Transcript Ended racial restrictions on immigration

EARLY ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS
 Colonist began arriving from several different Countries; primarily of English, Irish,
Scottish, Welsh, Dutch and German descent.
 Most settlers left England in pursuit of "Religious Freedom“ and to escape from
religious prosecution.
 In total, 13 colonies were chartered under the British crown.
 The 13 colonies are typically divided into three regions: New England, Middle, and
Southern colonies.
 New England: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island.
 Middle: Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Delaware.
 Southern: Virginia, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina.
EARLY ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS
Jamestown
 In 1606 the Virginia Company of London received a charter from king James I of
England for a settlement in the New World. The Charter guaranteed to overseas
settlers its same rights of Englishmen that would have if they remained in England.
 The earliest permanent English settlement in what would become the U.S was
known as Jamestown, founded in 1607.
EARLY ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS
New England
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A group of the Separatist in Holland, after negotiating with the Virginia
Company secured rights to settle under its jurisdiction. In 1620 the Separatist
arrived in New England. New England was outside the domain of the Virginia
Company and so they became squatters. They were without legal right to the
land and without specific authority to establish a government.
The Puritans landed at Cape Cod and wrote the Mayflower Compact, the first
governing document of the Plymouth colony.
EARLY RELIGIOUS MIGRATION
• Most settlers left England in pursuit of "Religious Freedom“ and to escape from religious
prosecution.
• Colonies passed laws of "Religious Toleration", meaning that the people of the Colonies
could practice their religion of choice without repercussion or harm from others.
• Maryland became a Catholic safe Haven.
• Rhode Island: Roger Williams established complete freedom of religion (even Jews and
Catholics), and he even sheltered Quakers.
• Germans: Fled religious persecution, economic oppression and the ravages of war. Most
Germans fled to Pennsylvania.
• Scots-Irish (1710-1775): Tens of thousands Scots-Irish abandoned Ireland and came to
America, chiefly Pennsylvania and pushed out to the frontier. Illegally squatted on
unoccupied lands. Most moved to escape persecution or to look for a new life.
• Many of these immigrants became indentured servants.
THE BATTLE OF FALLEN TIMBERS AND THE TREATY OF GREENVILLE
 Battle of Fallen Timber: The British had sold firearms to the Native Americans of the
Miami Confederacy-made up of 8 Indian nations who terrorized Americans who
invaded their land and they were commanded by Little Turtle. In October of 1790
Little Turtle had ambushed Gen. Harmar’s army Little Turtle came up with the
stunning victory killing thousands of U.S soldiers. In 1794 it was a different story
the army was led by Gen. “Mad Anthony” Wayne and he and his men brutally
destroyed Little Tuttle’s men. This was known as the Battle of Fallen Timbers.
 Treaty of Greenville 1795: This treaty was signed a year after the Battle of Fallen
Timber. The Natives were forced to give up large areas of the Old Northwest; In
return they received a payment of $20,000 and an annual annuity of $9,000.
PRE-COLONIAL ANALYSIS
 Many settlers came to early America to flee religious prosecution (Separatist/
Puritans, Catholics, Jews and Quakers.
 Many English Immigrants came to America in hope of a better economic
opportunity and a new and better life.
 Many of these newcomers came as indentured servants hoping for a better future.
 For many immigrants America provided a sense of almost tangible hope and
opportunity in which they would be free to express their beliefs.
NATURALIZATION ACTS
 The Naturalization Act of 1790: Provided the first rules to be followed by the United
States in the granting of national citizenship. The law limited naturalization to immigrants
who were "free white persons" of "good moral character". It left out Indians, indentured
servants, slaves, and free blacks.
 The Naturalization Act of 1795: Required residence of five years in the United States; the
Act specified that naturalized citizenship was reserved only for "free white people.“
Immigrants intending to naturalize had to go to their local court and declare their
intention at least three years prior to their formal application. In the declaration, the
immigrant would also indicate his understanding that upon naturalization; he would take
an oath of allegiance to the U.S
 Alien and Sedition Acts and The Naturalization Act of 1798: Increased the amount of
time necessary for immigrants to become citizens in the United States from five to
fourteen years. The Alien Act allowed the expulsion of aliens thought of as dangerous
during peacetime. The Sedition Act provided for fines or imprisonment for individuals who
criticized the government, Congress, or president in verbal or written content
NATIVE AMERICANS
• Indian removal Act: An signed into law by Andrew Jackson which authorized him to
negotiate with the Native Americans for their removal. the Indian Removal Act
proceeded to shift most of the nations of Indian tribes in the eastern United States
to what was deemed "Indian country“.
• Cherokee Nation vs. Georgia: established the legal underpinnings for the
relationship between government and Indian nations. At issue was the state of
Georgia's attempts to take control of Cherokee land protected by treaties between
the federal government and the Cherokees. In a four to two decision, the Court
recognized the Cherokees' status as a sovereign nation but not a foreign nation, a
distinction that denied them the right to bring their case before the Court.
• Trail of Tears: The name given by the Cherokee Indians to the forced march from
their lands in the southeastern United States to the Indian Territory during 18381839. Thousands of people died along the route, and the Trail of Tears has become
synonymous with the U.S. government's harsh treatment of Native Americans.
NATIVE AMERICANS CONT.
