Immigration in the 1900’s

                                                        By Michelle

In the 1920’s Congress passed the laws to limit immigration through quotas (quotas were the number of people allowed in a country). They helped control the number of people in a country. England and Germany had high quotas, while Spain and Italy had low quotas. The laws of the 1900’s didn’t affect Latin Americans or Canadians entering the country though, or Mexicans either. Mexicans were welcome in the US, but they crossed the borders without permission and ‘took’ jobs from American citizens. They earned more money then they did in Mexico but less than American workers.

In the 1950’s and 60’s, citizens felt the old immigration laws were unfair;  Congress changed the laws and quota. Asian, Latin Americans, and southern Europeans populations nearly doubled! People who were refugees from wars, persecution, or hunger came to the US. Others saw it as a land of freedom and came. They built communities with each other based on their homeland. All of the immigrants just added to the still changing – never set in stone American Culture.       

 Sources: Chapter 14 Lesson 2 Houhton Miffin Company

United States History pages 504-507