HIS 206. Immigration Act of 1882 followed model of earlier state laws struck down in Henderson v....
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Transcript of HIS 206. Immigration Act of 1882 followed model of earlier state laws struck down in Henderson v....
Initial Efforts
Immigration Act of 1882 followed model of earlier state laws struck down in Henderson v. Mayor of New York (1876) Barred entry to lunatics, idiots & persons likely to become a
public charge Imposed 50-cent head tax Secretary of Treasury supervised, but state officials still
administed Foran Alien Contract Labor Act (1885) forbade all
contracts to prepay or assist immigrants’ passage to U.S. Artists, actors, lecturers, domestic servants & skilled laborers
excepted Americans still allowed to help relatives or personal friends
Payson Act (1887) barred aliens who hadn’t filed first papers from owning land in the territories
Distinguishing Between “Old” & “New” Immigrants
House est. Ford Committee (1888-89) to investigate immigration Report said facilities & staff at ports inadequate to inspect
immigrants properly Found evidence of assisted immigration for paupers &
convicts, & contract labor law easily evaded Warned current immigrants inferior to previous ones &
called for exclusion of anarchists & “birds of passage” Ford Committee report = first time Congress
distinguished between old & new immigrants “old” immigrants hailed as pioneers who settled as
families on the land, assimilated & became citizens “new” immigrants were single men who worked in
factories, lived in slums, & were less intelligent & more degenerate
Federal Takeover of Immigration Inspection
Immigration Act of 1891 created federal Bureau of Immigration in Treasury Dept. to oversee inspection & enforcement of laws New federal facilities (e.g. Ellis Island) constructed Persons suffering from loathsome or contagious disease &
polygamists excluded Provided for deportation of aliens who entered illegally or became
public charges within 1 year of arrival 1891 act gave sole power to review decisions on admission
& deportation to Superintendant & Secretary of Treasury Supreme Court ruled in Nishimura Ekiu v. U.S. (1892) that
courts couldn’t review inspectors’ findings of fact, only interpretations of laws
Court ruled in Fong Yue Ting v. U.S. (1893) that due process didn’t apply to administrative hearings
Inspection for Restriction
1893 act required commanding officers of vessels to conduct preliminary investigation of passengers
1894 act raised head tax to $1 to defray increased expense of inspection
Edward Bemis & Richmond Mayo Smith called for literacy test to keep out “new” immigrants
Henry Cabot Lodge (R-Mass) introduced literacy test bills in Congress, calling for exclusion of inferior races
Immigration Restriction League founded in 1894 by Prescott F. Hall & Robert DeCourcy Ward to lobby for literacy test
Sen. Lodge
Prescott F. Hall
Nativism Immigrants blamed for evils of
urban, industrial America Conservatives claimed they were labor
radicals – socialists, anarchists Unions saw them as strikebreakers Social workers decried their unsanitary
living conditions Academics claimed they were racially
inferior TR warned of danger of “race suicide”
Henry F. Bowers founded anti-Catholic American Protective Association in 1880s
Sons & Daughters of the American Revolution tried to “Americanize” immigrants by teaching them about U.S. history & gov’t
The Ram’s Horn, April 25, 1896
Eugenics
Francis Galton coined term to describe scientific study of human genetics with goal of selectively breeding a better human race Influential in U.S. from 1905-1930 Appealed to middle class as explanation for
incorrigible poor & delinquent Charles Davenport set up Eugenics
Record Office at Cold Spring Harbor, NY in 1910 funded by Carnegie Institute & Harrimans Davenport & assistant Harry Laughlin
collected data on how various characteristics were transmitted
Worked with Hall & Ward of IRL to pass immigration restriction
Flaws in Eugenics Research
Difficulty of defining traits
Reification – treating complex behaviors as single entities with single causes (e.g., intelligence)
Poor survey & statistical methods
False quantification Ignoring social &
environmental influences
William Ripley’s Map of European RacesBased On Cephalic Index
Sterilization & Birth Control 33 states passed forced
sterilization laws Over 60,000 involuntarily
sterilized Upheld by Supreme Court in
Buck v. Bell (1927) Sterilization of criminals
declared unconstitutional in Skinner v. Oklahoma (1942)
Margaret Sanger & other eugenicists also pushed for abortion & birth control to prevent poor from breeding
Passing the Literacy Test- First Attempt
Lodge introduced literacy test bill to Congress in 1896 Based on 25-word passages from
U.S. Constitution Limited to English or language of
native country Richard Bartholdt tried to
sabotage it in House, but still passed
Pes. Grover Cleveland vetoed it in 1897, calling it “radical departure” from tradition of asylum House voted to override; Senate
did not
Richard Bartholdt, R-MO
Theodore Roosevelt & Immigration
Industrial Commission (1898-1901) recommended: raising head tax to $3 Inspecting cabin passengers & at land borders Excluding & deporting anarchists Extending statute of limitations on deportations
to 5 years Penalizing steamship co.s for transporting
diseased aliens Pres. Theodore Roosevelt pushed for
comprehensive policy to select “good” immigrants & screen out “bad” ones Suggested exclusion of anarchists & immoral
persons Recommended literacy test & monetary
requirement
1903 & 1907 Immigration Acts
1903 Immigration Act reorganized legislation Head tax raised to $2 Inspection at land border crossings Aliens could be deported up to 3 years after arrival Steamship co.s fined for bringing inadmissible aliens &
required to transport them back home 1907 Immigration Act raised head tax &
monetary requirement Speaker Joseph Cannon fiercely opposed literacy test Conference committee dropped literacy test in
exchange for Japanese amendment created U.S. Immigration Commission to study issue
The Dillingham Commission
U.S. Immigration Commission chaired by Vt. Sen. William P. Dillingham All members except Congressman William Bennett
(R-NY) committed to literacy test Issued 42-volume report in 1911
Dillingham Report accepted distinction between “old” & “new” immigrants Economic motivation of “birds of passage” proved
U.S. was no longer asylum for oppressed Found existing laws worked well Crime & poverty rates lower than expected Franz Boas’ research contradicted eugenicists
Recommendations: Literacy test Better distribution of immigrants Exclusion of “birds of passage”
Sen. Dillingham
William W. Husband
Passing the Literacy Test – Second Attempt
Dillingham submitted literacy test bill in Senate in 1912 Senate bill based on U.S. Constitution John L. Burnett (D-AL) introduced House bill based on
words in common usage Secretary of Commerce & Labor Charles Nagel opposed
Became issue in 1912 presidential campaign TR’s Progressive party staked out liberal position on
immigration Wilson dogged by earlier negative comments about “new”
immigrants in his History of the American People (1902) Taft opposed literacy test as revival of Know-Nothing spirit
Taft vetoed bill in 1913 Conference committee backed House version Taft’s veto message quoted Nagel’s objections Override fell 5 votes short in House
Pres. Taft
Charles Nagel