Immigration Dbq

The United States of America has always been famously known as the land of opportunity. For centuries, people have migrated to the states, for the ultimate goal of a better life. Between the Civil War and World War I, the United States had taken in approximately 25 million immigrants. The immigrants can be classified as worldly, ranging from all different countries. The purpose for most was to achieve the “American Dream”. Whether or not immigrants were truly being “welcomed” is a debatable topic. Arguably, the United States were extremely reluctant initially, immigrants struggled with assimilation in their new home.

The American political establishment viewed immigrants in a very specific way. Some viewed it as a way of furthering the nation's

Many had fled because of poverty and extreme famine, with the ultimate goal to live a stable life. However, some deemed the acceptance of the abundant amount of immigrants to potentially, tear apart the lives of current citizens, many felt that current jobs would be in jeopardy. This gave the perception of prosperity to only be in the hands of the immigrants and not the current citizens. The government began to take a stand in the issue of employment. Between 1860-1920 several laws were passed, restricting immigration, specifically banning certain things in the workplace. The Immigration Act of 1864, highlighted the desire to decrease the flow of laborers in the United States. Following this act, further ones were passed in relation to the occupations of immigrants. Following this act came the Immigration act of 1924, which also covered the limitation of migration to the United States. This set a annual 2% quota of any nationality immigrating into the country. Subsequent to immigration, years prior, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, depicted the government's role in preserving the jobs for Americans. This was a factor of the discrepancy that was occurring, contributing to declining wages and economic