Name ___________________________
Immigration in the 1920s
Directions: Read the background information below. Then examine each of the political cartoons. Complete the
questions for each cartoon.
BACKGROUND: The National Origins Act, 1924
At the end of the 1800s (1880s-1890s), the United States was going through a period called “the Industrial Age.”
This was a time when businesses and factories were growing, and more people moved to U.S. cities to get jobs in
these new factories. The Industrial Age continued into the 1900s, and ended around the 1920s. The United States’
economy grew tremendously during this time period.
During this same time period (1880s-1920s), Europe was going through a time of crisis. Some European countries,
like Russia, had revolutions. Other European countries were still ruled by kings and queens. They did not give
their people rights like freedom of speech, or the freedom to start a business. From 1914-1918, Europe fought the
worst war in its history, World War One. Because of these problems, many people wanted to leave Europe and
come to America. In the later Industrial Age, the United States experienced a major increase in immigration.
Americans did not always welcome the new immigrants. Earlier immigrants were mostly Protestant Christians, and
many spoke English. During the Industrial Age, however, most immigrants came from Southern and Eastern
Europe. These people were Orthodox Christian, Roman Catholic, or Jewish. They spoke Russian, Italian, Greek,
and many other different languages. Some of them had violent political beliefs, like anarchy (no government) or
communism (government controls everything). These people did not fit in well with native-born Americans.
To limit the amount of strange, radical immigrants that did not fit in, Congress passed the National Origins Act in
1924. This law set a quota, or limit, on the number of immigrants that were permitted to enter the U.S.A. each year.
The National Origins Act is famous for allowing a lower percentage of immigrants from Southern and Eastern
Europe (places like Italy, Greece, and Russia), but allowing the number of immigrants from Northern and Western
Europe (places like England and Germany) to stay almost the same. For example, from 1900-1910, about 200,000
Italians came to America as immigrants. The 1924 National Origins Act set a quota of only 4,000 Italians per year.
POLITICAL CARTOONS: Examine each cartoon. Under “Message,” write what you see happening in the
cartoon. What do you think the artist is trying to tell us about immigration? Under “Connection,” write a fact from
the Background reading that is similar to what the cartoon is showing.
CARTOON #1: “Spoiling the Broth,” 1921
CARTOON #2: “The Only Way to Handle It,” 1924.
-Message:
-Message:
-Connection:
-Connection: