To what extent was the impact of WW1 a key factor in the US decision to restrict immigration 1917-29?

Resentment also stemmed from the fact that existing immigrants were relied on heavily as cheap labour throughout the war in munitions factories and on farms.  White Americans, in particular, saw immigrants as ‘stealing’ their jobs, meaning many WASPs were left either unemployed or surviving on low wages in order to compete with the incredibly low wage accepted by African American immigrants. WASPs wanted American jobs for American people; they viewed immigration as an obstacle to this.

America, as a country built around the concept of liberty and independence, greatly feared any form of strong left wing view that centres on providing equality at the expense of freedom. Therefore, the ‘Red Scare’ of 1919-1920 – a period of heightened fear of communists, socialists and anarchists – prompted further controls on immigration in an attempt to stop more ‘revolutionary reds’ entering the country. Although this seems rash, the action can be justified as an appropriate response to this fear as most of the reds were indeed immigrants or of recent immigrant descent. In 1919, only 7% of the American Communist Party could speak English. The ACP, alongside the Communist Party of America, was supported by Russian giant the Comintern, who later supported the Chinese Communist Party in their rise to power in China. This link was a significant worry for the US: they were concerned by the success of the 1917 Bolshevik revolution and the influence it was having on the revolutionary minds of America. This fear was increased by a rise in Trade Union activity and striking. The 1919 Steel Workers Strike lasted two months and culminated in the death of 20 miners and the loss of $200million of worker’s wages. Initially, the workers had public support but as they were accused of being radicals, sympathy was lost. The idea of the radical was inextricably linked to immigrants and people associated the ‘troublesome’ strikers with the reds. Indeed, many of them were, further infuriating the Americans as they were exhibiting their left wing tendencies whilst occupying jobs believed to have been taken from US citizens.

Beneath concerns about the war and communism lay pre-existing racial tensions that had been present in America since it gained independence in 1776. It can be argued that the stringent immigration controls posed after 1917 were just a form of indirect racism in response to the general mood of the country. Long standing belief in the inferiority of African Americans and other immigrants led to restrictions being placed on their constitutional rights to voting and liberty, as well as the murders of 2000 aforementioned citizens by lynch mobs. One teenage African American was stoned to death for accidently crossing on to a whites only beach: this triggered a spate of violence from both blacks and whites across at least 20 cities in the South. The mood was aided by the re-emergence of the Ku Klux Klan in Georgia in 1915. By the mid 1920s, the Klan claimed a membership of up to 5million white Americans who terrorised minorities – particularly immigrants – in their distinctive white robes. The violence between racial groups centred mainly in the South illustrates the huge strain between white and black Americans and goes some way to explaining why government (run, of course, by WASPs) introduced tighter controls on immigration.

Although pre-existing racial tensions may have added pressure to moves to restrict immigration, they are unlikely to have been a significant primary cause because they had been present in America for so long: before 1917, attitudes to immigration were liberal despite the strains in society between immigrants. It would seem more legitimate to argue that tough circumstances, i.e. WW1, created a natural need for a scapegoat which, as they were a relatively powerless minority, was realised on the immigrants. Fear, poverty, loss of life and general turmoil combined to create resentment for any part of society which reminded WASPs of the outside world they were fighting. This was only exacerbated by the employment and housing race that appeared to be dominated by immigrants. Furthermore, fear of reds – again a symbol of a threat from the outside world, namely Russia – caused immigrants to be scapegoated in the name of the comforting notion of a proactive fight against the perceived danger.