Name Class
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS For use with the article on p. 18 of the magazine
To Be an
1924
TIMES PAST DOWNLOAD A PRIMARY SOURCE A senator’s op-ed
? T
about the law at UPFRONTMAGAZINE.COM
Who Gets
he busiest day ever at Ellis
M E R I CA N
Island, once America’s chief
entry point for immigrants,
took place on April 17, 1907.
After long voyages from
countries such as Italy and Russia,
A
11,747 people disembarked, awaiting
an opportunity to settle in the United
States. Inside the cavernous Registry
Room, doctors examined each new
A century ago, arrival for contagious diseases.
a new law set Inspectors questioned them about
quotas on who strict where they came from, how much
could money they’d brought with them, and
come to the whether they were willing and able to
It shaped the U.S. work. After a few hours of inspection,
for decades andnation most immigrants received permission
An official registers immigrants
to begin their new lives in America.
still
echoes in today’s Between 1880 and 1914, when
at Ellis Island, circa 1905.
heated immigr
World War I began, more than
ation 20 million immigrants arrived in the a limit on the number of immigrants “There’s an old saying from the late
debate. U.S. In 1907, the peak year, over
one million reached our shores, fleeing
we allow in.”
As the U.S. marks the 100th
19th century: ‘America beckons, but
Americans repel.’”
BY PATRICIA poverty and persecution in Southern anniversary of the Johnson-Reed Act,
SMITH
and Eastern Europe for the booming the nation once again finds itself amid ‘Extraordinary Numbers’
industrial economy of the U.S. a heated debate about immigration. That ambivalence dates back to the
But in 1924, that vast flow Late last year, the number of migrants nation’s founding (see timeline, p. 20).
New beginnings: of newcomers abruptly slowed crossing the southern border hit record In 1776, most White Americans were the
Immigrants celebrate as to a trickle after the passage of a new highs, prompting a wave of outrage that descendants of Anglo-Saxon Protestants
they arrive in New York
law. The Johnson-Reed Act the federal government from the British Isles who came in
Harbor, 1905.
capped the total number ‘Throughout seemed unable to control search of economic opportunity or to
of immigrants allowed American the border. In some escape religious or political persecution.
annually into the U.S. at history, there communities, the influx In addition to the Native Americans who
165,000, a small fraction has always been of new arrivals has put a had inhabited the land for centuries,
of the numbers that had
a tussle over strain on local services and there were also enslaved people brought
EDWIN LEVICK/GETTY IMAGES (HARBOR); SUEDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG PHOTO/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO (ARRIVAL)
been arriving. It also
established a quota system
immigration.’ angered some Americans.
But historians say the
from Africa and large numbers of Dutch,
Spanish, and Germans.
that favored immigrants from Northern tensions between U.S. citizens and Americans have often been wary
and Western Europe—countries those seeking a fresh start here are of welcoming foreigners. Even before
such as Great Britain, Ireland, and nothing new. America’s founding, Benjamin Franklin
Germany—and severely restricted “Throughout American history worried that German immigrants were
those from Italy and Eastern Europe. there has always been a tussle over taking over his state.
The law’s strict limits still influence immigration,” says Alan Kraut, “Why should Pennsylvania, founded
the U.S. immigration system today, a professor of history at American by the English, become a colony
historians say. University in Washington, D.C. of aliens,” Franklin wrote in 1751.
“The really important The 19th century brought
impact is that it established Top Countries of Immigrant Origin very different immigrants,
what has never since been starting with the Irish and
questioned,” says Katherine
1890-1919 1920-64 1965-2024 later Italians, both groups
Benton-Cohen, a historian
Italy Canada Mexico largely poor farmers and
at Georgetown University. Austria-Hungary Germany China Catholic. Then came the
The law “cements, for the first Russia & Poland Mexico India Chinese, who arrived in large
time in American history, United Kingdom Italy Philippines numbers on the West Coast
SOURCE: PEW RESEARCH CENTER
18 UPFRONT N O V E M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 24 19
WHO GETS TO BE AN AMERICAN?
Analyze the Article
1. H
ow did the Johnson-Reed Act restrict immigration
to the U.S., and why did Congress want to do that?
The Johnson-Reed Act of 1924 restricted immigration to the U.S. by establishing national origin
quotas that limited the number of immigrants from each country, favoring those from Northern
and Western Europe while severely limiting immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe, Asia,
Scholastic Inc. grants Teachers and Subscribers to The New York Times Upfront permission to reproduce this Skills Sheet to distribute to their students. ©2024 by Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved.
and Africa. Congress aimed to preserve the cultural homogeneity of the U.S. and respond to the
growing nativist sentiments and fears that immigrants would undermine American society and
values. 2. What was America’s relationship to immigration like
in the 1920s, and how does this compare to other
periods in the nation’s history?
In the 1920s, America's relationship to immigration was characterized by a strong backlash against
newcomers, resulting in restrictive policies like the Johnson-Reed Act, which established quotas that favored
immigrants from Northern and Western Europe while severely limiting those from other regions. This era
reflected a growing nativist sentiment fueled by fears of job competition and cultural dilution.
3. W
hat impacts did the Johnson-Reed Act have
on the U.S. population, and why is it still relevant
to current debates about immigration?
The Johnson-Reed Act of 1924 significantly impacted the U.S. population by
drastically reducing immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe and virtually
eliminating immigration from Asia, shaping the demographic landscape by favoring
Northern and Western Europeans. This act contributed to a more homogeneous
population ac
4. H
ow did the 1965 law change U.S. immigration
policy, and how does it shape our population today?
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, also known as the Hart-Celler Act,
significantly transformed U.S. immigration policy. Prior to this law, immigration was
largely restricted by the national origins quota system established in the 1920s, which
favored immigrants from Northern and Western Europe while severely limiting those
from other regions, particularly Asia and Africa.
N O V E M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 24 • U P F R O N T M A G A Z I N E . C O M