Dawes Severalty Act: Considered the most important piece of federal legislation
dealing with Native American land rights. The Dawes Act of 1887, authorized the
President of the United States to survey Indian tribal land and divide it into
allotments for individual Indians.
• Indian Reorganization Act: the Indian New Deal, was U.S. federal legislation that
secured certain rights to Native Americans. These include actions that contributed
to the reversal of the Dawes Act's privatization of communal holdings of American
Indian tribes and a return to local self-government on a tribal basis. The Act also
restored to Indians the management of their assets and included provisions
intended to create a sound economic foundation for the inhabitants of Indian
reservations.
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NATIVISM
• A Chiefly American policy of favoring native born Americans over immigrants.
• This was held against the Scots-Irish, and Chinese immigrants during the 18th
century, the German immigrants around WWI, and the Japanese during WWII.
• The general fear among the working class was that low- wage immigrant laborers
would take American jobs.
• The fear during WWII was that none of the immigrants were loyal to America.
• There was very strong nativist sentiment in the United States during the time
period, especially during WWI and the roaring 20’s.
• Force Act 1871:
• Page Act of 1875:the first federal immigration law and prohibited the entry of
immigrants considered "undesirable."
RISE OF KKK
• The 1st Klan began in December 1865, when a group of former Confederate soldiers in
Tennessee joined together in an effort to keep newly freed and enfranchised African Americans
from voting. After the failure of two prior enforcement acts, Congress enacted the Ku Klux Klan
Act of 1871 to confront the rising tide of Klan violence throughout the South.
• The law made intimidation a federal crime and imposed harsh penalties on those who used
intimidation to deprive others of equal protection, voting rights, or the right to serve on a jury.
• the act also provided for the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus in cases of rebellion.
Adoption of the Ku Klux Klan Act resulted in hundreds of arrests and effectively ended Klan
control by 1872, until the Klan rose again in the 1920s.
• D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation glorified the original Klan
• The second Ku Klux Klan was founded and based on a new anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic,
prohibitionist and anti-Semitic platform.
• The Rise of the KKK during the 20’s showed the intolerant, nativist feelings felt by many
Protestant Americans. The KKK was opposed to the beliefs of many of the immigrants coming
to the United States including Catholics and Jews. Estimates for membership in the KKK during
the 1920’s range from 3 million to 8 million people, devoting themselves to 100%
Americanism.
1880-WWII
Important Events:
• Chinese Exclusion Act, 1882: Stops Chinese immigration in the U.S. because of
strong racist feelings against the Chinese in western states like California.
• Gentleman’s Agreement, 1907: Agreement between U.S. and Japan that stopped
Japanese immigration to the United States. The Root-Takahira agreement of 1908
formally recognized the immigration limitations.
• Literacy Test Act, 1917: The act was meant to keep out “undesirables” and people
unable to take care of themselves. The act required immigrants to be able to read
30-40 words in order to be admitted and it prohibited all immigration from an area
known as the Asiatic Barred Zone.
1880-WWII CONT.
Immigration Act of 1921: Imposed limitations on amount of people allowed into
nation. Number allowed from each nation based off of 3% of the number of people
already here in 1910. The Immigration Act of 1924 reformed the 1921 act to allow
only 2% of people in based off of the number of people here from that nation in
1890.
• The execution of Sacco and Vanzetti, 1927: Accused of murder, Sacco and
Vanzetti were two immigrants who were found guilty and executed. Many immigrants
and foreign governments saw the decision as racially biased and unfair.
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1880-WWII ANALYSIS
• In California there were many racist feelings directed towards Asian immigrants.
• During the early 20th century immigration from Northern and Western Europe
began to decline as immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe began to rise.
By 1910, Eastern and Southern European immigrants made up 70% of the people
entering the United States.
• The new Europeans mainly settled in growing cities along with immigrants from the
same place of origin. These ethnic neighborhoods became very heavily influenced
by the culture of the immigrants and they were able to speak their language and
practice their beliefs.
1880-WWII ANALYSIS CONT.
• The immigration acts of 1921 and 1924 aimed to reduce the amount of Southern
and Eastern Europeans that could come to the United States by setting the year for
the amount of people before many of those immigrants were in the country.
WWII-2000
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The Emergency Farm Labor Program: The program, a.k.a. the Bracero Program,
allowed farmers to hire temporary foreign contract workers to work the fields.
Many of these workers came from Mexico.
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The McCarran-Walter Act of 1952: Ended racial restrictions on immigration,
maintained a quota system based on nationalities and religions, and established
the first preference system which placed heavy importance on immigrants with
special technical skills.
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Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965: The act eliminated the quota system
used in the U.S. since the Emergency Quota Act of 1921 and replaced it with a
visa system and a preference system that made it quicker for people with
relatives already in the United States, or who had technical skills, to get into the
country.
WWII-2000 ANALYSIS
• After WWII, most nativist feelings in the U.S. died out.
• The new immigration laws passed after WWII focused more on a person’s skills as
criteria to enter the nation instead of using nationality, religion, and sexual
alignment (i.e. homosexual) as criteria.
• The new issue for immigration in the later part of the 21st century became illegal
immigration, mainly from Mexico.
• The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 stepped up U.S. protection on
borders and increased sanctions and penalties against employers who hire illegals
in order to make it harder to sneak in to the country and make a living as an illegal
immigrant.