The late 19th century was a time of immense change for America. The country was rapidly industrializing, and with that came a wave of immigrants seeking to make a better life for themselves. At first, the United States had an open-door policy towards immigration, and anyone who wanted to come could. However, as the number of immigrants increased, so did the anti-immigrant sentiment. There were a number of nativist groups who wanted to restrict or even stop immigration altogether.
In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which barred Chinese immigrants from entering the country. This was the first time that the United States had placed limits on immigration. The Act was based on the false belief that the Chinese were taking jobs away from Americans and driving down wages.
In 1885, the Alien Contract Labor Law was passed. This law prohibited businesses from recruiting workers from other countries to come to the United States to work for a specific period of time. The law was meant to prevent businesses from exploiting immigrants by paying them low wages.
Plessy v. Ferguson, decided by the Supreme Court in 1896, developed the 'separate but equal' doctrine. This had a major impact on immigration policy. Under this doctrine, immigrants were to be treated the same as citizens, but they could be segregated from citizens in public places. This doctrine was used to justify the Chinese Exclusion Act and other discriminatory laws against immigrants.
In the early 20th century, America's immigration policy began to change. The Immigration Act of 1903 established the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization, which was responsible for enforcing immigration laws. The Act also created a system of quotas, which limited the number of immigrants who could come from any given country.
The Immigration Act of 1924 went even further, setting strict quotas on the number of immigrants who could come from each country. The quotas were based on the nationality of the immigrants. The Act also created a preference system that favored immigrants from Northern and Western European countries.
The Great Depression and World War II led to a decrease in immigration. In the 1940s, America once again began to see an increase in immigrants. This was due in part to the Displaced Persons Act, which allowed people from war-torn Europe to come to the United States.
Today, America's immigration policy is much different than it was in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The United States now has a more diverse population, and the laws have been changed to reflect that. Immigrants are now welcome in the United States, and they play a vital role in the country's economy and culture.
