National origins provision of immigration law

Bibliographic data

Monograph

Identifikator:: 1796380105

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-196168

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: National origins provision of immigration law

Place of publication:: Washington

Publisher:: Gov. Pr. Off.

Year of publication:: 1929

Scope:: III, 171 S

Digitisation:: 2022

Collection:: Economics Books

Usage license:: Get license information via the feedback formular.

Chapter

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Statement of Frances H. Kinnicutt, immigration restriction league, and allied patriotic society, New York City

Collection:: Economics Books

NATIONAL ORIGINS PROVISION OF IMMIGRATION LAW 155 Quotas of Germany, the Irish Free State, and Great Britain, plus Northern Ireland 1890 quotas National origins quotas FOrmany - ove cvaecauna: ee mmmmmeeemmemmmmmmamemmaemmme Sm mmmeem mm [7iSh Free State ooo eoarom—romemememsamwes: -oscemmsemeees. smmssasmssssnmees JFreat Britain and northern IrelaBd. oc cmumeem commas conan er ———] 31, 227 28, 567 34, 007 | 24, 906 17,427 85, 894 Assuming that the revised report of the national origins figures is substantially correct, as I believe it is, the 1890 quotas effect a 100 per cent discrimination in favor of the element in our population derived from Germany and the Irish Free State and a discrimination of 94 per cent against that part of our people which is derived from England, Scotland, Wales, and North Ireland. How does this work out over a period of 10 years? ; In 10 years we should get, approximately, on the 1890 foreign-born asls HT IE ATES eee oe rm om bn [rich Free State Rei im ee 510, 000 280, 000 TOA eee mmm mmm meee. (90, 000 English, Scotch, Welsh, and North Irisho eo 340, 000 Thus there would come into the country in the period named £50,000 more Germans and Irish than immigrants from Great Britain and North Ireland. This excess, moreover, as already pointed out, would represent further dilution of the Anglo-Saxon element in our population. It would not be a square deal to all elements as is the case with the national origins plan. Is this just to ourselves as a nation, or is it advisable? The late Maj. Gen. Leonard Wood summed up the melting-pot problem clearly and briefly when he said, “ The American cement has about all the sand it will stand.” The late Gino Speranza, an American citizen of Italian parentage, in his great book, Race or Nation, had for his main thesis that our American institutions and our American civilization itself were in danger if we continued to allow mass immigration of other races eradually to submerge the racial element which produced those insti- ations and civilization, He holds that, to a large extent, forms of government as well as social customs and ideals are the products of race, and that the best guardian of a nation’s institutions is the race ny which they were involved. By keeping our basic stock proportionately represented in the quotas we tend to avert the danger pointed out by Speranza. In this connection the quotation from Gustave Le Bon in Professor Garis’ article, We Must be on Guard (Saturday Evening Post, January 5, 1929), is appropriate: A preponderating influence of foreigners is a sure solvent of the existence of States. It takes away from a people its most precious possession—its soul, I believe that there are many evidences that our body politic is suffering to-day from too much alienage. Says Speranza, on this point:

Access restriction

Copyright

fullscreen: National origins provision of immigration law

Monograph

Chapter

Table of contents

Download

Monograph

Chapter

This page

Image fragment

Citation links

Citation recommendation