Immigration Act of 1924

Date

May 26, 1924

Description

During the 1920s, Congress enacted laws to limit the number of immigrants who were entering the United States. Each immigration bill established an annual ceiling for all nationalities and a system for calculating the number of each nationality to be granted entry. In 1920, Congress had passed the first legislation limiting the number of immigrants admitted to the United States. They used the 1910 census as the basis for determining how many immigrants from each country would be allowed to enter. The limit for each nationality was 3 percent of that nationality already living in the United States and recorded by the census takers. In 1924, Congress passed this even more restrictive act known as the Johnson Bill, after Representative Albert Johnson of Washington, chairman of the House Committee on Immigration. The Immigration Act of 1924 established the 1890 census as the new base for determining how many immigrants would be admitted and reduced the percentage admitted to 2 percent. Since the foreign born population of the United States was much smaller in 1890 than in 1910, immigration was even more restricted than it would have been by a simple reduction of the base percentage. An additional effect of this 1924 act was discrimination against immigrants from Southern and Eastern European countries because fewer immigrants from these countries lived in the United States in 1890 than in 1910. With some modifications, the 1924 act remained in force for more than 40 years. The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act replaced national quotas with annual ceilings for Eastern and Western hemispheres.

Type

Written Document

Region

United States

Era

Turn of the Century and WWI

Topic

Immigration, Jewish History

Repository

National Archives and Records Administration

Identifier

5752154

Source

General Records of the United States Government.

How to cite this document

An Act of May 26, 1924, Public Law 68-139, 43 STAT 153, to Limit Immigration of Aliens into the United States and for Other Purposes; 5/26/1924; Enrolled Acts and Resolutions of Congress, 1789 - 2011; General Records of the United States Government, Record Group 11; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/immigration-act-1924, May 6, 2024]

Rights

This image is provided for education and research purposes. Rights may be reserved. Responsibility for securing permissions to distribute, publish, reproduce or other use rests with the user. For additional information, see our Copyright and Use Statement.