laws to restrict immigration:

  • Literacy Test, 1917: immigrants had to pass reading and writing tests, many failed and were refused entry
  • Emergency Quota Act, 1921: restricted the number of immigrants to 357,000 per year, set a quota of 3% of the total population of any overseas group already in the USA in 1910
  • National Origins Act, 1924: cut the quota of immigrants to 2% of its population in the USA in 1890, aimed at restricting southern and eastern European immigrants, prohibited immigration from Asia
• The USA today is a multicultural society due to a large number of people migrating there, mostly from Europe, in the early 1900s
• The Red Scare in the USA was a response to the Communist Revolution in Russia in October 1917
• American Socialist Party and American Communist Party were established during the Red Scare period
• Many Americans feared the spread of communist and anarchist ideas, leading to increased suspicion towards immigrants and xenophobia
• Over 3,000 cases of industrial strikes occurred in 1919, including the Boston Police force
• Feelings of anger and animosity arose towards communists, with many Americans believing events of 1919 and 1920 were linked to communism
• In September 1920, a bomb exploded on Wall Street killing 38 people, and another bomb destroyed the front of the Attorney General, A Mitchell Palmer's house, leading to the Red Scare and fear of communism threatening the American way of life
• United States Attorney General, A Mitchell Palmer, organised attacks against left-wing organisations during the Palmer Raids
• Palmer claimed there were around 150,000 communists in the country, leading to the arrest of as many as 6,000 without a hearing and deportation of hundreds
• The Palmer Raids were a response to imaginary threats, and eventually, those arrested were released as the Red Scare receded
• Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were Italian immigrants
• The USA today is a multicultural society largely due to a large number of people migrating there, mostly from Europe, in the early 1900s
• Sacco and Vanzetti were arrested and accused of armed robbery on a shoe factory in May 1920, during which a significant amount of money was stolen and two people were killed
• Public opinion was against Sacco and Vanzetti from the beginning because of their political ideas and immigrant status
• During the court case in May 1921, Judge Webster Thayer was prejudiced against Sacco and Vanzetti
• Celestino Madeiros later admitted to committing the crime, but Sacco and Vanzetti still lost their appeal and were executed by electrocution in August 1927
• The case of Sacco and Vanzetti highlighted the discrimination and attitudes immigrants faced in the USA