Immigration Restriction Efforts, 1875 - 1913

HIS 206

Initial Efforts

Immigration Act of 1882 followed model of earlier state laws struck down in Henderson v. Mayor of New York (1876) Barred entry to lunatics, idiots & persons likely to become a

public charge Imposed 50-cent head tax Secretary of Treasury supervised, but state officials still

administed Foran Alien Contract Labor Act (1885) forbade all

contracts to prepay or assist immigrants’ passage to U.S. Artists, actors, lecturers, domestic servants & skilled laborers

excepted Americans still allowed to help relatives or personal friends

Payson Act (1887) barred aliens who hadn’t filed first papers from owning land in the territories

Distinguishing Between “Old” & “New” Immigrants

House est. Ford Committee (1888-89) to investigate immigration Report said facilities & staff at ports inadequate to inspect

immigrants properly Found evidence of assisted immigration for paupers &

convicts, & contract labor law easily evaded Warned current immigrants inferior to previous ones &

called for exclusion of anarchists & “birds of passage” Ford Committee report = first time Congress

distinguished between old & new immigrants “old” immigrants hailed as pioneers who settled as

families on the land, assimilated & became citizens “new” immigrants were single men who worked in

factories, lived in slums, & were less intelligent & more degenerate

The “New” Immigrants

Immigration Patterns, 1910-1920

Federal Takeover of Immigration Inspection

Immigration Act of 1891 created federal Bureau of Immigration in Treasury Dept. to oversee inspection & enforcement of laws New federal facilities (e.g. Ellis Island) constructed Persons suffering from loathsome or contagious disease &

polygamists excluded Provided for deportation of aliens who entered illegally or became

public charges within 1 year of arrival 1891 act gave sole power to review decisions on admission

& deportation to Superintendant & Secretary of Treasury Supreme Court ruled in Nishimura Ekiu v. U.S. (1892) that

courts couldn’t review inspectors’ findings of fact, only interpretations of laws

Court ruled in Fong Yue Ting v. U.S. (1893) that due process didn’t apply to administrative hearings

Ellis Island

Inspection for Restriction

1893 act required commanding officers of vessels to conduct preliminary investigation of passengers

1894 act raised head tax to $1 to defray increased expense of inspection

Edward Bemis & Richmond Mayo Smith called for literacy test to keep out “new” immigrants

Henry Cabot Lodge (R-Mass) introduced literacy test bills in Congress, calling for exclusion of inferior races

Immigration Restriction League founded in 1894 by Prescott F. Hall & Robert DeCourcy Ward to lobby for literacy test

Sen. Lodge

Prescott F. Hall

Nativism Immigrants blamed for evils of

urban, industrial America Conservatives claimed they were labor

radicals – socialists, anarchists Unions saw them as strikebreakers Social workers decried their unsanitary

living conditions Academics claimed they were racially

inferior TR warned of danger of “race suicide”

Henry F. Bowers founded anti-Catholic American Protective Association in 1880s

Sons & Daughters of the American Revolution tried to “Americanize” immigrants by teaching them about U.S. history & gov’t

The Ram’s Horn, April 25, 1896

Eugenics

Francis Galton coined term to describe scientific study of human genetics with goal of selectively breeding a better human race Influential in U.S. from 1905-1930 Appealed to middle class as explanation for

incorrigible poor & delinquent Charles Davenport set up Eugenics

Record Office at Cold Spring Harbor, NY in 1910 funded by Carnegie Institute & Harrimans Davenport & assistant Harry Laughlin

collected data on how various characteristics were transmitted

Worked with Hall & Ward of IRL to pass immigration restriction

Flaws in Eugenics Research

Difficulty of defining traits

Reification – treating complex behaviors as single entities with single causes (e.g., intelligence)

Poor survey & statistical methods

False quantification Ignoring social &

environmental influences

William Ripley’s Map of European RacesBased On Cephalic Index

Sterilization & Birth Control 33 states passed forced

sterilization laws Over 60,000 involuntarily

sterilized Upheld by Supreme Court in

Buck v. Bell (1927) Sterilization of criminals

declared unconstitutional in Skinner v. Oklahoma (1942)

Margaret Sanger & other eugenicists also pushed for abortion & birth control to prevent poor from breeding

Sterilization Statistics

Passing the Literacy Test- First Attempt

Lodge introduced literacy test bill to Congress in 1896 Based on 25-word passages from

U.S. Constitution Limited to English or language of

native country Richard Bartholdt tried to

sabotage it in House, but still passed

Pes. Grover Cleveland vetoed it in 1897, calling it “radical departure” from tradition of asylum House voted to override; Senate

did not

Richard Bartholdt, R-MO

Theodore Roosevelt & Immigration

Industrial Commission (1898-1901) recommended: raising head tax to $3 Inspecting cabin passengers & at land borders Excluding & deporting anarchists Extending statute of limitations on deportations

to 5 years Penalizing steamship co.s for transporting

diseased aliens Pres. Theodore Roosevelt pushed for

comprehensive policy to select “good” immigrants & screen out “bad” ones Suggested exclusion of anarchists & immoral

persons Recommended literacy test & monetary

requirement

1903 & 1907 Immigration Acts

1903 Immigration Act reorganized legislation Head tax raised to $2 Inspection at land border crossings Aliens could be deported up to 3 years after arrival Steamship co.s fined for bringing inadmissible aliens &

required to transport them back home 1907 Immigration Act raised head tax &

monetary requirement Speaker Joseph Cannon fiercely opposed literacy test Conference committee dropped literacy test in

exchange for Japanese amendment created U.S. Immigration Commission to study issue

The Dillingham Commission

U.S. Immigration Commission chaired by Vt. Sen. William P. Dillingham All members except Congressman William Bennett

(R-NY) committed to literacy test Issued 42-volume report in 1911

Dillingham Report accepted distinction between “old” & “new” immigrants Economic motivation of “birds of passage” proved

U.S. was no longer asylum for oppressed Found existing laws worked well Crime & poverty rates lower than expected Franz Boas’ research contradicted eugenicists

Recommendations: Literacy test Better distribution of immigrants Exclusion of “birds of passage”

Sen. Dillingham

William W. Husband

Passing the Literacy Test – Second Attempt

Dillingham submitted literacy test bill in Senate in 1912 Senate bill based on U.S. Constitution John L. Burnett (D-AL) introduced House bill based on

words in common usage Secretary of Commerce & Labor Charles Nagel opposed

Became issue in 1912 presidential campaign TR’s Progressive party staked out liberal position on

immigration Wilson dogged by earlier negative comments about “new”

immigrants in his History of the American People (1902) Taft opposed literacy test as revival of Know-Nothing spirit

Taft vetoed bill in 1913 Conference committee backed House version Taft’s veto message quoted Nagel’s objections Override fell 5 votes short in House

Pres. Taft

Charles Nagel