Emergency Quota Act
Encyclopedia
The Emergency Quota Act, also known as the Emergency Immigration Act of 1921, the Immigration Restriction Act of 1921, the Per Centum Law, and the Johnson Quota Act (ch. 8, of May 19, 1921) restricted immigration
into the United States. Although intended as temporary legislation, the Act "proved in the long run the most important turning-point in American immigration policy" because it added 2 new features to American immigration law: numerical limits on immigration from Europe and the use of a quota system for establishing those limits.
The Act restricted the number of immigrants admitted from any country annually to 3% of the number of residents from that same country living in the United States as of the U.S. Census of 1910. Based on that formula, the number of new immigrants admitted fell from 805,228 in 1920 to 309,556 in 1921-22.
The act was passed without a recorded vote in the U.S. House of Representatives and by a vote of 78-1 in the U.S. Senate. James Alexander Reed, a Democrat
from Missouri
, cast the sole dissenting vote.
The Act restricted the number of immigrants admitted from any country annually to 3% of the number of residents from that same country living in the United States as of the U.S. Census of 1910. The use of such a National Origins Formula
continued until 1965.
The average annual inflow of immigrants prior to 1921 was 175,983 from Northern and Western Europe, and 685,531 from other countries, principally Southern and Eastern Europe. In 1921, immigration was 198,082 from Northern and Western Europe, and 158,367 from principally Southern and Eastern Europe (including other countries), being shown as a drastic reduction in immigration levels from other countries, principally Southern and Eastern Europe.
Professionals were to be admitted without regard to their country of origin. The Act set no limits on immigration from Latin America
.
The Act was soon revised by the Immigration Act of 1924
.
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
into the United States. Although intended as temporary legislation, the Act "proved in the long run the most important turning-point in American immigration policy" because it added 2 new features to American immigration law: numerical limits on immigration from Europe and the use of a quota system for establishing those limits.
The Act restricted the number of immigrants admitted from any country annually to 3% of the number of residents from that same country living in the United States as of the U.S. Census of 1910. Based on that formula, the number of new immigrants admitted fell from 805,228 in 1920 to 309,556 in 1921-22.
Summary
Similar legislation had been proposed several times before without success. The resumption of immigration and the widespread unemployment that followed the end of World War I lent strength to the anti-immigration movement.The act was passed without a recorded vote in the U.S. House of Representatives and by a vote of 78-1 in the U.S. Senate. James Alexander Reed, a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
from Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, cast the sole dissenting vote.
The Act restricted the number of immigrants admitted from any country annually to 3% of the number of residents from that same country living in the United States as of the U.S. Census of 1910. The use of such a National Origins Formula
National Origins Formula
The National Origins Formula was an American system of immigration quotas, between 1921 and 1965, which restricted immigration on the basis of existing proportions of the population. The goal was to maintain the existing ethnic composition of the United States...
continued until 1965.
The average annual inflow of immigrants prior to 1921 was 175,983 from Northern and Western Europe, and 685,531 from other countries, principally Southern and Eastern Europe. In 1921, immigration was 198,082 from Northern and Western Europe, and 158,367 from principally Southern and Eastern Europe (including other countries), being shown as a drastic reduction in immigration levels from other countries, principally Southern and Eastern Europe.
Professionals were to be admitted without regard to their country of origin. The Act set no limits on immigration from Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
.
The Act was soon revised by the Immigration Act of 1924
Immigration Act of 1924
The Immigration Act of 1924, or Johnson–Reed Act, including the National Origins Act, and Asian Exclusion Act , was a United States federal law that limited the annual number of immigrants who could be admitted from any country to 2% of the number of people from that country who were already...
.
See also
- Eugenics in the United States
- Racism in the United StatesRacism in the United StatesRacism in the United States has been a major issue since the colonial era and the slave era. Legally sanctioned racism imposed a heavy burden on Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latin Americans...
- Dillingham CommissionDillingham CommissionThe United States Immigration Commission was a special congressional committee formed in February 1907 by the United States Congress, which was then under intense pressure from various nativist groups, to study the origins and consequences of recent immigration to the United States...
- List of United States immigration legislation
Further reading
- Nathan Miller, New World Coming. Cambridge: Da Capo Press, 2003
- John Higham, Strangers in the Land: Patterns of American Nativism. 2nd ed. New York: Atheneum, 1963. (First edition published by Rutgers University Press in 1955)