Immigration Nation: The Long and Complicated History of Immigration in the U.S.A.
By Sarah W.
Even centuries before the founding of the United States of America, the North American continent was a hotbed of immigrants and voyagers from far and wide. Even today, the US is considered a nation of immigrants. So, how did this so-called ‘immigration nation’ get its name?
Before the United States ever came to be, the 13 colonies were the place to be. Colonists seeking refuge from persecution, war, and other forms of great dearth hailed from far and wide, also bringing diversity, skills, and culture. The Dutch settled in New Netherlands, which would eventually become New York, for the fur trade—as did the French. German and Irish families fled to the colonies seeking freedom of religion, and, in return, blessed the colonies with their unparalleled craftmanship and unique tradition. In fact, the Irish population in the colonies was second only to the number of English colonists at the time. As the Library of Congress states, “Pushed out of Ireland by religious conflicts, lack of political autonomy and dire economic conditions, these immigrants, who were often called "Scotch-Irish," were pulled to America by the promise of land ownership and greater religious freedom.” Interestingly enough, immigrants of German origin who also fled religious persecution only made up for 9% of the white population in the colonies, the Dutch even less at 4%.
Times soon changed—The United States of America was established, also enforcing their own immigration laws that varied from Great Britain’s. In March 1790, Congress passes the first of many immigration laws, called the Naturalization Act. The Naturalization Act stated that “any free white person of ‘good character’ who has been living in the United States for two years or longer” were allowed to apply for citizenship. Nonwhite residents without citizenships were denied basic constitutional rights, including the right to vote, own property, and/or testify in court.
By 1815, the Irish Immigrant Wave soon began rolling in. Approximately 5 million German immigrants also found their way into the Midwest to buy farms or settle in Midwestern cities. 30-some years later, the second Irish immigration rush arrived, driven by the Irish Potato famine that devastated their homes. Years went by and the number of German and Irish immigrants continued to skyrocket—this led to the birth of America’s first anti-immigrant political party calling itself the Know-Nothing Party. Operating under the ideals of white Christian supremacy, they seized power over minority populations and constantly harassed immigrants. Xenophobia in the United States did not end there, though—in 1875, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, the first of its kind. The Chinese had started immigrating since the 1850s, working in gold mines, garment factories, building railroads, and taking up other manual labor like agricultural jobs. Despite Chinese immigrants only making up 0.002% of the U.S. population at the time, white workers blamed themtirelessly for low wages and job opportunities—which inevitably led to the passing of the Chinese Exclusion Act. This exclusion act also made way for the Immigration Act of 1891, which excluded immigration of polygamists, criminals, and the diseased, opening federal offices that managed the influx of immigrants and enforced these immigration acts.