Immigration: History of the Changing Citizen

Makeup of America

The United States of America is one of the greatest nations on planet Earth and
can attribute much of its success to the rich history of diversity through immigration,
both legal and illegal. Nicknamed the Great American Melting Pot, America has been
deeply affected by immigration ever since colonization of Jamestown, Virginia. All sorts
of people came to fondly refer to America as their home throughout the years for many
reasons. Some of these reasons include economic gain, escaping from nations
suffering and strife, religion, as well as many others. The diversity amongst Americans
is a celebrated and embraced conglomeration that combines cultural aspects to create
an incredibly unique residency.
Planet Earth is host to human qualities such as tyranny, greed, rage, optimism,
and exploration. These qualities lead to events around the world the spur radical
outflows from home countries to vigilantly search for a better alternative. Many of these
conquests ended with America as the solution, even to this day. These events change
the makeup of the American people every day. Although not always in a favorable
manner, the face of the United States of America is manipulated by constant inflows
and outflows of people based upon events happening at the current time.
The first American permanent English colony was Jamestown, Virginia. The
colonists were from England and were hoping to benefit from economic gain, religious
freedom, and to start a new life for themselves. The first colony was approximately 100

people that came from the motherland on three ships: the Constant, Godspeed, and
Discovery. This settlement set the tone for many more conquests to American shores
in following years (Stahle).
Jamestown was not necessarily the homerun that many of the people were
hoping it would be. Shortly after their arrival, colonists were attacked by native
inhabitants, killing off many of the pilgrims. The hardship for these hapless people does
not end there, illness and brutal winters also took its toll, killing lots more of these
pioneers (Stahle). Right as the colony seemed doomed for obliteration, the colonists
were saved by the introduction of tobacco and other foods, leading to economic gain
and a means to sustain life in America. After the life-saving cultivation of these
products, many more Europeans got word and began landing on American shores by
the ship loads, bringing with them their vast and unique cultures (Stahle).
Another event that brought large amounts of people to America was the
Transportation Act in 1717. This act was passed in England and sought to remove
criminals from the nation and pass them along to America. These deportations greatly
increased the population of America, filling it with alleged criminals and low-lifes.
Offenses that would grant an individual a ticket on one of these trips were grand
larceny, stealing, counterfeiting, bigamy, assault, and manslaughter (Balak 880).
After many years of European voyages ending in America, people began to grow
wary of the increasing population. The American people began to fill themselves with
feelings of tension and racially fueled anger. In fact, the American people brought it
upon themselves to pass the Naturalization Act of 1790 to combat too many people
entering Americas borders. The restrictions stated in this act were to grant citizenship

to free white persons that were of good morale fiber. This barred many blacks and
Asians from entering our land.
Another piece of legislation to be passed that affected immigration was the Alien
and Sedition Acts in 1798. This bill attempted to decrease immigration and increase
regulations for citizenship. The act tightened its immigration policy by increasing the
residency requirement needed for citizenship from 5 to 14 years (Stone). It also allowed
the president to do things necessary to, in the minds of the American people, do what
was necessary to protect the nation. This included the deportation of people that were
deemed dangerous to the peace and overall safety of the United States (Stone). This
act also made any statement disparaging the government was a crime punishable by
law (Stone).
One of the flagship events that changed the face of America was the California
Gold Rush in 1848. On January 24, 1848, a man named James W. Marshall
discovered a gold nugget in the American River (Clay, Jones 997). Quickly, news
coverage spread and pandemonium erupted. People were looking to get rich instantly,
so a massive inflow of immigrants was experienced by America in the years to follow.
Many of the immigrants that found themselves in California searching for gold were from
China, however people from Germany, Chile, Mexico, Ireland, Turkey, and France also
emigrated from their country to pan for gold. An estimated 25,000 people came by sea
to California (Clay, Jones 1008).
This mass introduction of Chinese immigrants led to the Chinese Exclusion Act in
1882. The bill sought to bar Chinese immigrants from coming to America (Calavita 22).
At this period of time, animosity for the Chinese was at an all-time high, leading to the

passing of this bill. Many Chinese hoping to come and try their luck in the gold rush
never got the chance due to this bill.
In 1910, a revolution in Mexico occurred, bringing with it many of its citizens. At
this time, southwestern United States was a prosperous area. Mexican nationals were
experiencing bad economic times in the homeland and thus led to emigration to this
thriving area. Between 1910 and 1930, over 1,000,000 immigrants crossed the border
into America to experience the benefits (Ornelas). It was also noted that double the
number of people crossed the American border in 1910 to 1920 than from 1900 to 1910
(Ornelas).
The Dillingham Commission, a committee that tried to reform immigration, was
formed in 1911. This commission worked to produce a report that gave slanderous
scientific information, giving the American people a large hatred for immigrants (McKay
405). The plan was to give information to back immigration reform to decrease the high
numbers of people coming the America. This commission proposed a literacy test to
bar immigrants from coming across the border, something that was impossible for most
illiterate individuals (McKay 412).
Another act that went through legislation was the Immigration Act of 1917. This
federal law finally made the literacy test a necessity, blocking inflows of individuals
(Shughart, Tollison, Kimenyi 82). The bill both increased the fee to cross into America
to 8 dollars as well as stop people that were idiots, imbeciles, and feeble-minded
persons (Shughart, Tollison, Kimenyi 90). It also created the Asiatic Barred Zone,
barring people from India, Afghanistan, Persia, Arabia, Russia, and a few others to
enter (Shughart, Tollison, Kimenyi 87).

