Immigration in the 1920s
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Part 1
Your task
Work with a partner to research the new laws that American Congress created in order to slow down
immigration. Make notes on the Immigration Law of 1917, the Emergency Quota Act of 1921 and the
Johnson– Reed Act, (you may find this called the United States Immigration Act or the National Origins
Act) of 1924. After 20 minutes, join in with a class discussion about what you have found out.
1. Do you think that these laws were a positive or a negative move?
2. Who was still allowed in the country?
3. Who was restricted from moving in and why were they?
4. Who was still allowed in and why?
5. Was this sensible of the government or not?
Part 2
Now read the following two quotations:
1. ‘Everywhere immigrants have enriched and strengthened the fabric of American life’. (John F.
Kennedy)
2. ‘Unless the stream of these people can be turned away from their country to other countries,
they will soon outnumber us so that we will not be able to save our language or our
government’. (Benjamin Franklin)
What do you think of these comments? Do you agree with either? In what ways did John F. Kennedy
think that immigrants would ‘enrich and strengthen the fabric of American life’ and what does this
mean? If almost all the people now living in America are immigrants or were descended from immigrants, was Benjamin Franklin incorrect? Consider the pros and cons for both quotations.
Now work in pairs and, in your exercise book, list how immigrants affected American society during the 1920s. Consider:
• What did immigrants bring to the country?
• What challenges did foreign people face in assimilating into life in America?
• Does diversity encourage cultural creativity?
• How might diversity cause problems?
http://education.hodge2.continuumbooks.com © Susie Hodge (2010)
Resources for Teaching History 14–16. London: Continuum.