Download 1924 The Immigration Act of 1924

1924: The Immigration Act of 1924
U.S. History Resources
1924
The Immigration Act of 1924
The Immigration Act of 1994 (also known as the National Origins Act) was designed to reduce
immigration from Asia as well as from Southern and Eastern Europe. This Act was even harsher than the
Immigration Act of 1921, which had limited annual immigration from any country to three percent of the
people from that country who had been living in the United States in 1900. The 1924 law reduced that
limit to two percent, and used the 1890 census rather than the 1900 as the basis for the calculations.
Whereas it is provided in the act of Congress approved May 26, 1924, entitled "An act to limit
the immigration of aliens into the United States, and for other purposes" that…"The annual quota
of any nationality shall be two per centum of the number of foreign-born individuals of such
nationality resident in continental United States as determined by the United States census of
1890....
Now, therefore, I, Calvin Coolidge, President of the United States of America acting under and
by virtue of the power in me vested by the aforesaid act of Congress, do hereby proclaim and
make known that on and after July 1, 1924, and throughout the fiscal year 1924-25, the quota of
each nationality provided in said Act shall be as follows:
Country or area of birth
Quota 1924-1925
Afghanistan
Albania
Andorra
Arabian peninsula
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Bhutan
Bulgaria
Cameroon (British)
Cameroon (French)
China
Czechoslovakia
Danzig, Free City of
Denmark
Egypt
Esthonia
Ethiopia (Abyssinia)
Finland
France
Germany
Great Britain and Northern
Ireland
100
100
100
100
124
121
785
512
100
100
100
100
100
3,073
228
2,789
100
124
100
170
3,954
51,227
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
India
Iraq (Mesopotamia)
Irish Free State
Italy
Japan
Latvia
Liberia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxemburg
Monaco
Morocco
Muscat (Oman)
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
New Guinea
Palestine
Persia
34,007
1
100
473
100
100
100
28,567
3,845
100
142
100
100
344
100
100
100
100
100
100
1,648
100
6,453
100
100
100
1924: The Immigration Act of 1924
Poland
Portugal
Ruanda and Urundi
Rumania
Russia, European and
Asiatic
Samoa, Western
San Marino
Siam
South Africa, Union of
South West Africa
U.S. History Resources
5,982
503
100
603
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria and The Lebanon
Tanganyika
Togoland (British)
Togoland (French)
Turkey
Yap
Yugoslavia
2,248
100
100
100
100
100
131
9,561
2,081
100
100
100
100
100
100
671
QUESTIONS
1.
2.
In rank order, what nations are allowed the five largest quotas? Why do you think Congress specified the
1890 census rather than the census of 1900, 1910, or 1920 as the base line for the quotas?
What is the combined total allowed to China and Japan? Nations not listed were not subject to numerical
quotas. What areas of the world are not included?
2