immigration question 1 US does not close the door in early 20s

How different would America have been had the tight restrictions on immigration not been enacted in the early 1920s? Was there anything that could have made that happen?
 
You mean overall, as in let Chinese and Japanese in? The population would be higher. In these here parts where I live, back then, there were laws passed to prevent Japanese from coming on over and working on the farms and orchards. If they had come on over, I imagine their assimilation would have brought quite a bit of East Asian influence into the area. Their grandchildren would own quite a few orchards, and the Mexicans would be working for them....
 
You mean overall, as in let Chinese and Japanese in? The population would be higher. In these here parts where I live, back then, there were laws passed to prevent Japanese from coming on over and working on the farms and orchards. If they had come on over, I imagine their assimilation would have brought quite a bit of East Asian influence into the area. Their grandchildren would own quite a few orchards, and the Mexicans would be working for them....


As I understand it immigration from Europe was also tightly restricted in the early 20s
 
It's also the period that voting became restricted by citizenship in the United States.

Prior to the massive changes in immigration policy, residency was the only requirement to vote in the United States. Rather interesting really, and it's something I'm philosophically inclined to agree with. The change wasn't motivated so much by a desire for civic virtue as practical considerations: recent immigrants were getting to be quite politically powerful, and their radical proclivities endangered a lot of incumbent politicians.

The influx had to be cut off, and their political power dampened. So, I'd imagine that a more immigration friendly US would maintain the older standards for electoral law, and probably would have stronger organized labor, a viable Labor party in national elections, and would very likely have a slightly reduced trend towards isolationism (recent immigrants caring about politics in the mother country and all).

On the other hand, the population ramifications are harder to guess. The major US cities would be filled with even more immigrants, and how that change in population demographics effects everything is anyones guess. WOuld it mean more urban mass transit and thus possibly healthier cities? Or would it mean a more extreme urban flight, and even more suburbanization? Who knows.
 
German immigration

As I understand it immigration from Europe was also tightly restricted in the early 20s

You are absolutely correct. Especially German immigration had been curbed by low quotas after WW1 - on the other hand, Germans were quite ready to leave their politically and economically unstable fatherland. I wouldn't be amazed if 1-2 millions Germans, Austrians and ethnic Germans from other places would go across the Atlantic from 1919-33.

Without restrictions, the constant stream of German immigrants from 1840-1914 would have continued to flow.

And in the 1930s, without quotas, it would have been a lot easier for German Jews to flee from the Nazis.
 
It's also the period that voting became restricted by citizenship in the United States.

Prior to the massive changes in immigration policy, residency was the only requirement to vote in the United States. Rather interesting really, and it's something I'm philosophically inclined to agree with. The change wasn't motivated so much by a desire for civic virtue as practical considerations: recent immigrants were getting to be quite politically powerful, and their radical proclivities endangered a lot of incumbent politicians.
??? That sounds improbable. Of course much of history sounds improbable:). Do you have a cite for that?
 
Top