Another way America sought to lower immigration was to introduce a quota

system. This would limit the number of immigrants based on country of birth. Only 3%
of the foreign born population were allowed in to American borders. This was changed
by the National Origins Act, which made the figure 2% (Eckerson 6). The final number
of allowed immigrants came from the 1890 census.
An event that took a big toll on immigration was World War II. As soon as Pearl
Harbor was attacked, Roosevelt ended the naturalization process for Italians, Germans,
and Japanese. A few restrictions placed on these immigrants were policies on moving
around the nation, owning cameras or shortwave radios, and a curfew. Also,
approximately 11,000 immigrants were placed in internment camps for fear of internal
sabotage (Rumbaut 602). The war also led to the inflow of Filipino immigrants to assist
America in both fighting the war and taking care of business within American borders.
Approximately 10,000 Filipinos that assisted were granted citizenship in the years to
follow (Rumbaut 608).
The Bracero Program was put into place to combat effects of the Great
Depression and World War II. The idea was to temporarily take in people from Mexico
to assist in railway maintenance and agricultural matters. This brought a large number
of people from Mexico and placed them around the nation. The terms of this program
were 30 cent wage to each individual and also humane work environments.
Approximately 4,600,000 Mexican nationals came to American soil to assist (Calavita).
Operation wetback was put into play and led to the removal of many illegal
Mexican immigrants. In 1949, border patrol captured 280,000 illegal immigrants. By
1953, the numbers grew to 865,000 individuals (Hernandez 430). Border patrol would

sweep through the Mexican barrios looking for people that may be here without proper
documentation and remove them from the area, placing them back within Mexican
borders. Many Mexicans fled voluntarily to remove themselves from police brutality.
The Hungarian Revolution was also an event that led to high numbers of
displaced individuals looking for a place to call home. Approximately 30,000 people
were displaced and sought refuge (Arendt 10). Though many of these immigrants went
to Canada, the United States of America still saw the effects of this outflow of people.
Most of the Hungarians at first simply came temporarily, but as time passed many
decided to call America their permanent home.
The most recent event that had a large impact on immigration was the terrorist
attacks in New York on September 11, 2002. This attack led to the passing of the
Homeland Security Act which increased funding for immigration control. The new
department that was created oversaw the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, as well as U.S. Customs and Border
Protection. This Act cost America around $589,000,000,000 from 2001 to 2011
(Fernandes).
9/11 also led to increased deportation of immigrants without documentation. The
number of people deported in 2001 was approximately 200,000 but doubled by 2011.
This increase in deportations has many side effects, one of the most important being
that it simply costs lots of money to deport an individual. Not only were immigrants
deported, but criminals were as well. In 2001, 18,000 criminals were deported. This
figure rose to 188,000 in 2011 (Fernandes).

America has been the victim of immigration ever since the beginning, playing
host citizens from just about every country around the world. Though events have
swayed the immigration rate that was experienced, a fairly constant flow of fresh human
beings has been the norm. Many people are proud to call America their home and its
richly diverse culture is proof. Immigration has changed the face of America perhaps
more than any other factor, and it is our job to honor the land that so many wonderful
people identify as their sovereign nation.

Bibliography

Arendt, Hannah. "Totalitarian Imperialism: Reflections on the Hungarian Revolution." The

Journal of Politics 20.1 (1958): 5-43. Print.

Balak, Benjamine, and Jonathan Lave. "The Dismal Science of Punishment: The Legal-Economy of
Convict Transportation to the American Colonies." HeinOnline 18 (2002): 879-83. Print.

Calavita, Kitty. "Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime - From the Sedition Act of 1798 to the
War on Terrorism." Journal of the American Bar Foundation 25.1 (2006): 1-40. Print.

Calavita, Kitty. "Formalization and Informal Control: The Bracero Program Comes of Age." Inside
the State: The Bracero Program, Immigration, and the I. N. S. New Orleans: Quid Pro, LLC, 1992.
Print.

Clay, Karen, and Randall Jones. "Migrating to Riches? Evidence from the California Gold Rush."
The Journal of Economic History 68.04 (2008): 997-1027. Print.

Eckerson, Helen. "Immigration and National Origins." Annals of the American Academy of
Political and Social Science. Vol. 367. Sage Publications, 1966. 4-14. Print.

Hernandez, Kelly. "The Crimes and Consequences of Illegal Immigration: A Cross-Border

Examination of Operation Wetback, 1943 to 1954." The Western Historical Quarterly 37.4
(2006): 421-444. Print.

Kerber, Linda. "The Meanings of Citizenship." The Journal of American History 84.3 (1997): 83350. Print.

McKay, Sandra Lee. "English Literacy in the U.S.: National Policies, Personal Consequences."
Tesol Quarterly 27.3 (2012): 399-419. Print.

Ornelas, Michael R. "Responses to Mexican Immigration." Beyond 1848: Readings in the Modern
Chicano Historical Experience. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Pub., 1993. Print.

Rumbaut, Ruben. "Origins and Destinies: Immigration to the United States since World War II."
Sociological Forum 9.4 (1994): 583-621. Print.

Shughart, William, Robert Tollison, and Mwangi Kimenyi. "Political Economy of Immigration
Restrictions." HeinOnline (1986): 79-94. Print.

Stahle, David. "The Lost Colony and Jamestown Droughts." Sciencemag 25 Apr. 1995. Print.

Stone, Geoffrey. "War Fever." Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime - From the Sedition Act of
1798 to the War on Terrorism. New York: W. W. Norton &, 2004. Print.