Why Were Many Americans Against Immigration in the 1920s?

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In the late 19th century and early 20th century the great flow of immigrants arriving in America were attracted by promise of a bright and wealthy future. This was the American Dream: that everyone, no matter where they came from, had a chance of success if they worked hard. Until the 1920s the USA had an ‘open door’ policy which meant that almost anyone could enter the USA. In the 1920s new laws were made to limit the number of immigrants getting into the USA, this was a result of the growing amount of Americans who were against immigration. The USA had tried to limit immigrants before 1900. In the 1880s convicts, lunatics and the very, very poor were not allowed to enter the USA. Also in 1911 an investigation called the Dillingham commission wanted to make sure that adult immigrants were literate. Immigrants had to show they could read and write a short passage in English or some other language. The Immigration Act of 1917 banned almost all Asian immigrants and introduced a literacy test. But even after this new law was introduced there seemed to be no stopping the immigrants coming to the USA in search of the American Dream. World War one was another reason for the USA wanting to restrict the amount of immigrants coming into their country. Most Americans had accepted the ‘melting pot’ idea that all new immigrants would become ‘Americans’ but during the war many German immigrants supported the German side and when the USA joined the war against Germany there was a danger that American Society would split. Many American’s were afraid that immigrants would bring in new ideas such as anarchism and communism. There were anti-American and supporters of these new ideas were prepared to use violence to change the system of government. Americans were worried violent revolution might break out. The ‘Red Scare’ in 1919 saw lots of strikes and outbreaks. This was
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