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

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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 169 rensus of 1790 is the foundation of his report that this evidence places the report in an indefensible position. There remains then (a) * Statistics of immigration and emigration.” RECORDS FROM 1819 TO 1896 BURNED on April 4, 1924, page 5460, part 6, volume 65 of the Congressional Record, [ find the statement made by the Senator from Pennsylvania, Mr. Reed: “There was no official governmental record of immigration commenced until the year 1820.” The immigration statistics provided for by law in the year 1819 were burned in the Ellis Island fire of 1896. As to the reliability of these records, Dr. Edward Sweeney, former Commissioner of Immigration said : “In 1819 a law was passed making it necessary for the captains of all in- coming ships, bringing passengers to the United States, to file a manifest of the passengers but except to give the number of the passengers to the Gov- ernment was never other than perfunctory and almost never used. These accumulated. manifests were burned in the Ellis Island fire of 1896. The first real attempt to gather immigration statistics was after the Immigration Bureau wag established in the early nineties.” Therefore the immigration statistics up until the early nineties were “ per- functory and almost never used,” and what there was of them were destroyed by the Ellis Island fire in 1896. The immigration statistics are therefore elimi- nated not only by the provisions of the law on account of unreliability, but also by the fire. There remains then for the consideration of the committee “the rates of in- wrease of population as shown by successive decennial United States censuses, and such other data as may be found to be reliable.” It is hard to understand what effect “the rate of increase of population as shown by successive decen- nial United States censuses” can have upon the determination of the national origin of the American population so long as no information bearing upon national origin of the American population was gathered by the Census Bureau until 1850 and the Census Bureau did not gather any statistics on the origin of parents that were complete until 1890. NO NATIONAL ORIGIN CENSUS RECORD UNTIL 1890 I desire to call the committee’s attention to Doctor Hill's testimony in Senate locument designated as * Flearing before the Committee on Immigration, United States Senate, Seventieth Congress, first session, March 15, on page 19: “ Senator SmipsTEAD. Doctor, have we got the returns for 1800? “Doctor Hrrr., Have we got them? “Senator SurrstEAD. Yes. “Doctor Hirn, There are some States missing still. States for which the [800 census records are missing include Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Virginia, and certain limited areas in some other States; also Indiana Territory and Northwest Territory. “ Senator SHIPSTRAD. There were six or seven missing out of 1790. “ Senator WILLIS. I was wondering whether or not that might not be a check worth while. Our committees made these computations on the basis of the cen- sus of 1790. Suppose they should start an entirely independent inquiry, taking the census of 1800 and 1810 and see where they come out. It would be a pretty nxeful check, would it? ¥ Senator CorpLanD. Up as far as 1830 it would be, Doctor Hill. That would be a very large undertaking, a very large task, especiaily as we would have to work with manuscript records. We haven't nrinted these schedules as we have ‘hose of 1790. “ Senator WILLIS. You say you have not any printed record for the census for. ‘he earlier periods? . “Doctor HLL. I mean by that, the original records. Of course, we have census reports giving statistics, “ Senator WiLLis. 1790 was printed; 1800 was not or 1810? “Doctor HirL. No; nor has any later census been printed. “Senator SmIpsTEAD. Can you tell me the first census we indertook to find out what country these people came from? “Doctor Hin, 1830. “Senator SmuipstEap. There was nothing dome up until that time by our onumerators to determine where these people came from in Europe?

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