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Immigration Policies Of The 1920s

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The 1890s to the 1920s was the first time that the federal government was taking a real stand and control over immigration policies. It also saw the two greatest waves of immigration in the country’s history. War, poverty, political turmoil, social upheaval, food shortages, lack of available jobs and more prompted people from foreign countries to move to the United States because it was the land of dreams and prosperity. After the depression of the 1890s immigration jumped from 3.5 million to 9 million in a ten year period. By 1900, New York City had as many Irish residents as Dublin and more Italians than any city outside Rome and more Poles than any city except Warsaw. It had more Jews than any other city in the world, as well as large amount of Slavs, Lithuanians, Chinese, and Scandinavians (Collier). The government began to limit these new immigrants. From 1882 until 1943 most Chinese immigrants were barred from entering the United States under the Chinese Exclusion Act, the nation’s first law to ban immigration by race or nationality. In 1892, Ellis Island was opened in New York evaluate immigrants before allowing them to enter the United States. On the West Coast, Angel Island, a similar immigrant station opened near San Francisco. World economies slowed and other problems occurred that caused people to become desperate for work and a fresh start.
Immigrants entering the U.S. that couldn’t afford first or second-class passage came through the processing center at

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