American Society today is a rich, powerful and highly populated

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Hostility Towards Immigration In America

American Society today is a rich, powerful and highly populated.  However this population did not all descend from “native Americans”,  most descended from immigrants, immigrating into America during the “open door policy” until 1918 where hostility towards immigrants started to become a more serious issue. Historians debate the reason for change in hostility towards immigrants as Roger Daniels argues that hostility towards immigrants predated 1918. While Alan M Kraut and John Higham argue it was caused because of the changing nature of immigration. However John Higham also argues that hostility became more serious due to WW1 but M A Jones argues that hostility became a more serious issue because of social economic, political and religious fears. This essay will discuss fully the issues that different historians believed caused hostility towards immigrants in America after 1918, and prove that internal conditions was the most crucial reason for growing hostility towards immigration.

Roger Daniels argues that although hostility towards immigrants was a serious issue after 1918, it was not a new occurrence in American society. Prior to 1918, America had a very liberal policy on immigration whereby it welcomed immigrants into the country, from all over the world. He argues that hostility was growing towards these immigrants due to the laws that the American society had introduced and approved. Acts such as 1882 Federal Immigration Act put restrictions on the number of convicts, lunatics and poor people.  This was followed in the same year by the Chinese Exclusion Act which prevented Chinese people from entering America for ten years.  This is an example of America introducing laws preventing people from certain countries gaining entry to America.  Two years later the immigration restriction league was set up. This league claimed that America was in danger of being flooded with immigrants and began a campaign for a literacy test.  Eight years later the federal immigration act increased restrictions on certain groups of people including prostitutes, people suffering from diseases and convicts.  Between this year and 1918 there followed three more laws which aimed at preventing Japanese immigrants from entering America.  In particular the 1917 Immigration Act created a barred zone forbidding immigrants from Asia and also introduced a literacy test. All of these laws clearly demonstrate that Americans had some hostilities towards some countries in particular China and Japan.

Some historians argue that hostility towards immigrants increased because of the changing nature of immigration. The Dillingham Commission 1907 proves that up until the 1890’s most of the immigrants arriving at Ellis island were classed as “old immigrants” ie coming from north western Europe. They were English speaking and Protestant and had a more upper class way of life, they had good jobs and had the similar culture to the Americans.  However from the end of the 1890’s onwards the number of immigrants was increasing from southern and eastern Europe. John Higham argues that the hostility was increasing because the Americans were scared of these immigrants because “By Western European standards the masses of southern and eastern Europe were educationally deficient, socially backwards and bizarre in appearance.“ In addition to this, these “new immigrants” were escaping war, poverty, persecution and unemployment. These people were illiterate and had no skills to offer, they came to America following “Land of opportunity.” These immigrants took many available jobs and were willing to work for lower pay. The “old immigrants” felt these “new immigrants” were stealing their jobs and also they didn’t like the idea of different cultures. All these factors caused growing hostility towards these “new immigrants.” The numbers of these “new immigrants” soared to over 900,000 in 1905. The arrival of these immigrants led to the growth of Nativism in America with the call for the “ Protection Of American Purity” although some historians argue that this was just a disguise for prejudice and racism. American society including politicians and the public called for restrictions on immigrants and in particular believed that people from inferior races were a threat to American society.  

The historian Alan M Kraut argues that “ Nativism was a response of those Americans who regarded themselves as an endangered species and were prepared to be ruthless in their own self defense.” Many people based their ideas about race on “Pseudo-Scientific Findings.” People with little experience of science and public affairs suddenly were thought of as experts on race. The newspapers were becoming aggressive and racial in their comments towards such races such as Polish Jews, they referred to them as “human parasites”.   A report written in 1911 by the US immigration Comission charged that “certain kinds of criminality are inherent in the Italian race.” However it wasn’t just the race that scared many people it was the fact that they had different religious views and this caused conflict and tension between religions, as most of the “old immigrants” had been protestant and these “new immigrants” were Jewish or Roman Catholic.  

Although the changing nature of immigration was an important reason in growing hostility towards immigrants,  another suggested reason was the trigger of WW1 acting as a catalyst for hostility towards immigration.  John Higham argues that the this catalyst caused even more  hostility and caused massive immigration restrictions during the post war period as he argues “the struggle for Germany called for the most strenuous nationalism and the most pervasive nationalism that the United States had ever known”.   When World War 1 started, it began what could only be described as hatred of all things German.    Many American  people believed that Germans were spies in their country and they wanted them out. Certain measures were taken to victimize Germans. They boycotted German businesses, scrapped the German language at schools.   There was a  number of German people who owned a large percentage of breweries in America and this  caused the prohibition of alcohol.   German Americans were beaten, tarred and feathered.    However it was not just Germans who were suffering from increasing hostility.  Italian Americans also openly criticised the war and many people questioned their involvement in the war. This caused tension between “old and new immigrants”. There was a cry for “America For Americans!” and this became widespread.   Americans wanted loyalty to their country,  with calls for “Absolute and unqualified loyalty to our country.”   There were more and more cries for restrictions with these “new immigrants” not being allowed into America.  Finally in 1917, the cries were answered and a literacy test was introduced for immigrants. By introducing this test this was seen as a way of keeping these “new immigrants” who were mostly illiterate out of the country.  Higham believes that this conflict towards “new immigrants” was crucial because “The war laid both the legislative and the ideological foundations for a nationalistic, anti-radical crusade”.   When the war ended most people felt that the conflict had been a nightmare and this caused isolation by America refusing to join the “League of Nations.”
Although there was perceived hostility before WW1,  the war itself may have acted as even more of a catalyst towards growing hostility to the “new immigrants.”

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Many historians believe that changes in internal conditions and the pre-post war period caused the hostility towards immigrants after 1918. However M A Jones is certain that internal changes was the cause of this hostility towards immigrants. As he says “ Nativism rose and fell in response not to external influences but to changes in American internal conditions”. Higham also agreed with this view stating that “ The coming of the new immigration had contributed to late 19th century xenophobia and its presence played a more crucial role in the 20th century. But at both times the intensity of the hostility ...

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