Immigraton Laws Essay -- essays research papers fc

Immigraton Laws The first immigrants to the territory now the United States were from Western Europe. The first great migration began early in the 19th century when large numbers of Europeans left their homelands to escape the economic hardships resulting from the transformation of industry by the factory system and the simultaneous shift from small-scale to large-scale farming. At the same time, conflict, political oppression, and religious persecution caused a great many Europeans to seek freedom and security in the U.S. The century following 1820 may be divided into three periods of immigration to the U.S. During the first period, from 1820 to 1860, most of the immigrants came from Great Britain, Ireland, and western Germany. In the second period, from 1860 to 1890, those countries continued to supply a majority of the immigrants; the Scandinavian nations provided a substantial minority. Afterwards the proportion of immigrants from northern and Western Europe declined rapidly. In the final period, from 1890 to 1910, fewer than one-third of the immigrants came from these areas. The majority of the immigrants were natives of Southern and Eastern Europe, with immigrants from Austria, Hungary, Italy, and Russia constituting more than half of the total. Until World War I, immigration had generally increased in volume every year. From 1905 to 1914 an average of more than a million immigrants entered the U.S. every year. With the start of the war, the volume declined sharply, and the annual average from 1915 to 1918 was little more than 250,000. In 1921 the number again rose; 800,000 immigrants were admitted. Thereafter the number declined in response to new conditions in Europe and to the limitations established by U.S. law. The first measure restricting immigration enacted by Congress was a law in 1862 banning American vessels from transporting Chinese immigrants to the U.S.; 20 years later Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act excluding Chinese immigrants.(Immigration) In 1875, 1882, and 1892, acts passed by Congress provided for the examination of immigrants and for the exclusion from the U.S. of convicts, polygamists, prostitutes, persons suffering from contagious diseases, and persons liable to become public charges. The Alien Contract Labor Laws of 1885, 1887, 1888, and 1891 prohibited the immigration to the U.S. of persons entering the country t... ...ion (Rumbaut, 617). Despite evidence to the contrary, many Americans still believe immigration to be harmful. This is simply not the case. As stated, legal immigrants provide a benefit not only to themselves, but also to native people. Though the problem of illegal immigration must be addressed, it should be done in such a way as not to discourage legal immigration. America was founded and populated by people from other countries. We must continue this if we expect to survive in the 21st century. BIBLIOGRAPHY Blotnick, Srully. "Unleashed (Immigrant Professionals)." Forbes 26 Jan. 1987: 108. Mandel, Michael J. "The Immigrants: How They are Helping to Revitalize the U.S. Economy." Business Week 13 July 1992: 114-18. "Immigration," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1994 Microsoft Corporation. Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation. "Pending Legislation", www.usbc.org/surveys/npg-poll.htm Rumbaut, Ruben, "Origins and Destinies: Immigration to the United States since World War II," Sociological Forum 9:4 (1994), pp. 583-621. "The New Americans: Yes, They'll Fit in too." The Economist 11 May 1991: 17-20.