The growth of hostility towards immigrants may also have been a result due to many Americans fearing that more immigrants would make jobs and houses harder to find. After the First World War, there were calls to improve working conditions and to increase wages. There was also an increase in unemployment and when workers went on strike their employers would then employ desperate immigrants who were willing to work and also for a much smaller wage. For this reason, many workers and trade unionists began to dislike immigrants and began to see them as a threat. A trade union leader once said in 1918:
“Anything done to improve our conditions or wages is wrecked by Italian or Polish workers who are prepared to work longer hours and for fewer wages”
His views clearly show the reasons why hostility towards immigrants grew. As this resentment increased, so did the desire to stop immigrants coming into the country. Also, immigrants only made the shortage of housing problem worse in poorer areas of cities. This factor was important to an extent in causing the increase in hostility towards immigrants in the U.S.A during the 1920’s. However, it only really affected the working class of America, as many middle and upper class jobs were maintained by Americans as many immigrants could only take up unskilled or semi-skilled jobs.
It is also argued that the increase of hostility towards immigrants was due to them being blamed for spreading crime. During the 1920’s, crime in the States was on the rise. Many politicians used this opportunity to blame immigrants for the rise. A famous trial held throughout the 1920’s is a good example of how racism and dislike of immigrants were closely linked to crime and political revolution. It was the trial of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. Both men had emigrated from Italy and had lived in the U.S.A for a number of years before they were arrested in 1920 for robbery and murder. They were both anarchists, who held revolutionary ideas. Many historians now believe that Sacco and Vanzetti were convicted and executed due to their radical ideas and beliefs, and that it was easy to blame the spread of crime on immigrants. The trial lasted six years and both men were found guilty and were hanged in 1927. Vanzetti claimed that he was not tried because of the murder but because of his political beliefs and where he had come from. In his final statement, he said:
“I am suffering because I am a radical. Indeed I am a radical. I have suffered because I was an Italian. Indeed, I am Italian.”
It was the trail which led to many Americans believed that immigrants were to blame for the spread of crime. This may have been the reason for the increase in hostility for some Americans, but there is no solid evidence which suggests that immigrants were really to blame for the spread of crime and that average Americans believed this. It is therefore a less important factor in explaining why there was increase of hostility towards immigrants during the 1920’s.
The growth of racism towards immigrants is also an important factor in leading towards the growth in hostility towards immigrants during the 1920’s. Many Americans disliked the new immigrants simply because they saw them being different from themselves. There was a range of reasons why people disliked the new immigrants from Southern Europe, but main ones included that they were poor, often illiterate and belonged to a different race from themselves. Many famous academic and intellectuals often spoke out and published their nativist’s views. An American called William Aspen said in 1918:
“America must be kept pure and not turned into a second rate power by second rate people.”
This view was shared by many Americans across the country. Racism was a reasonably large factor in causing the increase in hostility towards immigrants. Influential writers and academics, such as Madison Grant and Dr. Harry Laughlin, often published work showing their dislike of immigrants. These then worsened people’s views on immigrants, thus leading to an increase in hostility towards them.
The American government introduced a certain number of laws during the 1920’s to try and control immigration from Europe and Asia. This had a negative impact upon public opinion on immigrants, and which may have led to the increase in hostility towards them. During the First World War, 53 000 Americans lost their lives in a war in which many did not want to join. Before the conflict, America went through a period referred to as isolationism. This meant that America kept clear of European feuds and wars. People believed that Europe was backward and tribal. The experience of World War one further portrayed this harsh view which led to new legislation on immigration to be brought in during the 1920’s. It started with a quota system being introduced in 1921, which allowed only 3% of each nationality already living in the States to enter the country. It also set a limit to 350 000 new immigrants a year. Another act was passed in 1924 called the “National origins Act”. This set new limits at 150 000 per year and favoured immigrants originating from Western Europe. This all gave Southern and Eastern Europe a bad image and so Americans did not want immigrants from these areas coming to live in their own country. The laws passed by the government also show the hostility towards immigrants by congress, and this influenced the public’s views on immigration. This therefore is an important factor in explaining why there was an increase of hostility towards immigrants during the 1920’s.
In conclusion, the increase in hostility towards immigrants in the U.S.A during the 1920’s is not only due to the fear of revolution but too many other factors too. It is the collection of these factors that led to the growth of hostility towards immigrants. However, some are more important than others, such as racism and the job situation, as these had a massive impact to many Americans. All of the factors mentioned had all combined to give a general bad view of immigrants to all different kind of Americans. Other factors only affected certain people, such as the job shortage causing most problems for the working class and the “red scare” for government and politicians. The laws introduced by the government are also an important factor, as it had big impact on public opinion of immigration.
