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U.S. Immigration and Incorporation Policies 1492-1965

U.S. Immigration and Incorporation Policies 1492-1965. Political Science 126C / Chicano/Latino Studies 163 Lecture 3 January 13, 2009. Ongoing Tension in U.S. “Immigration” Policy.

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U.S. Immigration and Incorporation Policies 1492-1965

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  1. U.S. Immigration and Incorporation Policies 1492-1965 Political Science 126C / Chicano/Latino Studies 163 Lecture 3 January 13, 2009

  2. Ongoing Tension in U.S. “Immigration” Policy • Assertion – The U.S. (and its colonial predecessors) has a low concentration of people to the land, so labor is in demand • Leads to ongoing tension between: • Economic interests seeking labor • Non-economic sectors of the economy fearing: • Labor competition • Cultural change • Loss of U.S. democratic values

  3. Population Densities, 2006

  4. Dominant Model: Receptivity to Some Immigrants • Economic needs (and, over-time, immigrant/ethnic organization) drive long-periods of openness to some immigrants • Each of these periods of inclusion have slowed, but restriction the exception • Economic interests powerful and can demonstrate the need for additional labor • Electoral politics responsive to immigrant/ethnic group organization

  5. U.S. Legal Immigration, By Decade, 1821-present

  6. Inclusion Likely to Continue • Globalized world, however, ensures that demand far exceeds willingness to take immigrants • So, debate is increasingly over • Which immigrants to accept • How to attract desired immigrants • How rigorously to enforce restrictions on potential immigrants • What to do with people who are able to immigrate despite prohibitions

  7. Periodizing Immigration Before 1965 • “Open borders” (1492 – 1875) • Nature provided many limits • Colonies/states encouraged some and discouraged other potential migrants • Colonial patterns remain with U.S. independence • Steadily growing restrictions (1875-1921) • Tension between economic interests and cultural change • Government used this period to create bureaucracy to implement restriction • Restriction at its peak (1921-1965) • National Origin Quota Laws (1921 and 1924)

  8. Colonial Roots “He (King George III) has endeavored to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws of Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither; and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.” - U.S. Declaration of Independence

  9. Colonial Americas Set Continuing Patterns • Tactical use of emigration in England (and Europe) • Labor demands shaped national policy • But not all labor, so selective recruitment • Efforts to categorize immigrants to create/maintain social hierarchies • Slave • Indentured labor • Free migrants • Indentured labor status impossible to enforce with vast available lands • Beginning of desire to get immigrant’s labor without extending societal rights (call them the guest workers of their era)

  10. Immigration and Early National Ideology • Need for (White) settlers raised a new “right” in the minds of colonists – migration (or expatriation from country of origin) • No consensus though on a related “right” – incorporation • Cultural difference of some migrants raised questions in many minds about whether they could be incorporated

  11. The First Great Wave (1787) 1820 - 1860

  12. Pre-Revolutionary Patterns Continue • States selectively recruit immigrants • Work with shipping companies and European recruiters • Part of recruitment is promise of citizenship • Competition for immigrant labor increases as U.S. expands Westward • States begin offering rights before citizenship • Sources of migration diversify • Northwestern Europe / Caribbean • … and narrow • New migration from Africa for purposes of slavery ended after 1808

  13. As European Wars End, Numbers Surge • Relative European peace after Congress of Vienna (1815) makes travel safe for a century • 1820s – 143,439 • 1830s – 599,125 • 1840s – 1,713,251 • 1850s – 2,598,214 • Immigrants increasingly “diverse” • Irish, Germans, and (1850s) some Chinese and Mexicans • Catholics and some Jews

  14. Popular Opposition to Immigration Appears Selectively • Alien and Sedition Acts (1798) • Fear that immigrants will undermine American political values • Reflects first appearance of partisanship • Effort to restrict rights of immigrants to naturalize leads to Federalist defeat • The Know-Nothing Movement (1850s) • Fear of Catholic migrants/labor competition • Effort to restrict nationalization (not immigration) • Know-Nothing Movement dissolves as national focus shifts to slavery and succession

  15. First Tentative Efforts at Immigration “Regulation” • 1821 – Ships bringing migrants to U.S. had to provide the government with their manifests • So, the first data we have on numbers of immigrants • 1847 – Protections for passengers on merchant vessels • 1862 – Prohibition on transportation of Chinese “coolies” on U.S. flag ships • States (California) attempt more extensive regulation

  16. The Third Great Wave 1865-1921

  17. Period of Sustained Demand (and Economic Uncertainty) • Numbers surge • 1860s – 2,314,824 • 1870s – 2,812,191 • 1880s – 5,426,613 • 1890s – 3,687,564 • 1900s – 8,795,386 • 1910s – 5,735,811 • And sources multiply • Southern and Eastern Europe

  18. Native Populations Come to Fear New Immigrants • At root, a question of labor competition • But, national ideology supported immigration, so new political/organizational strategies tested to galvanize opposition to immigration • “Unfree” labor (Chinese migrants/coolies) • Health concerns • Ideology and political loyalty • Ethnic difference • Regulatory structure had to be built to enforce restriction

  19. Consequence – Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) • Suspends Chinese labor immigration for 10 years • Continues to allow elite migration from China: those “proceeding to the United States … from curiosity” • Held to be Constitutional—Chae Chan Ping v. U.S. (1889) • Remains in place until 1940 when war-time imperatives allow for limited Chinese immigration • Chinese American residents of U.S. find ways to evade its restrictions

  20. Asian Restriction as the Root of Broader Restrictions • Asian exclusion begins 40-year growth in exclusion • Exclusion of single women (using notion that they were destined for prostitution) • Exclusion based on belief • Exclusion based on health status – Ellis Island • Exclusion based on behaviors • Exclusion based on skills (or lack of skills) • Piecemeal exclusions, despite widespread popular opposition to immigration from 1890s • Why? • See Tichenor

  21. End of Era:National Origin Quotas • Most restrictive immigration law in U.S. history • Attempt to freeze national ethnic composition in 1890 (1924 law) • All but Northern/Western Europeans faced exclusion • Absolute bar on Asian immigration • Regulatory structure in place to enforce • Issuance of visas abroad • Border inspection stations

  22. “Restriction” Created Opportunities for Some • Demand for immigrant labor continued • Consequence • New demand for migration from the Americas • Rapid expansion of migration from Mexico and the Caribbean • Industries (particularly agriculture) become dependent on Latino labor • “Short-term” labor migration • The Bracero Program • Puerto Rican cyclical migration

  23. Era of Immigration Restriction 1921-1965

  24. Initially Very Successful • National opposition to immigration strong • Economic interests able to meet demand for labor • Migration from the Americas • Domestic migration (Rural to urban and Blacks from South to North) • Depression and World War II reduce demand for migration from Europe • Some fraud

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