An APUSH SAQ — The Immigration Act of 1924

Fifteen questions designed to help students review for the annual exam and that relate to a post-World War I Congressional law seeking to preserve the ideal of U.S. homogeneity.

The Immigration Act of 1924

1. What was the Immigration Act of 1924 (being sure to include in your answer the words ‘quota” and “southern and easter European immigrants?)
2. Talk of the immigration that took place prior to the passage of the Immigration Act of 1924 often includes mention of something called a ‘push factor.” What’s a push factor? What was one push factor relevant to the immigrants of the early 1900s?
3. Talk of the immigration that took place prior to the passage of the Immigration Act of 1924 often includes mention of something called a ‘pull factor.” What’s a pull factor? What was one pull factor relevant to the immigrants of the early 1900s?
4. Briefly explain one reason why Congress voted in favor of and President Calvin Coolidge signed into law the Immigration Act of 1924.
5. During and after World War I, nativist campaigns against some immigrant groups led to the passage of the Immigration Act of 1924. What’s a “nativist?”
6. The Immigration Act of 1924 built on the restrictions of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. How so?
7. At the time of the Immigration Act of 1924, migration to the United States from Mexico increased, in spite of contradictory government policies toward Mexican immigration. Where did most of these immigrants go and what did they do to earn a living when they got there
8. The provisions of the Immigration Act of 1924 were revised in the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 and replaced by the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. What was one major historical effect of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965?
9. Some Progressive Era (18901–1920) reformers, often from the middle and upper classes and including many women, worked to effect social changes in cities and among immigrant populations. Name and briefly describe one piece of historical evidence in support of this claim.
10. Throughout its history, the United States experienced successive waves of immigration, particularly from Europe. What part of Europe did First Industrial Revolution (1800–1865) immigrants come from?
11. What part of Europe did Second Industrial Revolution (1862–1920) immigrants come from?
12. In an urban atmosphere where access to power was unequally distributed, political machines thrived, in part by providing immigrants and the poor with social services. Name and briefly describe one bit of historical evidence in support of this claim?
13. Attitudes towards new immigrants have cycled between favorable and hostile since the 1790s. What’s one reason why Americans would possess a favorable attitude towards new immigrants.
14. Name a famous mid-1800s anti-Catholic, Anti-Irish, anti-immigration, populist, and xenophobic movement that was also a forerunner to the temperance movement? Name the political party that this movement gave rise to.
15. From 1848 until the time of the Chinese Exclusion Act, what did most Chinese immigrants end up doing to earn an income, other than search for gold during the California Gold Rush that lasted from 1848–1855?