Immigration in 1920's USA.

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Immigrants

Immigration had made the USA a very mixed society. By 1920 there were 103 different nationalities living there and the idea was that America was like a melting pot, where immigrants lost their old identity and became Americans. In practice however, immigrants were treated with great suspicion by many of those who had already settled in America. They often got the worst jobs and the worst pay and were at the bottom of the hierarchy system within American society.

All Americans apart from the Native American’s are descended from people who travelled to America as immigrants. At the start of the 1920s, 40 million people had emigrated to the USA, mainly from Europe, and over 15% of the American population were foreign born. In fact there were over 2000 newspapers printed in languages other than English. The first European settlers or WASPS as they were known, came largely from Britain, Germany and Scandinavia. Their descendants tended to hold the best jobs, how the most money and wield the most political power. Native American Indians were greatly affected by the waves of immigration. They were gradually forced off their land and were assimilated into white society. In addition, by 1920 there were 11 million black people living throughout America.

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The USA seemed so inviting because it was a democracy. There was freedom of speech, a free press and freedom of religion. Compared with most countries, America was a land of opportunity. They had the highest standard of living in the whole world and people were keen to cash in. However, the Immigration Act of 1921 limited the number of immigrants to 5% of the number of their nationality who were already living in America. In 1929 immigration was cut down to only 150,000 a year.

Around 5% of the American population were unemployed at the peak of ...

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