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Immigration Dbq

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At the beginning of its establishment as a country, the United States approached immigration with a favorable perspective. During the beginning half of the 19th century, it was necessary for the nation to evaluate whether or not migrants were a positive or negative addition to the nation. Initially, immigrants were seen as a beneficial while America was attempting to define itself within the larger context of the world. Because the United States needed an increased amount of citizens to strengthen its population, immigration allowed for demographic expansion.
Although there was an effort to keep foreign criminals out of the states, the nation generally “encouraged immigration to increase population” (Lee, 2003; 9). The 1790 Naturalization Act further opened doors for immigrants to gain citizenship by allowing “free white persons” who had been in the United States for at least two years to become naturalized. Birthright citizenship was also granted to individuals born on American soil. However, “federalists feared that Irish and English radicals would flood the …show more content…

During this period, exogenous changes led to migration restrictions. World War I can be looked at as the cause to this shift. The economic struggles citizens faced strengthened American nationalism while it simultaneously unwelcomed migration. The war pushed these anti­immigration views because America did not want any dangerous individuals to enter the country during a time of conflict. During this time, immigration coalitions were broken up which allowed for African Americans in the United States to serve as an alternative form of labor rather than foreign migrants (Lecture 15, 2/18/16). It was important to restrict immigration because after The Great Depression, US citizens were desperate for jobs and had to compete with immigrants for opportunities. During the 1920 election, the majority of the government

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