Immigration Through 1840s-1850s and 1910s-1920s

Through history immigration has always caused a problem within the U.S. Americans believed that immigrates were taking all the available jobs, and were overpopulating many of the cities they settled in. In the 1840s-1850s and the 1910s-1920s, Americans always believed that if you weren't born in America then you weren't allowed to have the same privileges as them. In the 1840s-1850s, Americans opposed those that migrated from China, Mexico, Ireland, and of different religions but in the 1910s-1920s many opposed those that weren't American. Immigration has been taken in our country since 1840, and although immigration has changed in whom Americans oppose, there's one thing that'll never change; Americans don't see immigrates as equals.

Acts were passed in order for immigrants to fit in more with society. The Immigration Act of 1917 required that immigrants to pass a literacy test. This act did not allow immigrates to enter the U.S if they didn't know how to read or speak English. Many of those that weren't allowed were, "idiots, imbeciles, feeble minded people, epileptics, insane people, sick people, and criminals". The most controversial aspect to the act was to exclude all "aliens over sixteen years of age, physically capable of reading, who cannot read the English language, or some other language or dialect". The Alien Acts didn't give immigrants many privileges either. The 1918 Alien Act was the deportation of any noncitizen who advocated revolution or anarchism. The 1913 Alien Act did not allow aliens that are not eligible for citizenship to purchase or lease land for longer than three years. Argument that immigrants took all the jobs because they worked for low wages was another reason immigration was opposed in both time periods.

In the 1910s-1920s the conflict revolving around immigration was due to white supremacy". During this time people were separated in either being white or being colored. Before in the 1840s the Irish were considered their own race but in the 1910s-1920s they were considered white. The KKK was another organization that wanted to have the U.S 100 percent Americanism. The Red Scare caused a fear of immigrants because people thought they were communists entering the country or soviet spies. During WWII many of Americans were anti-German and anti-Irish.

Immigration shifted dramatically through the years. During the 1840s-1850s Americans opposed those that were from China, Mexico, and Ireland but as time went Americans began to oppose that weren't white. Acts were passed like the 1917 Immigration Act and The Alien Acts that gave immigrates no privileges and forbid many immigrates to enter the U.S. Although both time periods differed in how immigrants were treated, they were not given equal treatment and no privileges.