Introduction/Objectives
•
Establish
existing
knowledge
of
immigration
in
the
United
States.
•
Introduce
the
seeds
that
were
planted
by
the
United
States
government
with
 the
Chinese
Exclusion
Act,
which
led
to
further
restrictions
on
immigration
 policy
by
the
United
States
toward
Asian
immigrants.
•
Discuss
push
pull
factors
in
immigration
when
looking
at
why
people
are
 pulled
to
the
U.S.
and
why
they
are
pushed
out
of
the
U.S.
•
Introduce
to
students
the
Johnson‐Reed
Act
of
1924
and
the
shift
in
our
 immigration
policy
that
lead
the
United
States
down
a
path
that
allowed
Congress
to
transform
immigration
law
into
an
instrument
of
mass
racial
 engineering.
Rationale
Much
of
what
are
students
know
about
immigration
today
is
very
limited.

Some
 students
believe
that
all
you
need
to
travel
from
one
country
to
another
is
a
 passport.

Since
the
Chinese
Exclusion
Act
of
1882,
the
United
States
started
a
 rigorous
policy
of
allowing
only
desirables
into
the
United
States.

While
Europeans
 were
given
(for
the
most
part)
easy
access
into
our
country,
some
areas
of
the
world
(Asia)
were
completely
excluded.

Why
did
the
United
States
take
such
aggressive
 measures?

Hopefully
this
lesson
can
show
students
that
the
United
States
 government
set
policies
early
in
our
history
to
make
sure
that
space
available
in
the
United
States
was
primarily
for
desirables
(Europeans).
Materials
Handouts
on
activity
(attached)
Procedure
Have
students
fill
out
 prerequisite questions on the history of immigration in the United
States .

Discuss
the
push/pull
factors
that
lead
to
laws
instituted
by
our
government
 when
dealing
with
immigration
policy.

You
can
use
examples
of
the
Chinese
 brought
to
the
U.S.
in
order
to
help
in
building
the
transcontinental
railroad.
Familiarize
students
with
the
Chinese
Exclusion
Act
before
they
begin
the
Angel
Island
vs.
Ellis
Island
worksheet.

Have
students
Compare
and
Contrast
questions
 from
Ellis
Island
vs.
Angel
Island.

Explain
to
students
that
in
order
for
someone
 from
Asia
to
enter
into
the
U.S.
they
sometimes
had
to
pretend
that
they
were
 related,
hence
the
term
“paper
sons”
and
“paper
wives.”

But,
even
if
they
were
 related,
it
was
still
a
great
possibility
of
being
allowed
into
the
country.

Allow
students
to
review
the
Johnson‐Reed
Act
of
1924
to
see
if
this
new
policy
favored
 one
group
over
others.

Use
the
questions
answered
to
elicit
discussion.

Assessment
Students
will
be
assessed
on
three
parts:
•
Discussion
from
the
 prerequisite questions on the history of immigration in the
United States
•
Collect
Angel
Island
v.
Ellis
Island
worksheet
•
Collect
Johnson‐Reed
Act
worksheet

NAME:___________________________________________
1.
What
pull
factors
allow
for
people
to
come
and
live
in
the
United
Sates?
2.
What
might
be
some
push
factors
against
people
who
have
immigrated
to
the
United
States?
3.
Do
you
think
these
push
and
pull
factors
are
fair?

Compare and Contrast Ellis Island vs. Angel Island
Immigration is nothing new in the United States. When the Chinese Exclusion Act of
1882 was passed, the idea of controlling immigration became very real to people of
Chinese dissent. Look at the two documents and see how each immigration station sought to control immigration. Answer the following questions below when you are finished evaluating the interview questions.
Who had a more difficult line of questioning?
What are some of the differences?
What are some of the similarities?
Why do you think there are such differences between the two documents?
Ellis
Island
Interview
Questions
Questions
1‐20
(out
of
29)
1.
What
is
your
name?
2.
What
is
your
age?
3.
What
is
your
sex?
4.
Are
you
single
or
married?
5.
What
is
your
calling
or
occupation?
6.
Are
you
able
to
read
and/or
write?
7.
What
is
your
nationality?
8.
What
is
your
last
residence?
9.
What
is
your
final
destination?
10.
Do
you
have
a
ticket
to
this
destination?
11.
Who
paid
your
passage?
12.
Do
you
have
any
money?

If
so
is
it
more
than
$8.30?

If
not,
how
much
do
you
have?
13.
Have
you
ever
been
to
the
United
States?

If
 so,
where?
14.
Are
you
going
to
join
a
relative
here
in
the
United
States?

If
so,
where?
15.
Have
you
ever
been
in
prison
or
almshouse?
16.
Have
you
ever
been
supported
by
charity?

If
 yes,
state
which.
17.
Are
you
a
polygamist?
18.
Are
you
under
contract,
expressed
or
implied,
 to
labor
in
the
United
States?
19.
What
is
the
condition
of
your
health,
mental
 and
physical?
20.
Are
you
deformed
or
crippled?

If
yes,
 describe
the
nature
and
the
cause?
Angel
Island
Interview
Questions
Questions
1‐20
(out
of
132)
1.
What
is
your
name?
2.
How
old
are
you?
3.
Are
you
married?
4.
How
old
is
he?
5.
How
many
times
has
he
been
married
before?
6.
What
is
his
first
wife’s
name?
7.
How
high
was
your
husband’s
house?
8.
What
was
the
house
built
of
and
what
was
the
 color
of
the
front?
9.
How
many
rooms
did
you
have?
10.
How
many
windows
were
on
the
street?
11.
Who
owned
the
furniture
in
these
rooms?
12.
What
day
were
you
married?
13.
Was
there
any
music
accompanying
you?
14.
How
were
you
dressed
for
the
occasion?
15.
When
did
you
take
off
the
veil?
16.
Did
you
take
it
off
yourself?
17.
Your
husband
had
nothing
to
do
with
the
 removal
of
your
veil?
18.
Did
you
and
your
husband
buy
your
tickets
 for
this
country
at
the
same
time?
19.
What
is
your
husband’s
occupation?

Did
he
 ever
tell
you
about
life
in
the
U.S.?
20.
Your
husband
says
that
he
told
you
all
about
 life
in
the
U.S.
and
he
intimates
thereby
that
 you
know
his
occupation?

The
Immigration
Act
of
1924
(The
Johnson­Reed
Act)
The Immigration Act of 1924 limited the number of immigrants allowed entry into the United States through a national origins quota. The quota provided immigration visas to two percent of the total number of people of each nationality in the United States as of the 1890 national census. It completely excluded immigrants from Asia.
In 1917, the U.S. Congress enacted the first widely restrictive immigration law. The uncertainty generated over national security during World War I made it possible for Congress to pass this Act, and it included several important provisions that paved the way for the 1924 Act. The 1917 Act implemented a literacy test that required immigrants over 16 years old to demonstrate basic reading comprehension in any language. It also increased the tax paid by new immigrants upon arrival and allowed immigration officials to exercise more discretion in making decisions over whom to exclude. Finally, the Act excluded from entry anyone born in a geographically defined "Asiatic Barred Zone" except for Japanese and Filipinos. In 1907, the
Japanese Government had voluntarily limited Japanese immigration to the
U.S. in the Gentlemen's Agreement. The Philippines was an American colony, so its citizens were American nationals and could travel freely to the United
States. China was not included in the Barred Zone, but the Chinese were already denied immigration visas under the Chinese
Exclusion
Act.
The literacy test alone was not enough to prevent most potential immigrants from entering, so members of Congress sought a new way to restrict immigration in the 1920s. Immigration expert and Republican Senator from
Vermont William P. Dillingham introduced a measure to create immigration quotas, which he set at three percent of the total population of the foreignborn of each nationality in the United States as recorded in the 1910 census.
This put the total number of visas available each year to new immigrants at
350,000. It did not, however, establish quotas of any kind for residents of the Western Hemisphere. President Wilson opposed the restrictive act, preferring a more liberal immigration policy, so he used the pocket veto to prevent its passage. In early 1921, the newly inaugurated President Warren
Harding called Congress back to a special session to pass the law. In 1922,

the act was renewed for another two years.
When the Congressional debate over immigration began in 1924, the quota system was so well established that no one questioned whether to maintain it, but rather discussed how to adjust it. Though there were advocates for raising quotas and allowing more people to enter, the champions of restriction triumphed. They created a plan that lowered the existing quota from three to two percent of the foreign born population. They also pushed back the year on which quota calculations were based from 1910 to 1890.
Another change to the quota altered the basis of the quota calculations. The quota had been based on the number of people born outside of the United
States, or the number of immigrants in the United States. The new law traced the origins of the whole of the American population, including naturalborn citizens. The new quota calculations included large numbers of people of
British descent whose families were long resident in the United States. As a result, the percentage of visas available to individuals from the British Isles and Western Europe increased, but newer immigration from other areas like
Southern and Eastern Europe was limited.
The 1924 Immigration Act also included a provision excluding from entry any alien who by virtue of race or nationality was ineligible for citizenship.
Existing nationality laws dating from 1790 and 1870 excluded people of Asian lineage from naturalizing. As a result, the 1924 Act meant that even Asians not previously prevented from immigrating - the Japanese in particular - would no longer be admitted to the United States. Many in Japan were very offended by the new law, which was a violation of the Gentlemen's
Agreement. The Japanese government protested, but the law remained, resulting in an increase in existing tensions between the two nations. But it appeared that the U.S. Congress had decided that preserving the racial composition of the country was more important than promoting good ties with the Japanese empire.
The restrictionist principles of the Act could have resulted in strained relations with some European countries as well, but these potential problems did not appear for several reasons. The global depression of the 1930s and

World War II both served to curtail European emigration. When these crises had passed, emergency provisions for the resettlement of displaced persons in 1948 and 1950 helped the United States avoid conflict over its new immigration laws.
In all of its parts, the most basic purpose of the 1924 Immigration Act was to preserve the ideal of American homogeneity.
1.
According to the Johnson Reed Act, would your national origin be allowed into the
United States in 1924?
2.
Why do you think the Johnson Reed Act was so important to people in Congress?
3.
Which group(s) seemed to have the hardest time entering the United States, and why?
4.
Which group(s) seemed to be favored by the Johnson Reed Act, and why?
5.
What seems to be happening with U.S. immigration policy from the time when the
Chinese Exclusion Act was passed until the Johnson Reed Act of 1924 is passed?